 Section 23 of the Junior Classics, volume 3, tells from Greece and Rome, edited by William Patton, 1868 to 1936. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Gillian Hendry. Cersei's Palace by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Part 1 At one time, in the course of his weary voyage, Ulysses arrived at an island that looked very green and pleasant, but the name of which was unknown to him. For only a little while before he came dither, he had met with a terrible hurricane, or rather, a great many hurricanes at once, which drove his fleet of vessels into a strange part of the sea where neither himself nor any of his mariners had ever sailed. This misfortune was entirely owing to the foolish curiosity of his shipmates, who, while Ulysses lay asleep, had untied some very bulky leathered bags in which they supposed a valuable treasure to be concealed. But in each of these stout bags, King Eolus, the ruler of the winds, had tied up a tempest and had given it to Ulysses to keep, in order that he might be sure of a favourable passage homeward to Ithaca. And when the strings were loosened, forth rushed the whistling blasts, like air out of a blown bladder, whitening the sea with foam and scattering the vessels nobody could tell wither. Immediately after escaping from this peril, a still greater one had befallen him. Scudding before the hurricane, he reached a place which, as he afterwards found, was called the Stygonia, where some monstrous giants had eaten up many of his companions, and had sunk every one of his vessels, except that in which he himself sailed, by flinging great masses of rock at them from the cliffs along the shore. After going through such troubles as these, you cannot wonder that King Ulysses was glad to lure his tempest-beaten bark in a quiet cove off the Green Island which I began with telling you about. But he had encountered so many dangers from giants and one-eyed cyclopes and monsters of the sea and land that he could not help dreading some mischief even in this pleasant and seemingly solitary spot. For two days, therefore, the poor weather-worn voyagers kept quiet and either stayed on board of their vessel or merely crept along under the cliffs that bordered the shore. And to keep themselves alive, they dug shellfish out of the sand and sought for any little rill of fresh water that might be running towards the sea. Before the two days were spent, they grew very weary of this kind of life. For the followers of King Ulysses, as you will find it important to remember, were great eaters and pretty sure to grumble if they missed their regular meals and their irregular ones besides. Their stock of provisions was quite exhausted and even the shellfish began to get scarce so that they had now to choose between starving to death or venturing into the interior of the island where perhaps some huge three-headed dragon or other horrible monster had his den. Such misshapen creatures were very numerous in those days and nobody ever expected to make a voyage or take a journey without running more or less risk of being devoured by them. But King Ulysses was a bold man as well as a prudent one and on the third morning he determined to discover what sort of a place the island was and whether it were possible to obtain a supply of food for the hungry mouths of his companions. So taking a spear in his hand, he clambered to the summit of a cliff and gazed round about him. At a distance towards the centre of the island, he beheld the stately towers of what seemed to be a palace built of snow-white marble rising in the midst of a grove of lofty trees. The thick branches of these trees stretched across the front of the edifice and more than half concealed it although from the portion which he saw, Ulysses judged it to be spacious and exceedingly beautiful and probably the residence of some great nobleman or prince. A blue smoke went curling up from the chimney and was almost the pleasantest part of the spectacle to Ulysses for from the abundance of this smoke it was reasonable to conclude that there was a good fire in the kitchen and that at dinnertime a plentiful banquet would be served up to the inhabitants of the palace and to whatever guests might happen to drop in. With so agreeable a prospect before him, Ulysses fancied that he could not do better than to go straight to the palace gate and tell the master of it that there was a crew of poor shipwrecked mariners not far off who had eaten nothing for a day or two save a few clams and oysters and would therefore be thankful for a little food. And the prince or nobleman must be a very stingy curmudgeon to be sure if at least when his own dinner was over he would not bid them welcome to the broken vitals from the table. Placing himself with this idea, King Ulysses had made a few steps in the direction of the palace when there was a great twittering and chirping from the branch of a neighbouring tree. A moment afterwards a bird came flying towards him and hovered in the air so as almost to brush his face with its wings. There was a very pretty little bird with purple wings and body and yellow legs and a circle of golden feathers round his neck and on its head a golden tuft which looked like a king's crown in miniature. Ulysses tried to catch the bird but it fluttered nimbly out of his reach still chirping in a piteous tone as if it could have told a lamentable story had it only been gifted with human language and when he attempted to drive it away the bird flew no farther than the bow of the next tree and again came fluttering about his head with its doleful chirp as soon as he showed a purpose of going forward. Have you anything to tell me little bird? asked Ulysses and he was ready to listen attentively to whatever the bird might communicate for at the siege of Troy and elsewhere he had known such odd things to happen he would not have considered it much out of the common run had this little feathered creature talked as plainly as himself peep said the bird peep and nothing else would it say but only peep in a melancholy cadence and over and over and over again as often as Ulysses moved forward however the bird showed the greatest alarm and did its best to drive him back with the anxious flutter of its purple wings its unaccountable behaviour made him conclude at last that the bird knew of some danger that awaited him and which must need to be very terrible beyond all question since it moved even a little foul to feel compassion for a human being so he resolved for the present to return to the vessel and tell his companions what he had seen this appeared to satisfy the bird as soon as Ulysses turned back it ran up the trunk of a tree and began to pick insects out of the bark with its long sharp bill for it was a kind of woodpecker you must know and had to get its living in the same manner as other birds of that species but every little while as it pecked at the bark of the tree the purple bird befought itself of some secret sorrow and repeated its plaintive note of on his way to the shore Ulysses had the good luck to kill a large stag by thrusting his spear into its back taking it on his shoulders for he was a remarkably strong man he lugged it along with him and flied down before his hungry companions I have already hinted to you what gormandisers some of the comrades of King Ulysses were from what is related of them I reckon that their favourite diet was pork and that they had lived upon it until a good part of their physical substance was swine's flesh and their tempers and dispositions were very much akin to the hog a dish of venison however was no unacceptable meal to them especially after feeding so long on oysters and clams so beholding the dead stag they felt of its ribs in a knowing way and lost no time in kindling a fire of driftwood to cook it the rest of the day was spent in feasting and if these enormous eaters got up from table at sunset it was only because they could not scrape another morsel off the poor animal's bones the next morning their appetites were as sharp as ever they looked at Ulysses as if they expected him to clamber up the cliff again and come back with another fat deer upon his shoulders instead of setting out however he summoned the whole crew together and told them it was in vain to hope that he could get a stag every day for their dinner and therefore it was advisable to think of some other mode of satisfying their hunger now said he when I was on the cliff yesterday I discovered that this island is inhabited at a considerable distance from the shore stood a marble palace which appeared to be very spacious and had a great deal of smoke curling out of one of its chimneys aha muttered some of his companions smacking their lips that smoke must have come from the kitchen fire there was a good dinner on the spit and no doubt there will be as good a one today but continued the wise Ulysses you must remember my good friends our misadventure in the cavern of one-eyed polyphemus the Cyclops instead of his ordinary milk diet did he not eat up two of our companions for his supper and a couple more for breakfast and two at his supper again me thinks I see him yet the hideous monster scanning us with that great red eye in the middle of his forehead to single out the fattest and then again only a few days ago did we not fall into the hands of the King of the Listergons and those other horrible giants his subjects who devoured a great many more of us than are now left to tell you the truth if we go to Yonder Palace there can be no question that we shall make our appearance at the dinner table but whether seated as guests or served up as food is a point to be seriously considered either way murmured some of the hungriest of the crew it will be better than starvation particularly if one could be sure of being well fattened beforehand and daintily cooked afterwards that is a matter of taste said King Ulysses and for my own part neither the most careful fattening nor the daintiest of cookery would reconcile me to being dished at last my proposal is therefore that we divide ourselves into two equal parties and ascertain by drawing lots which of the two shall go to the palace and beg for food and assistance if these can be obtained all is well if not and if the inhabitants prove as inhospitable as polyphemous or the listergons then there will but half of us perish and the remainder may set sail and escape as nobody objected to this scheme Ulysses proceeded to count the whole band and found that there were 46 men including himself he then numbered off 22 of them and put Ulysses who was one of his chief officers and second only to himself in sagacity at their head Ulysses took command of the remaining 22 men in person then taking off his helmet he put two shells into it on one of which was written go and on the other stay another person now held the helmet while Ulysses and Uryllacus took out each a shell and the word go was found written on that which Uryllacus had drawn in this manner it was decided that Ulysses and his 22 men were to remain at the seaside until the other party should have found out what sort of treatment they might expect at the mysterious