Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling really, really well.

My name is Ms. Afzal.

I'm feeling good because today we are about to explore a fantastic text, which is called "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx." It's by Joe Todd-Stanton.

Marcy goes on some fantastic adventures and we're gonna go on our own adventure of exploring this wonderful text.

Shall we begin? The outcome for today's lesson is I can understand and discuss the main ideas of "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx." We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Myth.

Modern.

Elements.

Egyptian mythology.

Adventure.

Fantastic.

I loved hearing those keywords.

Let's find out what these words mean.

A myth is a traditional tale explaining a culture's beliefs and customs, often involving gods and supernatural creatures.

Modern means relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the past.

Elements are an essential or characteristic part of something.

Egyptian mythology is a collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world.

An adventure is an unusual and exciting or daring experience.

I love an adventure.

I wonder if you do too.

Let's move into the next part of our lesson.

Our lesson developing an understanding of "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" has two parts to it.

We have the introduction to the genre and text and then reading and understanding the story.

Let's begin with our introduction to the genre and text.

"Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" is written and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton.

And there he is smiling at us on the screen.

Joe Todd-Stanton is a children's author and illustrator.

He grew up in Brighton and was taught to draw by his mother.

Joe received a first class degree, that's the best you can get, in illustration at the University of West of England, Bristol.

"Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" is part of the Brownstones mythical collection series.

And now let's watch a video of Joe Todd-Stanton introducing himself.

<v ->Hello, my name is Joe Todd-Stanton,</v> and I was taught to draw by my mom growing up in Brighton, and I'm now working on my ninth picture book.

The way I learned to draw, I was incredibly lucky in the fact that I had two parents that were both super into art.

So I had my mom that loved drawing and then I had my dad who's actually a performance artist.

It's quite unlike illustration, but it still meant that he really loved taking me to galleries and see new bits of art and introduce me to new artists.

And I think having this kind of opportunity to see how many different types of art and see this kind of whole world of galleries from a very early age gave me a great kind of basis for how I then start to draw and start to kind of explore my own creativity.

I think it's interesting, growing up I kind of ended up making friends with kids who said, "Oh, I loved drawing when I was young but when it came to kind of picking what I wanted to do when I was older, my parents said, 'Oh, you kind of have to pick a safe option.

You maybe should try and become a doctor or something.

'" Whereas I think the kind of incredibly lucky thing about my childhood is that if my parents had found out that I wanted to become a doctor, they probably would've been just as angry as if those parents had found out their kids wanted to become an artist.

So, I think I've always had this very kind of open, creative kind of world to play around in and never feel like art was kind of second best to something more academic.

So yeah, I think growing up and drawing kind of all just came from that background and then as I got older, kind of finding the things that really inspired me, like very specific artists that I realised I kind of loved more than my parents, and that kind of became my thing.

I guess it's kind of like finding maybe your own kind of musical taste or something like that.

You have all these bands that maybe your parents show you and then at a certain age you kind of get to go off and explore and go on your own journey to a certain extent.

So yeah, I think all my kind of artistic creativity pretty much just came from really my kind of parents and the kind of great education they gave me growing up.

<v ->So great to hear from Joe.

</v> "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" is a modern myth.

Myth, it's a noun, is a traditional tale explaining a culture's beliefs and customs, often involving gods and supernatural creatures.

Myths belong to the genre of folklore, the sharing of stories orally.

A modern myth incorporates elements from traditional myths but has been adapted to fit today.

They often have more diverse characters and contain current or relatable themes for the reader.

True or false? "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" is a traditional myth.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.

The story is a modern myth, which means that it is completely different from a traditional myth.

The story is a modern myth, which means that it has elements of a traditional myth but is adapted to fit today.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements justifies your answer.

Well done if you selected statement B.

Indeed, a modern myth has elements of a traditional myth but is adapted to fit today.

"Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" tells the story of a girl named Marcy who goes on an adventure and has to face her fears to overcome a challenge.

The story incorporates many elements from Egyptian mythology.

The story involves the following elements.

Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Astrology, this is a noun.

