The Curse of the Pharaoh's Discount

Among shops bustling with cacophony outside the shadow of the Great Pyramids, Amal is a well-known young crack tour guide using sweet ways to impel tourists into buying from him. Haggling was casual, however, between him and an eccentric street vendor whose stall was just a jumble of things-from miniature pyramids to suspiciously shining and claiming "authentic" ancient artifacts.His eyes caught a dusty shining golden scarab broach under a cracked glass case, but more importantly, it glimmered under the Egyptian sun-begging practically, I am cursed-by-meself-buy me!"How much for the scarab?" Amal casually asked already preparing to haggle.The vendor, an old man's beard like a Pharaoh himself with as much dramatic flair, leaned forward. "Ah, the scarab of Kha-Mut-Tutankh, the great and mysterious Pharaoh!"Amal raised one eyebrow. "You just made that name up, didn't you?""Do not mock the sacred scarab!" the vendor hissed, clutching the brooch. "It's said to bring great fortune...but only if the owner respects the ancient powers."Amal smirked. "How much?""To you, my friend, a bargain-100 pounds!"Amal scoffed. "50.""85 and free will throw in this 'authentic' papyrus bookmark!""60, and I don't call your 'authentic' pyramid models plastic.""Deal!"And so, the vendor twirled the scarab toward Amal while pronouncing an even an ancient-sounding gibberish. Amal rolled his eyes, pocketed the brooch and proceeded to flip the shiny thing to a gullible tourist at twice the price.Later that day, as Amal led a group of sunburnt visitors around the pyramids, strange things started happening.The first sign was that his phone converts every word into hieroglyphics through auto correct. "Wait ... why does 'lunch' keep turning into a picture of a falcon and a loaf of bread?"On every step he took, with a loud resounding noise, the shoes were squeaking like never before. They did not produce the normal squeaks, but rather high-pitched squeaking sounds like, "Tutankh-tutankh-tutankh!""Is that your shoes?" asked one of the tourists, making an effort to repress a laugh."It's the sand," Amal said as he tried shuffling quieter. He failed.Things turned even worse when he tried to show off to his group by recreating how the ancient Egyptians moved pyramid stones. After picking up a stone for demonstration, it turned to sand and revealed a tiny, angry scarab beetle inside it.The beetle began scampering up along Amal's arm as he screamed and flailed. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"The tourists found it to be hilarious and clicked snaps of each like paparazzi. One yelled, "This is the best tour ever!"By the end of the day, Amal considered chucking away the very brooch into the Nile. When he got to the riverbank, the brooch gave an ominous glow and let out a soft whirrrrr.A voice boomed as if from nowhere. "You dare discard the scarab of Kha-Mut-Tutankh?"Amal froze. "W-who's there?""I am the spirit of the Pharaoh," the voice intoned, sounding suspiciously like the vendor. "You must keep the scarab and honor its powers!""Honor its powers? It turned my life into a slapstick comedy!"The voice sighed. "Fine, I'll lift the curse...but only if you leave me a five-star Yelp review."Amal's jaw dropped. "Wait a minute...Vendor?"A long pause. Then, "Okay, fine, it's me. Business has been slow, alright? Gotta spice things up!"Amal could not help but chuckle. "You win, old man. Five stars, but I'm keeping the scarab."So shall he come to be known as the 'Cursed Guide of Giza,' drawing crowds large enough for them to want to join his hilariously unpredictable tours. Well, as for the vendor? It became bustling with customers again-thanks to the legend of the totally not made up Pharaoh Kha-Mut-Tutankh.The End.