palace as there was no help for it Uryllacus immediately set forth at the head of his 22 followers who went off in a very melancholy state of mind leaving their friends in hardly better spirits than themselves no sooner had they clambered up the cliff than they discerned the tall marble towers of the palace ascending as white as snow out of the lovely green shadow of the trees which surrounded it a gush of smoke came from a chimney in the rear of the edifice this vapour rose high in the air and meeting with a breeze was wafted seaward and made to pass over the heads of the hungry mariners when people's appetites are keen they have a very quick scent for anything savoury in the wind that smoke comes from the kitchen cried one of them, turning up his nose as high as he could and snuffing eagerly and as sure as I am a half starved vagamond I smell roast meat in it pig, roast pig! said another ah, the dainty little borker my mouth waters for him let us make haste! cried the others or we shall be too late for the good cheer but scarcely had they made half a dozen steps from the edge of the cliff when a bird came fluttering to meet them it was the same pretty little bird with the purple wings and body it was the same pretty little bird with the purple wings and body the yellow legs the golden collar round its neck and the crown-like tuft upon its head whose behaviour had so much surprised eulises it hovered about your... it hovered about your eulises and almost brushed his face with its wings pig, pig, pig! chipped the bird so plaintively intelligent was the sound that it seemed as if the little creature were going to break its heart with some mighty secret that it had to tell and only this one poor note to tell it with my pretty bird said your eulises said your eulises for he was a wary person no token of harm escape his notice my pretty bird who sent you hither and what is the message which you bring pig, pig, pig! replied the bird very sorrowfully then it flew towards the edge of the cliff and looked round at them as if exceedingly anxious that they should return whence they came eulises and a few of the others were inclined to turn back they could not help suspecting that the purple bird must be aware of something mischievous that would befall them at the palace and the knowledge of which affected its eerie spirit with a human sympathy and sorrow but the rest of the voyagers snuffing up the smoke from the palace kitchen ridiculed the idea of returning to the vessel one of them more brittle than his fellows and the most notorious gormandiser in the whole crew said such a cruel and wicked thing that I wonder the mere thought did not turn him into a wild beast in shape in shape as he already was in his nature this troublesome and impertinent little fowl said he would make a delight would make a delicate titbit to begin dinner with to begin dinner with just one plump morsel melding away between the teeth if he comes within my reach I'll catch him and give him to the palace cook to be roasted on a skewer the words were hardly out of his mouth before the purple bird flew away crying peep peep peep more dolorously than ever more dolorously than ever that bird remarked you li...remarked your liffus knows more than we do about what awaits us at the palace come on then cried his comrades and will soon know as much as he does the party accordingly went onward through the green and pleasant wood every little while they caught a new they caught new glimpses of the marble palace which looked more and more which looked more and more beautiful the nearer they approached it they soon entered a broad pathway which seemed to be very neatly kept and which went winding along with streaks of sunshine falling across it and specks of light quivering among the dirt with streaks of sunshine falling across it and specks of light quivering among the deepest shadows that fell from the lofty trees it was bordered too with a great many sweet-smelling flowers such as the mariners had never seen before so rich and beautiful they were that if the shrubs grew wild here and were native in the soil then this island was surely the flower garden of the whole earth or if transplanted from some other climb it must have been from the happy islands that lay towards the golden sunset there has been a great deal of pains foolishly wasted on these flowers observed one of the company and I tell you what he said that you may keep in mind what gormandisers they were for my part if I were the owner of the palace I would bid my gardener cultivate nothing cultivate nothing but savory pot herbs to make a stuffing for roast meat or to flavour a stew with well said cried the others but I'll warrant you there to kitchen garden in the kitchen garden in the rear of the palace at one place they came to a crystal spring and paused to drink at it for want of liquor which they liked which they liked better for want of liquor which they liked better looking into its bosom they beheld their own faces dimly reflected but so extravagantly distorted by the gush and motion of the water that each of them that each one of them appeared to be laughing at himself and all his companions so ridiculous were these images of themselves indeed that they did really laugh aloud and could hardly be grave again as soon as they wished and after they had drank they grew still merrier than before it has a twang of the wine cask in it said one smacking his lips make haste cried his fellows we'll find the wine cask itself at the palace and that will be better than a hundred crystal fountains then quickened their pace and capered for joy at the thought of the savoury banquet at which they hoped to be guests but Uraliphus told them that he felt as if he were walking in a dream if I am really awake continued he then in my opinion we are on the point of meeting with some stranger adventure than any than any that befell as in the cave of Polyphemus gigantic man-eating Lustergons or in the windy palace of King Eolus King Eolus which stands on a brazen walled island this kind of dreamy feeling always comes over me before any wonderful occurrence if you take my advice you will turn back no no answered his comrades snuffing the air in which the cent from the palace kitchen was now very perceptible we would not turn back though we were certain that the king of the Lustergons as big as a mountain would sit at the head of the table and huge polyphemus the one eyed cyclops at its foot at length they came within full sight of the palace which proved to be very lofty to be very large and lofty to be very large and lofty with a great number of airy pinnacles upon its roof though it was now midday and the sun shone brightly over the marble front yet its snowy whiteness and its fantastic style of architecture made it look unreal like the frost work on a window pane or like the shapes of castles which one sees among the clouds by moonlight but just then a puff of wind brought down the smoke of the kitchen chimney among them and caused each man to smell the odour of the dish that he liked best and after sensing it he thought everything else moonshine and nothing real saved this palace and saved the banquet that was evidently ready to be served up in it so they hastened their steps towards the portal but had not got half way across the wide lawn when a pack of lions, tigers and wolves came bounding to meet them the terrified mariners started back expecting no better fate than to be torn to pieces and devoured to their surprise and joy however these wild beasts merely capered around them wagging their tails offering their heads to be stroked and patted and behaving just like so many well bred house dogs when they wished to express their delight at meeting their master or their master's friends he licked the feet of Urylyphus and every other lion and every wolf and tiger singled out one of his two and twenty one of his two and twenty followers whom the beast fondled as if he loved him better than a beef bone but for all that Urylyphus imagined that he saw something fierce and savage in their eyes nor would he have been surprised at any moment to feel the big lions' terrible claws or to see each of the tigers make a deadly spring or each wolf leap at the throat of the man whom he had fondled their mildness seemed unreal and a mere freak but their savage nature was as true as their teeth and claws nevertheless the men went safely across the lawn with the wild beasts frisking about them and doing no manner of harm although as they mounted the steps of the palace you might possibly have heard a low growl particularly from the wolves as if they thought it was a pity after all to let the strangers pass without so much as tasting what they were made of Urylyphus and his followers now passed under a lofty portal and looked through the open doorway into the interior of the palace the first thing that they saw was a spacious hall and a fountain in the middle of it gushing up towards the ceiling out of a marble basin and falling back into it with a continual flash the water of this fountain as it spouted upward was constantly taking new shapes not very distinctly but plainly enough for a nimble fancy to recognise what they were now it was the shape of a man in a long robe the fleecy whiteness of which was made out of the fountain spray now it was a lion or a tiger or a wolf or an ass or as often as anything else a hog wallowing in the marble basin as if it were his stai it was either magic or some very curious machinery that caused the gushing waterspout to assume all these forms but before the strangers had time to look closely at this wonderful sight their attention was drawn off by a very sweet and agreeable sound a women's voice was singing melodiously in another room of the palace and with her voice was mingled the noise of a loom at which she was probably seated weaving a rich texture of cloth and intertwining the high and low sweetness of her voice into a rich tissue of harmony by and by the song came to an end and then all at once there were several feminine voices talking eerily and cheerfully with now and then a merry burst of laughter such as you may always hear when three or four young women sit at work together just listen to the pleasant voices of these maidens voices of those maidens and that buzz of the loom as the shuttle passes to and fro said another comrade what a domestic household home like sound it is before that weary siege of Troy I used to hear the buzzing loom voices under my own roof shall I never hear them again nor taste those nor taste those nice little savoury dishes which my savoury dishes which my dearest wife knew how to serve up we shall fare better here said another but how innocently those women are babbling together without guessing that we overhear them and mark that richest voice present and familiar but which yet seems to have the authority of a mistress among them let us show ourselves at once what harm can the lady of the palace and her maidens do to mariners and warriors like us remember said Eurylyphus that it was a young maiden who beguiled three of our friends into the palace of the king of the Listergons who ate up