It's the study of how the stars and planets may influence life, people, and their personalities.

And mythical creatures and other supernatural elements.

Which elements from traditional myths appear in the modern myth of "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx?" Egyptian Gods, mythical creatures, technology, astrology.

Pause the video while you decide which of these four appear in the modern myth of "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx." Well done if you selected almost all of them, Egyptian gods, mythical creatures, and astrology all feature in this text.

And now I would like you to watch Joe Todd-Stanton read "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" from the beginning to page 24.

And you can follow along in your copy of the text.

Enjoy hearing Joe reading.

<v ->"Hello, dear reader,</v> and welcome to the Brownstone family's observatory.

Here we can survey the night sky, the thing which can be very scary and mysterious to some.

One person who had this fear more than most was one of my ancestors, a girl by the name of Marcy Brownstone.

Her father, Arthur, was a great explorer who had saved his village from a terrible beast when he was a young boy.

Travelling the world, he discovered ancient secrets and collected wondrous artefacts, until one day he met another adventurer.

Together they moved to a small town and Marcy was born soon after.

Every evening, Marcy loved to listen to the tales of her father's adventures, though she quite believed him.

After all, he was very old and far too poorly.

But at night everything changed.

The creatures from her father's amazing tales turned into terrifying monsters in the shadows.

Marcy felt utterly lost and alone in the dark.

All she could do was close her eyes tight and wait for sunrise.

(enchanting music) One day, Arthur decided it was time for Marcy's first adventure.

He knew that Marcy doubted his stories, so he took her deep into the forest to find an old friend.

As the day wore on, Marcy started to worry that they wouldn't find their way back in the dark.

Arthur pointed up to the sky and told her that the North Star would always guide them home no matter how dark it was.

Finally, they reached the entrance of a cave and Marcy froze in fear.

Evil-looking shadows climbed the walls and she refused to go any further.

Hurt that Marcy didn't trust him and hoping she might follow him, Arthur ventured into the cave alone.

Arthur had wanted to show Marcy the most incredible sight, but she didn't appear and Arthur had to turn back.

On the walk home, Arthur was very quiet and Marcy was sure he was disappointed in her.

If she couldn't go into a stupid dark cave, then maybe she wasn't an adventurer after all.

Maybe she wasn't even a real Brownstone.

The next day Marcy, found a note from her father.

Her mother said it was nothing to worry about, but Marcy didn't feel happy at all.

A whole week went by and Marcy was so worried that she snuck into her father's study.

Hidden under the piles of papers and old artefacts, Marcy found Arthur's journal.

It showed that her father must have gone to Egypt to find an old book trapped in the belly of the sphinx.

Oh no, her father had trouble just bending over when he dropped his glasses.

Marcy would have to help him, somehow.

Just then she noticed the magical feathers of Wind Weaver tucked into the brim of her father's old hat.

Arthur told her that carrying a feather from this mighty bird would grant someone help in a time of need.

Marcy smiled and put it on.

Feeling a little braver already, Marcy climbed out of the study window where Wind Weaver was waiting for her.

She felt her chest tighten as they swooped into the air and began the long journey towards Egypt and the sphinx." Here we can see Marcy's route down through Europe and towards Egypt.

And then just as she gets to the sphinx, a powerful gust of sand blows her off of Wind Weaver.

(gentle piano music) "Marcy landed at the feet of a strange creature sitting on a massive throne.

'I am Thoth, god of knowledge and the moon.

I know who you are, little girl.

Your father was foolish enough to enter the sphinx in the hope of getting my book.

It seems he wanted to help you with your fear of the dark.

You see, whoever possesses my book will understand all the mysteries of the world.

But like many before him, he underestimated its dangers.

Only if you can solve the sphinx's riddle, enter the tomb, overcome my traps, and defeat the snake can you free your father.

' Marcy was far too scared to enter the dark tomb and begged Thoth to release her father.

'Perhaps there is something you could do for me.

The sun god Ra has two magical eyes.

One holds the power of the moon and the other the sun.

Bring me his moon eye and I will free your father.

