After several hundred years, the Egyptians lost sight of both these meanings and

the picture {illust.} came to stand for a single letter, the letter S. A short

sentence will show you what I mean.

 

Here is a modern English sentence as it would have been written in

hieroglyphics. {illust.}

 

The {illust.} either means one of these two round objects in your head, which

allow you to see or it means "I," the person who is talking.

 

A {illust.} is either an insect which gathers honey, or it represents the verb

"to be" which means to exist. Again, it may be the first part of a verb like

"be-come" or "be-have." In this particular instance it is followed by {illust.}

which means a "leaf" or "leave" or "lieve" (the sound of all three words is the

same).

 

The "eye" you know all about.

 

Finally you get the picture of a {illust.}. It is a giraffe It is part of the

old sign-language out of which the hieroglyphics developed.

 

You can now read that sentence without much difficulty.

 

"I believe I saw a giraffe."