one of them in the twinkling of an eye no warning or persuasion however had any effect on his companions they went up to a pair of folding doors at the farther end of the hall and throwing them wide open passed into the next room Eurylyphus meanwhile had stepped behind a pillar in a short moment while the folding doors opened and closed again he caught a glimpse of a very beautiful woman rising from the loom rising from the loom and coming to meet the poor weather and the ladies and wanderers with a hospitable smile with a hospitable smile and her hand stretched out in welcome there were four other young women who joined their hands and danced merrily forward making gestures of obeisance to the strangers they were only less beautiful than the lady who seemed to be there they were only less beautiful than the lady who seemed to be their mistress yet Eurylyphus fancied that one of them had hair and that the close fitting the close fitting bodice of a second looked like the hark of a tree looked like the bark of a tree and that both the others had something odd in their aspect although he could not quite determine what it was in the little while that he had to examine them the folding doors swung quickly back and left him standing behind the pillar in the solitude of the outer hall there Eurylyphus waited until he was quite weary and listened eagerly to every sound but without hearing anything that could help him to guess what had become of his friends footsteps it is true seem to be passing and re-passing in other parts of the palace then there was a clutter of silver dishes or golden ones or golden ones which made him imagine a rich feast in a splendid banqueting in a splendid banqueting hall but by and by he heard a tremendous grunting and squealing and then a sudden scampering like that of small hard hoofs over a marble floor over a marble floor while the voices of the mistress and her four handmaidens were screaming all together in tones of anger and derision Eurylyphus could not conceive what had happened unless he drove of swine and broken into the palace attracted by the smell of the feast chancing to cast his eyes at the fountain he saw that it did not shift its shape as formerly nor looked either like a long-robed man or a lion, a tiger, a wolf or an ass it looked like nothing but a hog which lay wallowing in the marble basin and filled it from broom to broom but we must leave the prudent Eurylyphus waiting in the outer hall and follow his friends into the inner secrecy of the palace as soon as the beautiful women saw them she arose from the loom as I have told you and came forward smiling and stretching out her hand she took the hand of the foremost among them and bade him and the whole party welcome you have been law-expected my good friends said she the maidens are well acquainted with you although you do not appear to recognise us look at this piece of tapestry and judge if your faces must not have been familiar to us so the voyagers examined the web of cloth which the beautiful women had been weaving in her loom and to their vast astonishment they saw their own figures perfectly represented in different coloured threads it was a life-like picture of their recent adventures showing them in the cave of Polyphemus and how they had put out his one great moon eye while in another part of the tapestry they were untying the leather bags puffed out with contrary winds and further on they beheld themselves scampering away from the gigantic king of the Listergons who had caught one of them by the leg lastly there they were sitting on the desolate shore of this very island hungry and downcast and looking ruefully at the bare bones of the stag which they devoured yesterday this was as far as the work had yet proceeded but when the beautiful women should again sit down at her loom she would probably make a picture of what had since happened to the strangers and of what was now going to happen and of what was now going to happen you see, she said that I know all about your troubles and you cannot and you cannot doubt that I desire to make you happy for as long a time as you remain with me for this purpose my honoured guests I have ordered a banquet to be prepared fish, fowl and flesh roasted and in luscious stews and seasoned and seasoned I trust to all your tastes are ready to be served up if your appetites tell you it is dinnertime then come with me to the festival saloon at this kind invitation the hungry mariners were quite overjoyed and one of them taking upon himself to be spokesmen assured their hospitable hostess that any hour of the day was dinnertime with them whenever they could get flesh to put in the pot and fire to boil it with so the beautiful women led the way and the four maidens one of them had sea green hair another a bodice of oak bark a third sprinkled a shower of water drops from her fingers ends and the fourth had some other oddity which I have forgotten all these followed behind and hurried the guests along until they entered a magnificent saloon it was built in a perfect oval and lighted from a crystal dome above around the walls were ranged two and twenty thrones overhung by canopies of crimson and gold and provided with the softest of cushions which were tassled and fringed with gold cord each of the strangers was invited to sit down and there they were two and twenty storm-beaten mariners in worn and tattered garb sitting on two and twenty cushioned and canopied thrones so rich and gorgeous that the proudest monarch had nothing more splendid in his stateliest hall then you might have seen the guests nodding winking with one eye and leaning from one throne to another to communicate their satisfaction in horse whispers our good hostess has met kings of us all said one ah do you smell the feast I'll engage it will be fit to set before two and twenty kings I hope said another it will be mainly good substantial joints, sirloins, spare ribs and hinder quarters without too many kick-shaws if I thought the good lady would not take it amiss I should call for a fat slice of dried bacon to begin with ah the glutton's and garmentisers you see how it was with them in the loftiest seats of dignity on royal thrones of nothing but their greedy appetite which was the portion of their nature that they shared with wolves and swine so that they resembled those vilest of animals far more than they did kings if indeed kings were what they ought to be but the beautiful woman now clapped her hands and immediately there entered a train of two and twenty serving men bringing dishes of the richest food all hot from the kitchen fire and sending up such a steam that it hung like a cloud below the crystal dome of the saloon an equal number of attendants brought great flagans of wine of various kinds some of which sparkled as it was poured out and went bubbling down the throat while of other sorts the purple liquor was so clear that you could see the wrought figures at the bottom of a goblet while the servants supplied the two and twenty guests with food and drink the hostess their four maidens went from one throne to another exhorting them to eat their fill and to quaff wine abundantly and thus to recompense themselves at this one banquet for the many days when they had gone without a dinner but whenever the mariners were not looking at them which was pretty often as they looked chiefly into the basins and platters the beautiful woman and her damsels turned aside and laughed even the servants as they knelt down to present the dishes might be seen to grin and sneer while the guests were helping themselves to the offered dainties and once in a while the strangers seemed to taste something that they did not like here is an odd type of a spice in this dish said one I can't say it quite suits my palate down it goes however send a good draft of wine down your throat set his comrade on the next throne that is the stuff to make this sort of cookery relish well though I must need say the wine has a queer taste too but the more I drink of it the better I like the flavour whatever little fault they might find with the dishes they sat at dinner a prodigiously long while and it would really have made you ashamed to see how they swill down the liquor and gobbled up the food they sat on golden thrones to be sure but they behaved like pigs in a sty and if they had had their wits about them they might have guessed that this was the opinion of their beautiful hostess and her maidens it brings a blush into my face to reckon up in my own mind what mountains of meat and pudding and what gallons of wine these two and twenty guzzlers and gormandisers ate and drank they forgot all about their homes and their wives and children and all about Ulysses and everything else except this banquet at which they wanted to keep feasting forever but at length they began to give over from mere incapacity to hold any more that last bit of fat is too much for me said one and I have not room for another morsel said his next neighbour heaving a sigh what a pity my appetite is as sharp as ever in short they all left off eating and leaned back on their thrones with such a stupid and helpless aspect has made them ridiculous to behold when their hostess saw this she laughed aloud and so did her four damsels so did the two and twenty serving men that bore the dishes and their two and twenty fellows that poured out the wine and laughed the more stupid and helpless did the two and twenty gormandisers look then the beautiful woman took her stand in the middle of the saloon and stretching out a slender rod it had been all the while in her hand although they never noticed it till this moment she turned it from one guest to another until each had felt it pointed at himself beautiful as her face was and though there was a smile on it just as wicked and mischievous as the ugliest serpent that ever was seen and fat-witted as the voyagers had made themselves they began to suspect that they had fallen into the power of an evil minded enchantress Reges cried she you have abused a lady's hospitality and in this princely saloon your behaviour has been suited to a hogpen you have already swine in everything but the human form which you disgrace and which I myself should be ashamed to keep a moment longer where you to share it with me but it will require only the slightest exercise of magic to make the exterior conform to the hoggish disposition assume your proper shapes gormandisers and be gone to the sty uttering these last words and stamping her foot imperiously each of the guests was struck aghast at beholding instead of his comrades in human shape one and twenty hogs sitting on the same number of golden thrones each man as he still supposed himself to be essayed to give a cry of surprise but found that he could merely grunt and that in a word he was just such another beast as his companions it looked so intolerably absurd to see hogs on cushioned thrones that they made haste to wallow down upon all fours like other swine they tried to groan and beg for mercy but forthwith emitted the most awful grunting and squealing that ever came out of swineish throats they would have wrung their hands in despair but