Follow the horizon until you see a light shining through the stars.

It will be Ra sailing his sun boat.

Don't come back until you have his moon eye.

'" <v ->So great to hear Joe reading the start of the text.

</v> Which statement gives the best summary of the beginning of the story? Marcy adventures to Egypt to save her father who is trying to solve her fear.

She encounters the god Thoth who sets her a challenge first.

Marcy is afraid of the dark and her dad wants to solve this fear.

Marcy goes on an adventure to Egypt where she meets mythical creatures and Egyptian gods.

Pause the video while you decide which of these gives the best summary of the beginning of the story.

Well done if you selected the first statement.

Indeed, this is what happens at the beginning of the story.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to retell the beginning of the story using the illustrations.

So we've got the illustrations and keywords there to help you.

So we've got Mary Brownstone.

Next we have that map of Egypt.

We can see the Wind Weaver, the god of knowledge, the sphinx, and Ra, the sun god.

So pause the video here and work together with someone nearby to retell the beginning of the story.

Enjoy your retelling.

Okay, so, how did you get on with retelling the beginning of the story? Let's go through the story, shall we? See if you had something like this? Mary Brownstone's father was a great explorer named Arthur, who loved to tell her tales of his adventures, but Marcy was terribly afraid of the dark and what existed in the night sky.

When Marcy felt too afraid to venture into a cave with her father, he decided to go to Egypt to find an old book trapped in the belly of a sphinx, which would help him to solve Marcy's fear of the dark.

Marcy decided she must travel to Egypt to find and help her elderly father and made the long journey on the back of the mythical Wind Weaver bird.

When she arrived, she encountered both god of knowledge who possessed the book, that explained all the mysteries of the world and kept it inside a great sphinx.

Thoth explained to Marcy that her father was trapped in the grips of a snake inside the belly of the sphinx and that she would have to solve the riddle to enter and rescue him.

Marcy was too afraid to enter the dark tomb and begged Thoth to help her.

Thoth agreed but only if she could retrieve the moon eye from the god of sun, Ra, for him.

What a lot has happened so far in this story.

And now we're onto the next part of our lesson, reading and understanding the story.

I would like you to watch Joe Todd-Stanton read "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" from page 25 to 36 and you can follow along in your copy of the text.

<v ->"With Thoth's word ringing in her ears,</v> Marcy wandered through the desert towards the horizon.

Suddenly she saw what looked like a shooting star.

It was getting bigger and bigger.

Marcy had to act quickly.

At the ship's helm, Marcy could see the god Ra, but first she would have to remain unnoticed by the boat's crew of gods.

There was Anubis, god of the afterlife, Isis, goddess of nature and magic, and Bast, the goddess of cats.

(gentle piano music) With Ra in sight, Marcy came up with a plan to get his eye, but as she readied herself for the jump, she realised she couldn't steal someone else's eye.

For all she knew, Ra could be a very nice god.

She bravely climbed down the rigging and walked slowly up behind him.

She was very small so she had to clear her throat as she gave a big tug on his cape.

Ra was intrigued by the little human who had found her way onto his sun boat.

He listened to her story before speaking.

'Thank you for your honesty.

Thoth was always plotting to steal my moon eye.

If Thoth were ever to get hold of it, he would become unspeakably powerful and plunge the whole world into evil.

As a reward for your service, I will help you free your father.

My boat will take us to the sphinx.

The goddess of the night sky, Nut, will show us the way by shining a path in the stars,' said Ra.

As Ra's ship reached the sphinx, an anchor dropped down.

Just before Marcy went to climb down, Ra knelt before her.

'Here, take my sun eye.

Its light will guide you and cut through the darkest shadows.

Good luck.

' Marcy was filled with excitement.

Maybe she was a real Brownstone after all." <v ->So great to hear Joe reading this next part of the story.

</v> And now I'd like you to answer this question.

What stopped Marcy from stealing Ra's eye? Is it that the boat's crew of gods spotted her and stopped her? She felt empathy for Ra and it didn't feel right to steal his eye? She fell off the boat as she was trying to steal it? Pause the video while you decide which of these is the answer.

