Ranofer is a young goldsmith who works as a porter at Rekh's gold shop. He lives on a street in Egypt called the Crooked Dog. Ranofer is also very scared. His only living relative is Gebu, who is his half-brother. Ranofer’s father dies, so he goes to live with Gebu. Ranofer is afraid of him because he beats Ranofer and threatens to sell him as a slave. In spite of all this, Ranofer learns to be brave. One way that Ranofer learns to be brave is by not giving Gebu the money that he earned from Rekh, the goldsmith. This is frightening for Ranofer because Gebu might punish him if he finds out why Ranofer did not give him the money. Gebu may beat Ranofer, starve him, sell him as a slave, or kick him out. Ranofer becomes brave from this experience, and he learns to stand up to people. …show more content…
When Ranofer is supposed to bring home a wineskin with raw gold hidden in it, instead he tells Ibny, Gebu’s servant, that Gebu does not like his wine so that he does not have to bring it to Gebu. This forces Gebu to stop stealing Rekh’s gold because his helper, Ibny, is now fired and he cannot get Ranofer to steal for him. Ibny tells Gebu “You will get no one to do your bidding at Rekh’s gold shop. That boy won’t no use asking him.” Ranofer knows that stealing is wrong, and decides to do the right thing by not taking the wineskin home to Gebu. This makes him brave by letting him do things he is not supposed to