attempting to do so grew all the more desperate for seeing themselves squatted on their hands and pawing the air with their foretrotters dear me what pendulous ears they had what little red eyes half buried in fat and what long snouts instead of Grecian noses but brutes as they certainly were they yet had enough of human nature in them to be shocked at their own hideousness and still intending to groan they uttered a violer grunt and squeal than before so harsh and ear piercing it was that she would have fancied a butcher was sticking his knife into each of their throats or at the very least that somebody was pulling every hog by his funny little twist of a tail be gone to your sty cried the enchantress giving them some smart strokes with her wand and then she turned to the serving men swine and throw down some acorns for them to eat the door of the saloon being flung open the drove of hogs ran in all directions save the right one in accordance with their hog-ish perversity but were finally driven into the backyard of the palace it was a sight to bring tears into one's eyes and I hope none of you will be cruel enough to laugh at it to see the poor creatures go snuffling along picking up here a cabbage leaf and there a turnip top and rooting their noses in the earth for whatever they could find in their stye moreover they behaved more pigishly than the pigs which had been born so for they bit and snorted at one another put their feet in the trough and gobbled up their vitals in a ridiculous hurry and when there was nothing more to be had they made a great pile of themselves amongst some unclean straw and fell fast asleep if they had any human reason left it was just enough to keep them wondering when they should be slaughtered and what quality of bacon they should make end of section 23 section 24 of the junior classics, volume 3 Tales from Greece and Rome edited by William Patton 1868 to 1936 this LibriVox recording is in the public domain by Gillian Hendry Cersei's Palace by Nathaniel Hawthorne Part 2 meantime as I told you before Eurelithus had waited and waited and waited in the entrance hall of the palace without being able to comprehend what had befallen his friends at last when the swinish uproar resounded through the palace and when he saw the image of a hog in the marble basin he thought it best to hasten back to the vessel and inform the wise Ulysses of these marvellous occurrences so he ran as fast as he could down the steps and never stopped to draw breath till he reached the shore why do you come alone asked King Ulysses as soon as he saw him where are your two and twenty comrades and these questions Eurelithus burst into tears alas I greatly fear that we shall never see one of their faces again then he told Ulysses all that had happened as far as he knew it and added that he suspected the beautiful women to be a vile enchantress and the marble palace magnificent as it looked to be only a dismal cavern in reality as for his companions he could not imagine what had become of them unless they had been given to the swine at this intelligence all the voyagers were greatly affrighted but Ulysses lost no time in girding on his sword and hanging his bow and quiver over his shoulders and taking a spear in his right hand when his followers saw their wise leader making these preparations they inquired whether he was going and earnestly besought him not to leave them you are our king! cried they and what is more you are the most man in the whole world and nothing but your wisdom and courage can get us out of this danger if you desert us and go to the enchanted palace you will suffer the same fate as our poor companions and not a soul of us will ever see our dear Ithaca again as I am your king answered Ulysses and wiser than any of you it is therefore the more my duty to see what has befallen our comrades anything can yet be done to rescue them wait for me here until tomorrow if I do not then return you must hoist sail and endeavour to find your way to our native land for my part I am answerable for the fate of these poor mariners who have stood by my side in battle and been so often drenched to the skin along with me by the same tempestuous surges I will either bring them back with me or perish but as his followers dared they would have detained him by force but King Ulysses frowned sternly on them and shook his spear and bade them stop him at their peril seeing him so determined they let him go and sat down on the sand as disconsolate a set of people as could be waiting and praying for his return it happened to Ulysses just as before that when he had gone a few steps from the edge of the cliff he came fluttering towards him crying and using all the art it could to persuade him to go no further what mean you little bird cried Ulysses you are a raid like a king in purple and gold and wear a golden crown upon your head is it because I too am a king that you desire so earnestly to speak with me if you can talk in human language say what you would have me do peep answered the purple bird very dolorously certainly there lay some heavy anguish at the little bird's heart and it was a sorrowful predicament that he could not at least have the consolation of telling what it was but Ulysses had no time to waste in trying to get at the mystery he therefore quickened his pace and had gone a good way along the pleasant wood path when they met him a young man of very brisk and intelligent aspect and clad in a rather singular garb he wore a short cloak and a sort of cap that seemed to be furnished with a pair of wings and from the lightness of his step you would have supposed that there might likewise be wings on his feet to enable him to walk still better for he was always on one journey or another he carried a winged staff around which two serpents were wriggling and twisting in short I have said enough to make you guess that it was Quicksilver and Ulysses who knew him of old and had learned a great deal of his wisdom from him recognised him in a moment whether are you going in such a hurry wise Ulysses asked Quicksilver do you not know that this land is enchanted the wicked Enchantress whose name is Cersei the sister of King Aedes the noble palace which you see yonder among the trees by her magic arts she changes every human being into the brute beast or fowl whom he happens most to resemble that little bird which met me at the edge of the cliff exclaimed Ulysses was he a human being once yes answered Quicksilver he was once a king named Pycus and a pretty good sort of a king too full robe and his crown and the golden chain about his neck so he was forced to take the shape of a gaudy feathered bird the lions and wolves and tigers who will come running to meet you in front of the palace were formerly fierce and cruel men resembling in their disposition the wild beasts whose forms they now rightfully wear and my poor companions said Ulysses have they undergone a similar change of this wicked Cersei you well know what gormandisers they were replied Quicksilver and rogue that he was he could not help laughing at the joke so you will not be surprised to hear that they have all taken the shapes of swine if Cersei had never done anything worse I really should not think her so very much to blame but can I do nothing to help them inquired Ulysses it will require all your wisdom said Quicksilver and a little of my own into the bargain to keep your royal and sagacious self from being transformed into a fox but do as I bid you and the matter may end better than it has begun while he was speaking Quicksilver seemed to be in search of something he went stooping along the ground and soon laid his hand on a little plant with a snow white flower which he plucked and smelt off Ulysses had been looking at that very spot only just before and it appeared to him that the plant had burst into full flower the instant when Quicksilver touched it with his fingers take this flower King Ulysses said he guarded as you do your eyesight for I can assure you it is exceedingly rare and precious and you might seek the whole earth over without ever finding another like it keep it in your hand fill it frequently after you enter the palace and while you are talking with the enchantress especially when she offers you food or a draft of wine out of her goblet be careful to fill your nostrils with the flowers fragrance follow these directions and you may defy her magic arts to change you into a fox Quicksilver then gave him some further advice how to behave and bidding him be bold and prudent again assured him that as simple as Cersei was he would have a fair prospect of coming safely out of her enchanted palace after listening attentively Ulysses thanked his good friend and resumed his way but he had taken only a few steps when recollecting some other questions which he wished to ask he turned round again and beheld nobody on the spot where Quicksilver had stood for that winged cap of his and those winged shoes and the winged staff had carried him quickly out of sight when Ulysses reached the lawn in front of the palace the lions and other savage animals came bounding to meet him and would have fond upon him and licked his feet but the wise king struck at them with his long spear and sternly bad them be gone out of his path for he knew that they had once been bloodthirsty men and would now tear him limb from limb upon him could they do the mischief that was in their hearts the wild beasts yelped and glared at him and stood at a distance while he ascended the palace steps on entering the hall Ulysses saw the magic fountain in the centre of it the up gushing water had now again taken the shape of a man in a long white fleecy robe who appeared to be making gestures of welcome the king likewise heard the noise of the shuttle in the loom and the sweet melody of the beautiful women's song and then the pleasant voices of herself and the four maidens talking together with peals of merry laughter intermixed but Ulysses did not waste much time in listening to the laughter or the song he leaned his spear against one of the pillars of the hall and then after listening his sword in the scabbard stepped boldly forward and through the folding doors wide open the moment she beheld the stately figure standing in the doorway the beautiful woman rose from the loom and ran to meet him with a glad smile throwing its sunshine over her face and both her hands extended welcome brave stranger cried she we were expecting you and the nymph with the sea green hair made a curtsy down to the ground and likewise bad him welcome so did her sister with the bodice of oaken bark and she that sprinkled dew drops from her fingers ends and the fourth one with some oddity which I cannot remember and Cersei as the beautiful enchantress was called who had deluded so many persons that she did not doubt of being able to delude Ulysses not imagining how wise he was again addressed him your companions said she have already been received into my palace and have enjoyed the hospitable treatment to which the propriety of their behaviour so well entitles them if such be your pleasure you shall first take some refreshment and then join them in