Well done if you selected the second statement.

Indeed she felt empathy for Ra and it didn't feel right for her to steal his eye.

And Marcy's decision showed integrity.

Integrity is a noun.

It means the quality of being honest and having strong morals.

True or false? Marcy was rewarded for her integrity and empathy towards Ra.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer.

To show appreciation, Ra offered to help free her father and got the goddess of the night sky, Nut, to guide them to the sphinx.

To show appreciation, Ra agreed not to punish Marcy and offered to take her home.

Pause the video while you decide which of these best justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected the first statement.

This indeed justifies your earlier answer.

And now I would like you to watch Joe Todd-Stanton read "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" from page 37 to 45.

And you can follow along in your copy of the text.

Enjoy hearing Joe read.

<v ->"The sphinx loomed up ahead.

</v> As she approached it spoke its riddle.

'I am bright when it's dark and dark when it's bright.

I am the shepherd of the night.

Who am I?' (enchanting music) Marcy had never heard of a night shepherd before.

What could it possibly mean? She thought and she thought some more but she couldn't think of the answer.

And then she had a sudden idea.

'What was only at its brightest in the dark? The stars and shepherd's guide things.

Of course, the North Star.

' The sphinx's mouth opened to reveal a set of steps.

They led down into a deep, dark cave.

Marcy trembled with fear, but she knew this was the only way to save her father.

As she descended into the belly of the sphinx, it got darker and darker.

When Marcy finally found Arthur, he was too busy with the huge snake to hear her shouts.

She didn't have time to think, she had to do something.

With the eye of Ra lighting her way, she vaulted straight into the snake's mouth.

<v ->And now I wonder how did Marcy get inside</v> the sphinx's belly and rescue her father? Which of these three sentences gives us the best answer? Is it that she gave Ra's sun eye to Thoth and he opened the sphinx? She solved the sphinx's riddle and used the light of Ra's sun eye to guide her down into the dark belly of the sphinx.

She used the anchor of Ra's boat to pry the sphinx's mouth open.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected the second statement.

Indeed, she solved the sphinx's riddle and used the light of Ra's sun eye to guide her down into the dark belly of the sphinx.

Marcy remembered what her father had told her that the North Star would always guide them home, no matter how dark it was.

True or false? Marcy was able to free her father easily and without fear.

Pause the video while you decided this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

And now I'd let you to justify your answer.

Choose from one of these two statements.

Marcy was terrified, but once she found her father and the snake, she was able to free him easily.

Marcy trembled with fear but showed courage and she ran into the mouth of a snake to rescue her father.

Pause the video while you decide which of these best justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected the second statement.

Indeed, Marcy trembled with fear, but she showed courage and ran into the mouth of a snake to rescue her father.

And now I'd like you to watch Joe Todd-Stanton read "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" from page 45 to 52 and you can follow along in your copy of the text.

<v ->"In that moment, Arthur realised</v> the book would not help Marcy.

She had already overcome her fear.

He dropped it and they escaped together.

Outside the sphinx, a shadowy figure was waiting for them and an evil voice boomed.

'Where do you think you're going with that eye, little girl? We had a deal.

Ra's eye is mine.

' Marcy tried to tell Thoth it was the wrong eye, but it was too late.

As he took the eye, there was a flash of white, a crack of thunder, and then silence.

All that was left of Thoth was a tiny bird and Ra's magic eye.

Ra appeared and picked up his eye placing the tiny bird on his shoulder.

He will grow again and try to steal my moon eye, but for now he's harmless.

Together they all climbed up onto Ra's sun boat and prepared for home.

Nut guided the sun boat by shining the North Star as brightly as she could.

When they were finally home, Marcy couldn't wait to tell her parents every single detail about her adventure in the land of Egypt.

And when it was time for Marcy to go to sleep, for the first time, she didn't feel scared at all.

Marcy realised that no matter how scary the dark was, even if it was filled with monsters, she was more than brave enough to fight them.

