The Mummy's Curse (17 page)
Authors: Penny Warner
When the students were done, Dr. Jordan asked, “Do any of you see the message yet?”
The kids shook their heads no.
“All right, here's another hint. The hieroglyphic script is very flexible. It can be read from left to right, right to left, or
up and down.
”
M.E. raised her hand. “How do we know which direction to read it?”
Dr. Jordan smiled mysteriously. “Good question! To figure out how to read the text, you need to notice which way the animals or people glyphs are facing. They always look toward the beginning of the text.”
A collective “ooh” came from the students. Pencils busily moved into action as the kids took another stab at the translation. Cody studied the symbols carefully, and finally noticed the trick. She began reading the translation, first moving down the column, then up, and so on. Moments later, she had cracked the coded message!
“Seriously?” Cody squealed as soon as she knew the answer. Ms. Stad winked at her. She had known what the message said all along! Moments later, Cody heard the rest of the students gasping, giggling, and slapping high fives.
“It sounds like you've figured out the message,”
Ms. Stad said. “It's trueâwe're going on a trip to Washington, DC, to visit the Smithsonian museums, experience the Cherry Blossom Festival, and check out the International Spy Museum.”
The students yelled “Yippee!” “Awesome!” “Cool!” and “Sweet!”
Cody raised her hand. “Ms. Stadelhofer, did you draw that message?”
Ms. Stad nodded. “Ah, you figured that out. Well, I have another surprise for you.” She turned to their guest. “Dr. Jordan?”
He glanced around at the students, then finally he began, “I was trying to think of a way to say thanks to the kids who helped catch the thief. I'm happy to say, the Egyptian Museum is paying for your tickets to DC.”
More whoops, hollers, and high fives. The students were ecstatic. Cody couldn't believe it. A free trip to the nation's capital! And who knew? Maybe they'd even discover some secret codes while they were thereâespecially at the Spy Museum. She couldn't wait for the trip to begin!
Key Book
&
Solutions
Morse Code:
AÂ .-
B -â¦
C -.-.
D -..
EÂ .
FÂ ..-.
G â.
HÂ ....
IÂ ..
JÂ .---
K -.-
LÂ .-..
M --
N -.
O ---
PÂ .--.
Q --.-
RÂ .-.
SÂ ...
T -
UÂ ..-
VÂ ...-
WÂ .--
X -..-
Y -.--
Z --..
Phonetic Alphabet:
A = Alphabet
B = Bravo
C = Charlie
D = Delta
E = Echo
F = Foxtrot
G = Golf
H = Hotel
I = India
J = Juliet
K = Kilo
L = Lima
M = Mike
N = November
O = Oscar
P = Papa
Q = Quebec
R = Romeo
S = Sierra
T = Tango
U = Uniform
V = Victor
W = Whiskey
X = X-ray
Y = Yankee
Z = Zulu
Semaphore Code:
Finger Spelling:
Egyptian Hieroglyphics:
Code Busters' Glyph Code:
Chapter 1
Finger spelling
:
Hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
Steganography
Finger spelling:
Yarn code. Cool.
Drawings code
:
Hidden
Photo code:
Code
Chapter 2
Hidden word puzzle:
Can you read me
Maze puzzle:
You can hide a whole sentence as long as you follow the words
Hidden letter code:
spy
Hidden Morse code:
Code Busters
Semaphore code:
busters
Chapter 3
Morse code:
DJ, ME
Backward code:
Monday
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
I want to see the mummies!
I love Egyptian jewelery!
Maybe they have a Rosetta Stone.
I'm hungry! Are we there yet?
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
Sphinx
Chapter 4
Anagrams:
1.
Isis
2.
Amun
3.
Anubis
4.
Bastet
5.
Horus
6.
Maat
7.
Osiris
8.
Sekhmet
9.
Sobek
10.
Thoth
Egyptian hieroglyphics
: Eye of Horus
Chapter 5
Egyptian hieroglyphics
:
An Eye for an I
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
1.
What is a mummy's favorite type of music?
Rap music.
2.
What do you call a skeleton that lies in its grave?
Lazy bones.
3.
What do you get when you put a bow on a mummy?
A wrapped present.
4.
Why couldn't the mummy cross the road?
He didn't have any guts.
5.
Why was the little ghoul crying?
Because he lost his mummy.
6.
What do you call a mummy eating crackers in bed?
A crummy mummy.
7.
Why don't mummies play music in church?
They have no organs.
8.
Where do you go when a mummy is chasing you?
To the living room.
9.
Why don't mummies take vacations?
They don't like to unwind.
Chapter 6
Morse code:
Meet me in workroom. CodeRed.
Finger spelling:
We can't leave. We have to search the museum!
Tell the others!
What? Why?
Semaphore code:
Run
Chapter 7
Phonetic alphabet code:
Cassatt!
Chapter 8
Morse code:
She tricked you
Morse code:
Necklace
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
Thoth
Chapter 9
Finger spelling:
Let's go help find her!
Egyptian hieroglyphics:
The Curse of the Pharaohs will be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy.
Morse code:
No sign of Cassat
Pig Latin:
Quinn, you distract her with strobe light app. Run!
Chapter 10
Morse code:
Tell Luke and Quinn to meet in bathroom
Finger spelling:
Go!