the elegant apartments which they now occupy see I and my maidens have been weaving their figures into this piece of tapestry she pointed to the web of beautifully woven cloth in the loom Cersei and the four nymphs must have been very diligently at work since the arrival of the mariners for a great many yards of tapestry had now been wrought in addition to what I have before described in this new part Ulysses saw his two and twenty friends represented a sitting on cushioned and canopy thrones greedily devouring dainties and quaffing deep drafts of wine the work had not yet gone any further oh no indeed the enchantress was far too cunning to see the mischief which her magic arts had since brought upon the gormandisers as for you yourself, valiant sir said Cersei judging by the dignity of your aspect I take you to be nothing less than a king dain to follow me and you shall be treated as befits your rank so Ulysses followed her into the oval saloon where his two and twenty comrades had devoured the banquet which ended so disastrously for themselves but all this while he had held the snow-white flower in his hand and had constantly smelt of it while Cersei was speaking and as he crossed the threshold of the saloon he took good care to inhale several long and deep snuffs of its fragrance instead of two and twenty thrones which had before been ranged around the wall there was now only a single throne in the centre of the apartment this was surely the most magnificent seat that ever a king or an emperor reposed himself upon all made of chased gold studied with precious stones with a cushion that looked like a soft heap of living roses and overhung by a canopy of sunlight which Cersei knew how to weave into drapery the enchantress took Ulysses by the hand and made him sit down upon this dazzling throne then clapping her hands she summoned the chief butler bring hither said she the goblet that is set apart for kings to drink out of and fill it with the same delicious wine which my royal brother King Aedes praised so highly when he last visited me with my fair daughter Medea that good and amiable child where she now here it would delight her to see me offering this wine to my honoured guest but Ulysses while the butler was gone for the wine held the snow white flower to his nose is it a wholesome wine he asked but this the four maidens tittered where upon the enchantress looked round at them with an aspect of severity it is the wholesomeest juice that ever was squeezed out of the grape said she for instead of disguising a man to do it brings him to his true self and shows him as he ought to be the chief butler liked nothing better than to see people turned into swine or making any kind of a beast of themselves so he made haste to bring the royal goblet filled with a liquid as bright as gold and which kept sparkling upward and throwing a sunny spray over the rim but delightfully as the wine looked the most potent enchantments that Cersei knew how to concoct for every drop of the pure grape juice there were two drops of the pure mischief and the danger of the thing was that the mischief made it taste all the better the mere smell of the bubbles which ever vessed at the brim was enough to turn a man's beard into paked bristles or to make a lion's claws grow out of his fingers and make a flash behind him drink my noble guest said Cersei smiling as she presented him with the goblet you will find in this draft a solace for all your troubles King Ulysses took the goblet with his right hand while with his left he held the snow white flower to his nostrils and drew in so long a breath that his lungs were quite filled with its pure and simple fragrance then drinking off all the wine he looked to the enchantress calmly in the face rich! cried Cersei giving him a smart stroke with her wand how dare you keep your human shape a moment longer take the form of the brute whom you most resemble if a hog go join your fellow swine in the sty if a lion a wolf, a tiger go howl with the wild beasts on the lawn if a fox go exercise your craft in stealing poultry that has quuffed off my wine and canst be man no longer but such was the virtue of the snow white flower instead of wallowing down from his throne in swineish shape or taking any other brutal form Ulysses looked even more manly and king like than before he gave the magic goblet a toss and sent it dashing over the marble floor to the farther end of the saloon then drawing his sword he seized the enchantress by her beautiful ringlets and made a gesture as if he meant to strike off her head at one blow wicked Cersei cried he in a terrible voice this sword shall put an end to thy enchantments thou shalt die vile witch and do no more mischief in the world putting human beings into the vices which make beasts of them the tone and countenance of Ulysses were so awful and his sword gleamed so brightly and seemed to have so intolerably keen an edge that Cersei was almost killed by the mere fright without waiting for a blow the chief butler scrambled out of the saloon picking up the golden goblet as he went and the enchantress and the four maidens fell on their knees with their hands and screaming for mercy spare me cried Cersei spare me royal and wise Ulysses for now I know that thou art he of whom quicksilver forewarned me the most prudent of mortals against whom no enchantments can prevail thou only couldst have conquered Cersei spare me wisest of men I will show thee true hospitality and even give myself to be thy slave and this magnificent palace to be henceforth thy home the four nymphs meanwhile were making a most piteous ado and especially the ocean nymph with the sea green hair wept a great deal of salt water and the fountain nymph besides scattering dewdrops from her fingers ends nearly melted away into tears but Ulysses would not be pacified until Cersei had taken a solemn oath to change back his companions and as many others as he should direct from their present forms of beast or bird into their former shapes of men on these conditions said he I consent to spare your life otherwise you must die upon the spot with a drawn sword hanging over her the enchantress would readily have consented to do as much good as she had hitherto done mischief however little she might like such employment she therefore led Ulysses out of the back entrance of the palace and showed him the swine in their stye there were about 50 of these unclean beasts in the whole herd and though the greater part were hogs by birth and education there was wonderfully little difference to be seen betwixt them and their new brethren who had so recently worn the human shape to speak critically indeed the latter rather carried the thing to excess and seemed to make it a point to wallow in the myriest part of the stye and otherwise to outdo the original swine in their own natural vocation when men once turned to brutes the trifle of man's weight that remains in them adds tenfold to their brutality the comrades of Ulysses however had not quite lost the remembrance of having formerly to direct when he approached the stye two and twenty enormous swine separated themselves from the herd and scampered towards him with such a chorus of horrible squealing as made him clap both hands to his ears and yet they did not seem to know what they wanted nor whether they were merely hungry or miserable from some other cause it was curious in the midst of their distress to observe them thrusting their noses into the mire in quest of something to eat the nymph with the bodice of oakenbark she was the hammer-dried of an oak through a handful of acorns among them and the two and twenty hogs scrambled and fought for the prize as if they had tasted not so much as a noggin of sour milk for a twelve month these must certainly be my comrades said Ulysses I recognise their dispositions they are hardly worth the trouble of changing them into the human form again nevertheless we will have it done lest their bad example should corrupt the other hogs let them take their original shapes therefore Dame Cersei if your skill is equal to the task it will require greater magic than it did to make swine of them so Cersei waved her wand again and repeated a few magic words at the sound of which the two and twenty hogs pricked up their pendulous ears it was a wonder to behold how their snouts grew shorter and shorter and their mouths which they seemed to be sorry for because they could not gobble so expeditiously smaller and smaller and how one and another began to stand upon his hind legs and scratch his nose with his four trotters at first the spectators hardly knew whether to call them hogs or men but by and by came to the conclusion that they rather resembled the latter finally there stood the 22 comrades of Ulysses looking pretty much the same as when they left the vessel you must not imagine however that the swine-ish quality had entirely gone out of them when once it fastens itself into a person's character it is very difficult getting rid of it this was proved by the Hammadryad who, being exceedingly fond of mischief, threw another handful of acorns before the 22 newly restored people whereupon down they wallowed in a moment and gobbled them up in a very shameful way then recollecting themselves they scrambled to their feet and looked more than commonly foolish thanks no Ulysses they cried from brood beasts you have restored us to the condition of men again do not put yourselves to the trouble of thanking me said the wise king I fear I have done but little for you to say the truth there was a suspicious kind of a grunt in their voices and for a long time afterwards they spoke gruffly and were apt to set up a squeal it must depend upon your own future behaviour whether you do not find your way back to this die at this moment we read from the branch of a neighbouring tree peep it was the purple bird who all this while had been sitting over their heads watching what was going forward and hoping that Ulysses would remember how he had done his utmost to keep him and his followers out of harm's way Ulysses ordered Cersei instantly to make a king of this good little fowl and leave him exactly as she found him hardly were the words spoken and the bird had time to utter another PEWIE King Picus leaped down from the bow of the tree as majestic a sovereign as any in the world dressed in a long purple robe and gorgeous yellow stockings with a splendidly wrought collar about his neck and a golden crown upon his head he and King Ulysses exchanged with one another the courtesies which belonged to their elevated rank but from that time forth Picus was no longer proud of his crown and his trappings of royalty nor of the fact of his being a king he felt himself merely the upper servant of his people and that it must be his lifelong labor to make them better and happier as for the lions tigers and wolves though Cersei would have restored them to their former shapes at his slightest word Ulysses thought it advisable that they should remain as they now were and thus give warning of their cruel dispositions instead of going about under the guise of men and pretending to human sympathies while their hearts had