And I hope, one day, you too will be able to conquer your fears no matter how big and scary or small and silly that fear is." <v ->Great to hear Joe reading.

</v> And now I would like you to answer this question.

What happened when Thoth stole Ra's sun eye from Marcy? Is it that he got what he had wanted so that he could gain unthinkable power and use it for evil? Thoth didn't realise it was the sun eye, not the moon eye and a crack of thunder turned him into a tiny bird.

He used his new power from the eye to send Marcy and her father back into the belly of the sphinx.

Pause the video while you decide Well done if you selected the second statement.

Indeed, he didn't realise it was the sun eye, not the moon eye, and a crack of thunder turned him into a tiny bird.

True or false? The story of "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" teaches us an important message.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done, if you selected true and now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Choose from one of these two statements.

Even when something feels scary, showing resilience and bravery can help you overcome some fears.

When something feels scary, you should never do it.

Pause video while you decide which of these justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected that first statement.

Indeed, even if something is scary, we can show resilience and bravery and that can help us to overcome some fears.

Love that message.

And now I would like you to discuss, do you have any questions that you would like to ask Joe Todd-Stanton about "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx?" Pause the video while you share any questions with someone nearby.

Maybe you had some questions like this.

Let's hear Joe's answer to these questions.

What did you enjoy the most about writing "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx?" <v ->I think the thing I love the most</v> about being able to write "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" and being able to explore Egyptian mythology was actually the fact that I was incredibly lucky enough to go and visit it when I was a kid.

I think I was about 13 or 14 and I got to visit and see the pyramids in reality.

And I think just seeing that world and seeing something that I guess I'd seen in so many films and animations when I was a kid and actually be able to kind of touch it and realise that all this kind of mythology and history actually to a certain extent was real.

There are these mummies that have these booby trapped tombs and there are actually huge sphinxes in the middle of the desert, kind of instantly gave everything this feeling of reality that I'd never felt before and I think that helped so much when I was coming to illustrate the book, because it meant that I hadn't have had all this imagery in my head.

Sadly, I haven't been able to get to South America for my latest book, but hopefully in the next few years I'll be able to see some of the pyramids over there as well.

<v ->So interesting to hear from Joe.

</v> How about this one? Where did you get the idea for "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx?" Let's hear Joe's answer.

<v ->The character Marcy came about</v> I think partially from kind of me dealing with some of my own maybe fears I had when I was a kid.

I think I always found it very hard to kind of go into, I guess kind of traditionally scary situations.

I always found kind of sleeping in the dark maybe quite difficult.

And I always had this feeling of as soon as the light turned off, there was suddenly this whole world of kind of shadows and creatures that would appear in my imagination.

And I always found it very difficult to kind of deal with that kind of thing.

So, I guess maybe Marcy, to a certain extent, was a kind of free therapy.

I kind of used this story to tell a tale of maybe what when I was a kid, I would've loved to have happened to me to try and get through some of those fears that I was having at the time.

And I think that's such a great thing about being able to write stories and illustrate them is that I can take these things from my life that maybe I've struggled with and be able to reformat them into a story and kind of maybe learn something more about myself or kind of more about the world from doing that.

<v ->Fantastic.

</v> And what are some of your favourite illustrations from "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx," Joe? Let's have a listen to his answer.

<v ->So this is one of my favourite spreads</v> in "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx." And I think it's 'cause I got to just include so many things I kind of love to illustrate and things that, especially whenever I'm writing a new book, I love collecting imagery and finding things that kind of inspire me.

'Cause a lot of the times just drawing from a blank page is really scary.

So what I try and do is collect loads of strange photographs or if I ever go to a museum, I take pictures.

And then by the time it comes to actually illustrating the book, I have this huge collection of strange things that I can kind of hide away in there or use as the main part of a page.

So I was really happy to be able to include a few things here, which I learned about.

So this right here is an orrery.

I think I might be saying that wrong, I hope I'm saying it right, which is kinda like a huge contraption that shows how the planets rotate around the sun.

And that was a great thing to try and include.

And then also, this is actually based on a clock I think in Eastern Europe that's incredibly beautiful.

