The outline for The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty begins with exposition, followed by rising action, climax, falling action, and concludes with the resolution.
- Exposition- Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The King of Rebu.
In Chapter 1, the author (in this case, G. A. Henty) introduced the setting and the main characters. The main characters in the book are Amuba, the prince of the Rebu, and Jethro, the prince’s protector. The only other thing that we learned is that the Egyptians were attacking the Rebu.
- Rising Action- Chapters 2-9
Chapters 2, The Siege of the City, 3, Captive, 4, An Easy Servitude, 5, In Lower Egypt, 6, Fowling and Fishing, 7, Hippopotamus and Crocodile, 8, The Conspiracy in the Temple, and 9, A Startling Event.
In Chapters 2-9, we learned that Amuba’s dad, the king of the Rebu, has fallen. We also learned that the Rebu had lost the battle, and Jethro took Amuba to the city on the king’s request before he died. Amuba found his mother, weeping over her dead husband’s body, and Amuba encouraged her to set aside her sorrow and to help protect the city. He was able to convince her that that was the right thing to do, and then he gave her directions on what to do; she followed them without hesitation. The women surrendered to the King of Egypt to protect all the men who were fighting, so they would not die. The king said, “Okay,” and then he captured everyone who was still alive, including Amuba and Jethro. Then, the Egyptians forced all the Rebu people to walk from Rebu to Egypt. Then, all of the slaves were chosen by different people in Egypt to be their slaves. Amuba gets lucky and is selected by the high priest in Egypt named Aremes. When Amuba notices that the priest is going to pick another slave, he gets down and begs him to choose Jethro as his second slave. Amuba tells the high priest that Jethro has been like a father figure to him ever since he had lost his own father, and asked him to choose Jethro as his second slave. The priest said yes, and while Jethro and Amuba were being led into the house, the priest noticed that all of the Rebu people saluted Amuba. Then the priest asked him if he held a high rank among his people, and he also asked him why the people saluted him, not Jethro, who is older than he is. Amuba and Jethro met the priest’s wife, Amense, their son, Chebron, and their daughter, Mysa. The priest gave Amuba and Jethro jobs, and they were quite happy with them. Chebron’s new companion was Amuba, and he was to be Chebron’s playmate. Mysa’s new companion was Jethro, and he was to be Mysa’s special attendant. Amuba and Jethro were all very happy to be with very nice people. Everyone in the priest’s house treated Amuba and Jethro not like slaves, but as servants and friends. Chebron teaches Amuba and Jethro how to fowl and fish with sticks, and also how to kill hippopotamuses and crocodiles.
- Climax- Chapters 10-12
Chapters 10, The Cat of Bubastes, 11, Dangers Thicken, and 12, The Death of Ameres.
In Chapters 10-12, Chebron and Mysa discover that some bird of prey had been eating their animals. The next day, Amuba and Chebron hid behind some bushes, watching for the bird that had been eating their animals; they had their bows with them. About an hour later, they saw a large hawk swoop down and kill one of their birds. They both shot at the hawk equally well. Amuba’s arrow killed the bird, and Chebron’s arrow hit a branch, and went into the cat house, and killed Mysa’s cat, which was going to be the next Cat of Bubastes. Cats are the most sacred animal in Egypt, and Chebron just killed the most important cat of all time. After that, Amuba buried the cat, and then afterward,
Chebron told his father what a big mistake he had made. Chebron and Amuba escaped, and then found out that Chebron’s father, Ameres, had died. They went back to the house and were very sad. When Amuba and Chebron knocked on the door, and Chebron said something, a maid who remembered Chebron’s voice led both of them into the house.
- Falling Action- Chapters 13-18
Chapter 13, The Search for Mysa, 14, A Prince of Egypt, 15, Ameres is Revenged, 16, Up the Nile, 17, Out of Egypt, and 18, The Desert Journey.
Chapters 13-18 are about Amuba and Jethro going out in search of Mysa and Ruth. During the process, Amuba gets chased and captured by one of the princes of Egypt. The prince frees Amuba in secret. Jethro and Amuba find Mysa and Ruth, and then soon discover where they have been and why they didn’t tell anyone what happened.
- Resolution- Chapters 19-20
19, Home at Last, and 20, The King of the Rebu.
Chapters 19 and 20 are about Amuba and Jethro returning to Rebu and finding that another man has taken the throne, just as they expected would happen. Amuba did not want to be the king, but Jethro persuaded him to be the king. So, Amuba was the king of the Rebu, and Amuba and Mysa were married. At the same time, Amuba and Mysa were getting married, and Chebron and Ruth were also getting married. They were all grateful for the unfortunate thing that happened when Chebron accidentally killed the Cat of Bubastes.