the bloodthirstiness of wild beasts so he let them howl as much as they liked but never troubled his head about them and when everything was settled according to his pleasure he sent to summon the remainder of his comrades whom he had left at the seashore these being arrived with the prudent Ulysses at their head they all made themselves comfortable in Cersei's enchanted palace until quite rested and refreshed from the toils and hardships of their voyage end of section 24 section 25 of the junior classics volume 3 Tales from Greece and Rome edited by William Patton 1868 to 1936 this LibriVox recording is in the public domain of the recording by Julian Hendry Ulysses and the Sirens by Sir George W. Cox when Ulysses and his men had left the island of the Lady Cersei a fresh breeze carried them merrily for several days over the sea but after that the wind sank down and there was a can the sails flapped against the mast and they had to take them down and to roll the ship on with their long orge the sun was shining hot and fierce and the men were very tired there was not even a ripple upon the sea and not a breath of air to cool their burning faces Ulysses remembered how the Lady Cersei had told him that he would have to pass near the Sirens island where the sea was always calm and how she had said that he must take care not to listen to the Sirens song if he did not wish his ship to be dashed to pieces on the rocks for all day long the Sirens lay on the seashore or swam about in the calm water singing so sweetly that no one who heard them could ever pass on without going to them and whoever went to them was killed upon the rocks for the Sirens were very beautiful and cruel and they sang their soft enticing song to draw the sailors into the shallow water that their ships might be broken by those terrible reefs which lay hidden beneath the calm sea when Cersei told Ulysses of the Sirens rocks she said that he must fill his sailors ears with wax that they might not hear the song and be drawn in upon those terrible reefs so as the sun shone down fiercely on their heads Ulysses thought they must be coming near to the island of the Sirens and he took a large lump of wax and pressed it in his fingers till the hot sun made it soft and sticky then he called the men and told them he must fill their ears with wax so they would not hear the song of the beautiful and cruel Sirens but Ulysses was a very strange man and liked to hear and see everything so he said that he must hear the song himself and that they must tie him to the mast for fear he should leap into the sea to swim to the Sirens land then he filled the sailors ears with wax so that they could hear nothing and they took a large rope and put it two or three times round the arms and waist of Ulysses and then they sat down again on their benches and began to roll the ship on as quickly as they could presently through the breathless air and over the still and sleeping sea there came a sound so sweet and soothing that Ulysses thought he could no longer be living on the earth softer and sweeter it swelled upon the ear and it seemed to speak to him of rest and peace although he could hear no words and he felt as if he could give up everything if only he might hear those sweet sounds forever so he made signs to the sailors to row on quicker but presently the song rose in the sultry air more sweet and gentle and enticing seemed to say oh tired and weary sailors why do you toil so hard to row your ship under this fierce hot sun come to us and sit among these cool rocks come and rest come and rest but he did not yet hear the words for they were still too far from the sirens rocks still nearer and nearer the sailors rode and now he heard the words of their song and he knew that they were speaking to himself for they said oh Ulysses man of many toils and long wanderings great glory of the Greeks come to us and listen to our song everyone who passes over the sea near our island stays to hear it and forgets all his labour and all his trouble and then goes away peaceful and happy come and rest Ulysses come and rest we know all the great deeds you have done at Troy and how you have been tossed by many storms and suffered many sorrows sailing on the wide sea but here the sea is always calm and the sun cannot scorch you in the cool and pleasant caves where you shall hear us sing then Ulysses cried out to the sailors let me go let me go they are calling me do you not hear and he struggled with all his might to break the cords that bound him but when they saw him trying to get free they went and tied stronger cords around his arms and waist and rode on quicker than ever and still Ulysses prayed them to set him free that he might leap into the sea and swim to the sirens caves I cannot stay he said they are calling me by my name their song rises sweeter and clearer than ever let us go let us go and again he heard them singing oh man of many toils we are waiting for you and will sing you to sleep and charm all your cares away forever but quicker and quicker the sailors rode on till at last they had passed the island and the sirens saw that Ulysses was going away but yet again they sighed come back Ulysses come back and rest in our cool green caves oh man of many griefs and wanderings but the sound of their sweet song was now faint before it reached the ship of Ulysses and he could only just hear them say will you leave us will you leave us ah Ulysses you do not know what you are losing come to our cool green caves we are waiting but the power of the sirens song grew weaker as the ship went further away and Ulysses began to think how foolish and silly he had been he could not hear any more the words of the song as they called him by his name but still he half wished to go back to the sirens land well yet he heard the sound of their singing as it came faint and weak through the hot and breathless air so it was all ended the sky was still the waves were all asleep the clouds looked down drowsily on the water and Ulysses thought that he could die he was so tired and spent with struggling so when the sailors saw that Ulysses did not struggle any more they went and set him free and took the wax out of their ears and Ulysses said oh friends it is better not to hear the sirens song but two or three of us had heard it we should have gone to them and our ship would have been sunk in their green caves and they said it is indeed better not to hear it you are so busy listening to their song that you could not see what we saw all the way as we passed by the island logs of wood and bits of masts were floating on the water and these must have been pieces from ships which have been broken by the rocks because the sailors heard the sirens song end of section 25 section 26 of the junior classics volume 3 tells from Greece and Rome edited by William Patton 1868 to 1936 this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Gillian Hendry Nosica rescues Ulysses Bridgete Church the king of Asia was Alcinois and he had five sons and one daughter Nosica to her where she slept with her two maidens by her the goddess Minerva went taking the shape of her friend the daughter of Dumas and said why hath thy mother so idle a daughter Nosica though thy garments lie unwashed and thy wedding must be near saying that many nobles in the land ask then thy father that he give thee the wagon with the mules for the laundries are far from the city and I will go with thee and when the morning was come Nosica awoke marvelling at the dream and went seeking her parents her mother she found busy with her maidens at the loom and her father she met as he was going to the council with the chiefs of the land then she said give me father the wagon with the mules that I may take the garments to the river to wash them thou shouldst always have clean robes when thou goest to the council and there are my five brothers also who love to have newly washed garments at the dance but of her own marriage she said nothing and her father knowing her thoughts said it is well the men shall harness the wagon for thee so they put the clothing into the wagon and her mother put also food and wine and olive oil also with she and her maidens might anoint themselves after the bath so they climbed into the wagon and went to the river and there they washed the clothing and spread it out to dry on the rocks by the sea and after that they had bathed and anointed themselves they sat down to eat and drink by the riverside and after the meal they played at ball singing as they played and Nosica led the song but when they had nearly ended their play the princess throwing the ball to one of her maidens cast it so wide that it fell into the river whereupon they all cried aloud and eulises awoke and he said to himself what is this land to which I have come are they that dwell therein fierce or kind to strangers just now I seem to hear the voice of nymphs or am I near the dwellings of men then he twisted leaves about his loins and rose up and went towards the maidens who indeed were frighted to see him for he was wild of aspect and fled hither and thither but Nosica stood and fled not then eulises thought within himself should he go near and clasp her knees or less happily this should anger her should he stand and speak and this he did saying I am thy suppliant oakween whether thou art a goddess I know not but if thou art a mortal happy thy father and mother and happy thy brothers and happiest of all he who shall win thee in marriage never have I seen man or women so fair thou art like a young palm tree that but lately I saw in Delos springing by the temple of the god but as for me I have been cast on this shore having come from the island of Odisha so lead me to the city and give me something a wrapper of this linen maybe to put about me so may the gods give thee all blessings and Nosica made answer thou seem as stranger to be neither evil nor foolish and as for thy plight the gods give good fortune or bad as they will thou shalt not lack clothing or food or anything that a suppliant should have and I will take thee to the city know also that this land is Faesia and that I am daughter to Elsinus who is king thereof then she called to her maidens what we need to flee when you see a man no enemy comes hither to Harmas for we are dear to the gods but if one cometh here overborn by trouble it is well to succor him give this man therefore food and drink and let him wash himself in the river where there is a shelter from the wind so they brought him down to the river and gave him a tunic and a cloak to clothe himself and also olive oil in a flask of gold then at his bidding they departed a little space and he washed the salt from his skin and out of his hair and anointed himself and put on the clothing and Minerva made him taller and fairer to see and caused the hair to be thick on his head in colour as a hyacinth then he sat down on the seashore right beautiful to behold and the maidens said not without some bidding of the gods comes this man to our land before indeed I deemed him uncombly but now he seems like to the gods I should be well content to have such a man for a husband and maybe he might be willing