Probably haven't given you quite enough information to find that out, but maybe it's good that I've kept it a secret.

And then finally being able to illustrate this huge telescope.

I can't remember exactly what I based it on, but I really got to have a lot of licence and creativity when it came to designing all the patterns all the way along it and adding all these little details relating to Professor Brownstone and his family around the base.

So yeah, that was a great illustration to do.

This was also a super fun page to illustrate for me because I love that when I get given any opportunity to kind of tell a little story within the story that you don't get to see the whole of, Sherlock Holmes is great at doing this.

You kind of get all these bits at the start of the Sherlock Holmes story where they'll say, "Oh, there was also the tale of the such and such." And I think when you have an imagination that kind of likes to run a little bit wild, it's such a good opportunity for you then to be able to wonder what that bigger story was.

So yeah, I loved being able to show the life of Arthur Brownstone growing up here and adding in all these little tiny drawings of sections from his life as he went from the little boy we knew in the first book all the way up to the old, more portly version of Arthur that we find in "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx." I love trying to add details into my illustration.

I think especially things like kind of wallpaper or trees or any kind of background imagery is such a perfect opportunity to kind of hide little Easter eggs for the reader or kind of find ways to explore the image in a way that's maybe not so traditional.

So I loved trying to come up with this idea of showing how the wallpaper of Professor Brownstone's living room slowly turned into one of the images from the previous book of him fighting Fenrir, and then also mirroring that on the other page with the shadows from Marcy's nightmares.

This was really fun being able to explore all of these different monsters 'cause I got to look back through my old sketchbooks from when I was much younger and try and find out what the kind of things I was scared about as a kid were.

This was a really fun illustration to do because I love those old books that used to get a lot of where it would be like a cross-section of a ship or a castle.

And I'd be able to spend hours kind of looking at all the tiny details and be able to see maybe like a little knight getting his dinner or two people talking and you'd be able to make your own kind of little narratives about what these illustrations, like the stories that they had held within them.

'cause there was so much going on.

But I always wondered why they never did it with kind of fantastical stuff.

It was always kind of a steamship or something like this.

So, in the Brownstone books, I really wanted to explore the idea of using these cross-section illustrations, but be able to have kind of mythical versions of them and be able to look at, oh, if you had Ra's starship in real life, how would that translate into a real thing and how would it kind of work, and how would all the kind of gods that lived on their operate and all that kind of stuff.

So I really love being able to take like a fantastical thing and trying to work out how that would kind of exist in reality.

I think that's a really fun little experiment.

One of the things I loved learning about Egypt when I was a kid were all the different booby traps that the Egyptian pharaohs had in their tombs.

So, this illustration was the perfect opportunity for me to explore some of those.

I don't think any of these are based on actual real booby traps that they necessarily had.

I don't think they kept live alligators within their tombs, but it was a great way for me to kind of use that influence of something that I'd learned from Egyptian mythology and kind of take it into a fantastical world, and be able to kind of go a bit crazy with my imagination and come up with some of my own booby traps and different perils for Marcy to try and avoid.

<v ->Wonderful to hear.

</v> And now you can watch Joe Todd-Stanton introduce and read the whole story.

Sit back, relax, enjoy.

<v ->Hello, my name is Joe Todd Stanton,</v> and this is my book "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx." It's the tale of a young girl who goes on adventure to rescue her father, and in the process conquers her fears.

"Hello, dear reader, and welcome to the Brownstone family's observatory.

Here we can survey the night sky, the thing which can be very scary and mysterious to some.

One person who had this fear more than most was one of my ancestors, a girl by the name of Marcy Brownstone.

Her father, Arthur, was a great explorer who had saved his village from a terrible beast when he was a young boy.

Travelling the world, he discovered ancient secrets and collected wondrous artefacts, until one day he met another adventurer.

Together, they moved to a small town and Marcy was born, soon after.

(enchanting music) Every evening, Marcy loved to listen to the tales of her father's adventures, though she never quite believed him.

After all, he was very old and far too poorly.

