Mentu was a natural warrior.  He came from the village of Anhur in the land above the cataracts.  The cataracts were a natural barrier that protected the village when the river was at it's peak.  But when the water level sank at the beginning of the dry season, the cataracts became a doorway to the village from the outside.  

The men of the village provided for their families through hunting. [imagery of the hunt/Nubian bowmen]  Mentu's mother knew he was bound for greatness when she watched him suckle from her like a baby cheetah, as if he were fighting off the other cubs for a drink of her milk.  [possible reorder to make Mentu older (say 3 or 4 years old)]  The boys of the village, too young to go out with their fathers, mimicked the hunt with sticks and stones.  [wrestling scene] This often lead to fighting when the bravery and ferocity of his father was challenged.  This was hard for Mentu because he didn't have a father and therefore had to defend the honor of a man that did not exist.  All the boys stared at him as if not knowing what to think or say when he would say, "My father is the strongest of all!"

The arrival of the rains and the wet season quelled the nerves of the village.  The men were happy and the boys ceased their fighting.  When Mentu was five, the wet season never came.  The men of the village were on high alert.  They hunted less and instead sent scouts to remote parts of the land looking for signs of trouble.  

Then one day, a man came to his village on a chariot led by a beautiful horse.  He was a great general from the north.  He told the men of the village that there were bigger hunts in the land.  A hunt whose prize offered more wealth than the carcass of an animal.  He offered the men of the village a chance to be great warriors, a chance to fight for gold instead of one night with a full belly.  Some of the men accepted while other's declined to remain with their families.  

As they were leaving, the general caught a glimpse of Mentu, suckling from his mother.  Instantly, he was taken aback by the boy.  [Was he Menu's father?]  He approached her and said, "Your son has the spirit of a warrior.  Let me take him from you and make a great man of him."  Mentu's mother tried to run, but she was no match for the general.  He ordered his men to capture and take Menu.  She fell to the ground weeping and screamed as they rode away.  This was the last image that Mentu had of his mother.  [Upside down, like giving birth.]

The general brought Mentu to a great city in the north.  It was a city where the animals did not run from the hunters.  Other men hunted in the ground, raising the river to higher land and pulling the flesh of the land for meat.  Mentu asked the general, "What type of bow is that?  And what animal are they hunting?"  The general laughed, they are not hunting.  "They are tilling the land so that it will produce [crops named?].  Flax for rope and clothing, wheat for bread and oil for our health (skin/body)."

Mentu's eyes widened at the sight of the farmers and he wanted to learn more.  The general took him home and told him, "I am your father.  You will live in my house and I will teach you how to be a great warrior.  We will go out and fight together and bring back much wealth for the the son of Ra."