to abide in this land give him you maidens food and drink so they gave him and he ate ravenously having fasted long then Nozika bad yoke the mules and said to you the seas follow thou with the maidens and I will lead the way in the wagon for I would not that the people should speak lightly of me I doubt not that where thou with me some one of the basersort would say who is this stranger tall and fair that cometh with Nozika will he be her husband perchance it is some god far away for of us men of Asia she thinks scorn it would be shame that such words should be spoken do thou then follow behind and when we are come to the city tarry in a poplar grove that thou shall see to the grove of Minerva till I shall have come to my father's house then follow and for the house that anyone even a child can surely for the other fations dwell not in such and when thou art come within the doors pass quickly through the hall to where my mother sits close to the hearth is her seat and my father's hard by where he sits with the wine cup in his hand as a god pass him by and lay hold of her knees and pray her that she give thee safe return to thy country it was evening when they came to the city and Nozika drove the wagon to the palace and carried in the clothing then she went to her chamber where Urimedusa who was her nurse lighted a fire and prepared a meal meanwhile Ulysses came from the grove and lest anyone should see him Minerva spread a mist about him and when he had now reached the city she took the shape of a young maiden carrying a picture and met him then Ulysses asked her my child can't thou tell me where dwells Alcinois or I am a stranger in this place and she answered I will show thee for indeed he dwells nigh to my own father but be thou silent for we fations love not strangers over much then she led him to the palace a wondrous place it was with walls of brass and doors of gold hanging on posts of silver and on either side of the door were dogs of gold and silver the work of Vulcan and against the wall all along from the threshold to the inner chamber were set seats on which sat the chiefs of the fations feasting and youths wrought in gold stood holding torches in their hands to give light in the darkness fifty women were in the house grinding corn and weaving robes for the women of the land are no less skilled to weave than are the men to sail the sea and round about the house where gardens were beautiful with orchards of fig and apple and pear and pomegranate and olive drought hurts them not nor frost and harvest comes after harvest without ceasing also there was a vineyard and some of the grapes were parching in the sun and some were being gathered and some again were but just turning red and there were beds of all manner of flowers and in the midst of all were two fountains which never failed these things Ulysses regarded for a space and then passed into the hall quickly he passed and put his hands on the knees of Arity and said and as he spoke the mist cleared from about him and all that were in the hall beheld him I have a suppliant to thee and to thy husband and to thy guests the gods bless thee and them and grant you to live in peace and that your children should come peacefully after you do you send me home to my native country and he sat down in the ashes of the hearth then for a space all were silent but at the last speak Echinnaeus who was the oldest man in the land King Elsinus this ill becomes you that this man should sit in the ashes of the hearth raise him and bid him sit upon a seat and let us pour out to Father Jupiter who is the friend of suppliants let the keeper of the house give him meat and drink and Elsinus did so bidding his eldest born Laodomus rise from his seat and an attendant poured water on his hands and the keeper of the house gave him meat and drink then when all had poured out to Father Jupiter King Elsinus said that they would take council on the morrow about sending this stranger to his home and they answered that it should be so and each one said to his home only Ulysses was left in the hall and Elsinus and Arete with him and Arete saw his cloak and chinic that she and her maidens had made them and said let's art thou stranger and who gave thee these garments so Ulysses told her how he had come from the island of Calypso and what he had suffered and how Nozika had found him on the shore and had guided him to the city but Elsinus had blamed the maiden that she had not herself brought him to the house for thou was her suppliant he said nay said Ulysses she would have brought me but I would not fearing thy wrath for he would not have the maiden blamed then said Elsinus I am not one to be angered for such cause gladly would I have such a one as thou art to be my son in law and I would give him house and wealth but no one would I stay against his will and as for sending thee to thy home that is easy for thou shall sleep and they shall take thee meanwhile and after this they slept and the next day the king called the chiefs to an assembly and told them of his purpose that he would send this stranger to his home for that it was their want to show such kindness to such as needed and he bad fifty and two younger men make ready a ship and that the elders should come to his house and bring Demodocus the minstrel with them for he was minded to make a great feast for this stranger before he departed so the youths made ready the ship and afterwards there were gathered together a great multitude so that the palace was filled from the one end to the other and Elsinus slew for them twelve sheep and eight swine and two oxen and when they had feasted to the full the minstrel sang to them of how Achilles and Ulysses had striven together with feared words at a feast and how king Agamemnon was glad seeing that so the prophecy of Apollo was fulfilled saying that when Valar and Council should fall out the end of Troy should come but when Ulysses heard the song he wept holding his mantle before his face this Elsinus perceived and said to the chiefs now that we have feasted and delighted ourselves with song let us go forth that the stranger may see that we are skillful in boxing and wrestling and running so they went forth a herald leading Demodocus by the hand for the minstrel was blind then stood up many facing youths and the fairest and strongest of them all was Laodomus eldest son to the king and after them Uralis and next they ran a race and Clutonius was the swiftest and among the wrestlers Uralis was the best and of the boxers Laodomus and in throwing the quite Eletrius excelled and in leaping at the bar Amphialis then Laodomus said to Ulysses Father wilt thou not try thy skill in some game and put away the trouble from thy heart but Ulysses answered why askest thou this I think of my troubles rather than of sport and sit among you caring only that I may see again my home then said Uralis and in very true stranger thou hast not the look of a wrestler or boxer rather would one judge thee to be some trader who sails over the sea for gain nay answered Ulysses this is ill said so true is it that the gods give not all gifts to all men beauty to one and sweet speech to another fair of form art thou no god could better thee but thou speakest idle words I am not unskilled in these things but stood among the first in the old days but since have I suffered much in battle and shipwreck yet will I make trial of my strength for thy words have angered me whereupon he took a quite heavier far than such as the fations were want to throw and sent it with a whirl it hurtled through the air so that the brave fations crouched to the ground in fear and it fell far beyond all the rest then said Ulysses come now I will contend in wrestling or boxing or even in the race with any man in fascia save Leodomus only for he is my friend I can shoot with the bow and I can cast a spear as far as other men can shoot an arrow but as for the race it may be that someone might outrun me for I have suffered much on the sea but they all were silent till the king stood up and said thou has spoken well but we men of fascia are not mighty to wrestle or to box only we are swift of foot and skillful to sail upon the sea and we love feasts and dances and the harp and gay clothing and the bath in these things no man race or passes then the king bad Demodocus the minstrel sing again and when he had done so the king's two sons, Aelius and Leodomus danced together and afterwards they played with the ball throwing it into the air cloud high and catching it right skillfully and afterwards the king said let us each give this stranger a mantle and a tunic and a talent of gold and let Uralus make his peace with words and with a gift and they all said that it should be so also Uralus gave Ulysses a sword with a hilt of silver and a scabbard of ivory and after this Ulysses went to the bath and then they all sat down to the feast but as he went to the hall Nosica, fair as a goddess met him and said here thou wilt remember me in thy native country for thou oest me thanks for thy life and he answered every day in my native country will I remember thee, for indeed fair maiden thou didst save my life and when they were set down to the feast Ulysses sent a portion of the meat which the king had caused to be set before him to the minstrel Demodocus with a message that he should sing to them of the hort of wood which Epeus made Minerva helping him and how Ulysses brought it into Troy full of men of war who should destroy the city then the minstrel sang how that some of the Greeks sailed away having set fire to their tents and some hid themselves in the hort with Ulysses and how the men of Troy sat around taking counsel what they should do with it and some judged that they should rip it open and some that they should throw it from the hilltop and others again that they should leave it to be a peace offering to the gods and how the Greeks issued forth from their lurking place and spoiled the city and how Ulysses and Menelaus went to the house of the Epebus so he sang and Ulysses wept to hear the tale and when Alcinois perceived that he wept he bathed Demodocus cease from his song for some that were there liked it not and to Ulysses he said that he should tell them who was his father and his mother and from what land he came and what was his name all these things Ulysses told them and all that he had done and suffered down to the time when the princess Nosica found him on the river shore and when he had ended King Alcinois bad that the princess should give Ulysses yet other gifts and after that they went each man to his house to sleep the next day King Alcinois put all the gifts into the ship and when the evening was come Ulysses bad farewell to the king and to the queen and departed end of section 26 section 27 of the junior classics volume 3 tells from Greece and Rome edited by William Patton 1868 to 1936 this Librivox recording is in the public domain by Julian Hendry Ulysses and the Swineherd by Alfred J. Church now Ulysses slept while the ship was sailing to Ithaca and when it was come to the shore he yet slept wherefore the men lifted him out and put him on the shore with all his goods