But at night everything changed.

The creatures from her father's amazing tales turned into terrifying monsters in the shadows.

Marcy felt utterly lost and alone in the dark.

All she could do was close her eyes tight and wait for sunrise.

(enchanting music) One day, Arthur decided it was time for Marcy's first adventure.

He knew that Marcy doubted his stories, so he took her deep into the forest to find an old friend.

As the day wore on, Marcy started to worry that they wouldn't find their way back in the dark.

Arthur pointed up to the sky and told her that the North Star would always guide them home no matter how dark it was.

Finally, they reached the entrance of a cave and Marcy froze in fear.

Evil-looking shadows climbed the walls, and she refused to go any further.

Hurt that Marcy didn't trust him and hoping she might follow him, Arthur ventured into the cave alone.

(enchanting music) Arthur had wanted to show Marcy the most incredible sight, but she didn't appear and Arthur had to turn back.

On the walk home, Arthur was very quiet and Marcy was sure he was disappointed in her.

If she couldn't go into a stupid dark cave, then maybe she wasn't an adventurer after all, maybe she wasn't even a real Brownstone.

The next day, Marcy found a note from her father.

Her mother said it was nothing to worry about, but Marcy didn't feel happy at all.

A whole week went by and Marcy was so worried that she snuck into her father's study.

Hidden under the piles of papers and old artefacts, Marcy found Arthur's journal.

It showed that her father must have gone to Egypt to find an old book trapped in the belly of the sphinx.

Oh no, her father had trouble just bending over when he dropped his glasses.

Marcy would have to help him, somehow.

Just then she noticed the magical feathers of Wind Weaver tucked into the brim of her father's old hat.

Arthur told her that carrying a feather from this mighty bird would grant someone help in a time of need.

Marcy smiled and put it on.

Feeling a little braver already, Marcy climbed out of the study window where Wind Weaver was waiting for her.

She felt her chest tighten as they swooped into the air and began the long journey towards Egypt and the sphinx." Here we can see Marcy's route down through Europe and towards Egypt.

And then just as she gets to the sphinx, a powerful gust of sand blows her off of Wind Weaver.

(gentle piano music) "Marcy landed at the feet of a strange creature sitting on a massive throne.

"I am Thoth, god of knowledge and the moon.

I know who you are, little girl.

Your father was foolish enough to enter the sphinx in the hope of getting my book.

It seems he wanted to help you with your fear of the dark.

You see, whoever possesses my book will understand all the mysteries of the world.

But like many before him, he underestimated its dangers.

Only if you can solve the sphinx's riddle, enter the tomb, overcome my traps, and defeat the snake can you free your father.

' Marcy was far too scared to enter the dark tomb and begged Thoth to release her father.

'Perhaps there is something you could do for me.

The sun god Ra has two magical eyes.

One holds the power of the moon and the other the sun.

Bring me his moon eye and I will free your father.

Follow the horizon until you see a light shining through the stars.

It will be Ra's sailing his sun boat.

Don't come back until you have his moon eye.

' With Thoth's word ringing in her ears, Marcy wandered through the desert towards the horizon.

Suddenly, she saw what looked like a shooting star.

It was getting bigger and bigger.

Marcy had to act quickly.

(gentle piano music) At the ship's helm, Marcy could see the god Ra, but first, she would have to remain unnoticed by the boat's crew of gods.

There was Anubis, god of the afterlife, Isis, goddess of nature and magic, and Bast, the goddess of cats.

With Ra in sight, Marcy came up with a plan to get his eye but as she readied herself for the jump, she realised she couldn't steal someone else's eye.

For all she knew, Ra could be a very nice god.

She bravely climbed down the rigging and walked slowly up behind him.

She was very small, so she had to clear her throat as she gave a big tug on his cape.

Ra was intrigued by the little human who had found her way onto his sun boat.

He listened to her story before speaking.

'Thank you for your honesty.

Thoth was always plotting to steal my moon eye.

If Thoth were ever to get hold of it, he would become unspeakably powerful and plunge the whole world into evil.

As a reward for your service, I will help you free your father.

(slow tense piano music) My boat will take us to the sphinx.

The goddess of the night sky, Nut, will show us the way by shining a path in the stars,' said Ra.

(slow tense piano music) As Ra's ship reached the sphinx, an anchor dropped down.

Just before Marcy went to climb down, Ra knelt before her.

'Here, take my sun eye.

Its light will guide you and cut through the darkest shadows.

Good luck.

' Marcy was filled with excitement.

Maybe she was a real Brownstone after all.

The sphinx loomed up ahead.

As she approached it spoke its riddle.

'I am bright when it's dark and dark when it's bright.

I am the shepherd of the night.

Who am I?' (slow tense piano music) Marcy had never heard of a night shepherd before.

What could it possibly mean? She thought and she thought some more, but she couldn't think of the answer.

And then she had a sudden idea.

What was only at its brightest in the dark? The stars and shepherds guide things.

Of course, the North Star.

(slow tense piano music) The sphinx's mouth opened to reveal a set of steps.

They led down into a deep, dark cave.

Marcy trembled with fear, but she knew this was the only way to save her father.

As she descended into the belly of the sphinx, it got darker and darker.

When Marcy finally found Arthur, he was too busy with the huge snake to hear her shouts.

She didn't have time to think, she had to do something.

With the eye of Ra lighting her way, she vaulted straight into the snake's mouth.

In that moment, Arthur realised the book would not help Marcy.

She had already overcome her fear.

He dropped it and they escaped together.

Outside the sphinx, a shadowy figure was waiting for them and an evil voice boomed.

'Where do you think you're going with that eye, little girl? We had a deal.

Ra's eye is mine.

' Marcy tried to tell Thoth it was the wrong eye, but it was too late.

As he took the eye, there was a flash of white, a crack of thunder, and then silence.

All that was left of Thoth was a tiny bird and Ra's magic eye.

Ra appeared and picked up his eye, placing the tiny bird on his shoulder.

'He will grow again and try to steal my moon eye, but for now, he's harmless.

' Together they all climbed up onto Ra's sun boat and prepared for home.

Nut guided the sun boat by shining the North Star as brightly as she could.

When they were finally home, Marcy couldn't wait to tell her parents every single detail about her adventure in the land of Egypt.

And when it was time for Marcy to go to sleep, for the first time, she didn't feel scared at all.

(gentle piano music) Marcy realised that no matter how scary the dark was, even if it was filled with monsters, she was more than brave enough to fight them.

And I hope, one day, you too will be able to conquer your fears no matter how big and scary or small and silly that fear is." (gentle piano music) <v ->And now it's time for your final task.

</v> I would like you to answer these questions with your partner.

What do you like about this text? What caught your attention? What did you dislike? Was there anything that put you off reading this text? And did you have any puzzles or questions? What would you like to discover the answer to? Pause the video here while you answer these questions with your partner.

So, what did you come up with? Likes.

I love the illustrations within the story.

It was so powerful.

I couldn't believe the bravery Marcy showed when facing her challenges.

And dislikes.

I found it difficult to understand who all the different Egyptian gods were.

It made me feel nervous when Marcy ran into the snake's mouth.

Oh, yes.

What about puzzles? Why did Thoth want all of the power instead of wanting to help others? I would like to find out more about the whole Brownstone collection.

Hmm, I can see why you'd want to find out more.

Such an intriguing family.

In our lesson, developing an understanding of "Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx," we've covered the following.

A myth is a traditional tale explaining a culture's beliefs and customs, often involving gods and supernatural creatures.

A modern myth incorporates elements from traditional myths, but has been adapted to fit today containing relatable themes.

"Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx" is a modern myth that incorporates elements from ancient Egyptian myths.

Marcy embarks on an adventure where she encounters mythical creatures and ancient Egyptian gods and has to overcome a challenge.

What a fantastic tale.

It's been so great exploring this modern myth together and I love that message of even when things feel scary, if we can show resilience and courage, we can overcome our fears.

Maybe we can all have a go at that.

I'll see you in another lesson soon.