and so left him after a while he awoke and knew not the land for there was a great mist about him Minerva having contrived that it should be so for good ends as will be seen very wroth was he with the men of Ithaca thinking that they had cheated him nor did it comfort him when he counted his goods to find that of these he had lost nothing but as he walked by the sea lamenting his fate Minerva met him having the shape of a young shepherd and Ulysses when he saw him was glad and asked him the men called the country wherein he was and the false shepherd said they weren't foolish or maybe has come from very far not to know this country rocky it is not fit for horses nor is it very broad but it is fertile land and full of wine nor does it want for rain and a good pasture it is for oxen and goats and men call it Ithaca and very far they say from this land of Greece men have heard of Ithaca this Ulysses was right glad to hear yet he was not minded to say who he was but rather to make up a tale so he said yes of a truth I heard of this Ithaca in Crete from which I am newly come with all this wealth leaving also as much behind for my children but they should take me to Pylos or to Elis which thing indeed they were minded to do only the wind drove them hither and while I slept they put me upon the shore and departed to Sidon this pleased Minerva much and she changed her shape becoming like a woman tall and fair and said to Ulysses right cunning would he be who would cheat thee saying words and deceits but let these things be for thou art the wisest of mortal men and I excel among the gods in council I am Minerva daughter of Jupiter whom ever want to stand by thee and help thee and now we will hide these possessions offline and thou must be silent nor tell to anyone who thou art and endure many things and lie on again but still Ulysses doubted and would have the goddess tell him whether of a truth he had come back to his native land and she commending his prudence scattered the mist that was about him then Ulysses knew the land and kissed the ground and prayed to the nymphs that they would be favourable to him and after this Minerva guiding him he hid away his possessions in a cave in the great stone on the mouth then the two took council together and Minerva said think, man of many devices how thou wilt lay hands on these men, suitors of thy wife who for three years have sat in thy house devouring thy substance she hath answered them craftily making many promises but still hoping for thy coming then Ulysses said truly I had perished even as Agamemnon perished but for thee but do thou help me as of old in Troy for with thee at my side I would fight with three hundred men then said Minerva lo, I will cause that no man shall know thee the suitors shall take no account of thee neither shall thy wife nor thy son know thee but go to the swine herd Umyss where he dwells by the mountain for he is faithful to thee and to thy house and I will hasten to Sparta to the house of Menileus to fetch Tellimachus thy son for he went thither seeking news of thee then Minerva changed him into the shape of a beggar man she caused his skin to wither and his hair to fall off and his eyes to grow dim and put on him filthy rags with a great stag's hide about his shoulders and a hand a staff and a wallet on his shoulder fastened by a rope then she departed and Ulysses went to the house of Umyss the swine herd a great courtyard there was and twelve sties for the sows and four watchdogs big as wild beasts for such did the swine herd breed he himself was shaping sandals and of his men three were with the swine in the fields and one was driving a fat beast to be meet for the suitors when Ulysses came near the dogs ran upon him but the swine herd ran forth and drove away the dogs and brought the old man in and gave him a seat of brushwood with a great goat skin over it the two talked of matters in Ithaca and Umyss told how the suitors of the queen were devouring the substance of Ulysses then the false beggar asked him of the king who had travelled far he might know such a one but Umyss said nay old man thus do all wayfarer talk yet we hear no truth from them not a vagabond fellow comes to this island but our queen must see him and ask him many things weeping the while and thou I doubt not for a cloak or a tunic would tell a wondrous tale but Ulysses I know is dead but we hear devour him or the fishes of the sea and when the false beggar would have comforted him saying he knew of a truth that Ulysses would yet return he hearkened not moreover he prophesied evil for Telemachos also who had gone to seek news of his father but would surely be slain by the suitors who were even now lying and wait for him as he should return and after this whence he had come then Ulysses answered him craftily inventing another story after this they talked much and when the swine herds men were returned they all feasted together and the night being cold and there being much rain Ulysses was minded to see whether one would lend him a cloak wherefore he told this tale once upon a time there was laid an ambush near to the city of Troy and Ulysses and I were the leaders of it in the reeds we sat and the night was cold and the snow lay upon our shields now all the others had cloaks but I had left mine behind at the ships so when the night was three parts spent I spoke to Ulysses here am I without a cloak soon me thinks shall I perish with the cold soon did he bethink him of a remedy for he was ever ready with counsel therefore to me he said hush let someone hear thee and to the others I have been warned in a dream we are very far from the ships and in peril wherefore let someone run to the ships to King Agamemnon that he send more men to help then Thoas, son of Andremon rose up and ran casting off his cloak and this I took and slept warmly therein where I this night such as then I was I should not lack such kindness even now then said Umyas this is well spoken old man thou shalt have a cloak to cover thee but in the morning thou must put on thy own rags again yet perchance when the son of Ulysses shall come he will give thee new garments after this they slept but Umyas tired without watch over the swine end of section 27 section 28 of the junior classics volume 3 Tales from Greece and Rome edited by William Patton 1868 to 1936 this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Gillian Hendry The Return of Telemachus by Alfred J. Church now all this time Telemachus tarried in Sparta with King Menelaus to him went Minerva and warned him that he should return to his home also she warned him that the suitors had laid an ambush to slay him in the strait between Samos and Ithaca and that he should keep clear of the island and as soon as ever he came near to Ithaca he should land and go to the swine herd Umyas and send him to his mother being safely arrived then they departed and when they were come to Ithaca Telemachus bad the men take the ship to the city saying that he was minded to see his farms but that in the evening he would come to the city but Telemachus went to the dwelling of the swine herd Umyas and Ulysees heard the steps of a man and as the dogs barked not said to Umyas low there comes some comrade or friend for the dogs barked not and as he speak Telemachus stood in the doorway and the swine herd let fall from his hand the bowl in which he was mixing wine and ran to him and kissed his head and his eyes and his hands as a father kisses his only son coming back to him from a far country after ten years so did the swine herd kiss Telemachus and when Telemachus came in the false beggar rose and would have given place to him but Telemachus suffered him not and when they had eaten and drunk Telemachus asked of the swine herd who this stranger might be then the swine herd told him as he had heard and afterwards said I hand him to thee he is thy suppliant do as thou wilt but Telemachus answered nay Umyas for am I master in my house do not the suitors devour it I will give this stranger indeed food and clothing and a sword and will send him whithersoever he will but I would not that he should go among the suitors so haughty are they and violent then said Ulysses but why does thou bear with these men do the people hate thee that thou canst not avenge thyself on them do not Kinsmen to help thee as for me I would rather die than see such shameful things done in house of mine and Telemachus answered my people hate me not but as for Kinsmen I have none for Ulysses had no other son but me therefore do these men spoil my substance and it may be will take my life also these things however the gods will order but do thou Ulysses go to Penelope and tell her that I am returned but let no man know thereof for there are that counsel evil against me but I will stay here meanwhile so Ulysses departed but when he had gone Minerva came like a woman tall and fair but Telemachus saw her not for it is not given to all to see mortal gods but Ulysses saw her and the dogs saw her and whimpered for fear she signed to Ulysses and he went forth and she said hide not the matter from thy son but plan with him how ye may slay the sooters and lo I am with you then she made his garments white and fair and his body lusty and strong and his face swarthy and his beard black and when he was returned to the house Telemachus marveled to see him and said thou art not what thou wast surely thou art some god from heaven but Ulysses made reply no god am I only thy father whom thou hast so desired to see and when Telemachus yet doubted Ulysses told him how Minerva had so changed him then Telemachus threw his arms about him weeping and both whipped together for a while and afterwards Telemachus asked him of his coming back and Ulysses when he had told him of this asked him how many were the sooters and whether they too could fight with them alone then said Telemachus thou art I know a great warrior my father and a wise but this thing we cannot do for these men are not ten, no nor twice ten but from Delichium come fifty and two and from Samus four and twenty and from Zachinthus twenty and from Ithaca twelve and they have mead on the herald and a minstrel also and attendants then said Ulysses go thou home in the morning and mingle with the sooters and I will come as an old beggar and if they treat me shamefully endure it yea if they drag me to the door heed this also when I give thee the token take all the arms from the dwelling and hide them in thy chamber and when they shall ask thee why thou doest thus say thou takeest them out of the smoke for they are not such as Ulysses left behind him when he went to Troy but that the smoke had soiled them two swords and two spears and two shields these shall be for thee and me only let no one know of my coming back not laertes nor the swineherd no nor Pranellope herself after a while the swineherd came back from the city having carried his tidings to the queen and this she also had heard from the sailors of the ships and the sooters were in great wrath and fear because their purpose had failed and also because Pranellope the queen knew what they had been minded to do and hated them because of it End of section 28