Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 5.djvu/29

ULYSSES 9 for the rest they needed, Ulysses sailed in his own ship, exploring. He soon found himself in a beautiful country, where were seen vast herds of sheep and goats, but no people. Landing with his men, they explored it and found great caves full of milk and cheese, but still no people, only a huge giant in the dis- tance. So sitting down in one of the caves they feasted merrily and awaited the return of the inhabitants. Now these inhabitants were giants, such as the one they had seen. They were called Cycjops, and had only one great eye in the middle of the forehead. The Cyclops who owned the cave in which the adventurers were was a particularly large and savage one named Polyphemus. When he returned at night and saw the men within, he immediately seized two of them, cracked their heads together, and ate them for supper. Then he went to bed. Ulysses and his terrified men iwould have slain the huge creature as he slept ; but he had rolled a great stone in front of the door, and they could not possibly move it to escape. In the morn- ing the monster ate two more of the unfortunates and then went off with his flocks, fastening the door as before. In the evening he ate two more. By this time the crafty Ulysses, as Homer delights to call him, had perfected his plans. He offered Polyphemus some wine, which so delighted him that he asked the giver his name, and said he had it in mind to do him a kindness. The crafty one told him his name was No-man. Then said the ogre, " This shall be your reward, I will eat No-man the last of you all." Then, heavy with the wine, he fell into a deep sleep. The tiny weapons of the wanderers would have been of little effect against this man-mountain, so taking a great pole, they heated it red-hot in the fire, and all together plunged it into his one great eye, blinding him. Up he jumped, roaring and howling horribly, and groping in the dark to find his prisoners ; but they easily avoided him. Then came other Cyclops run- ning at the noise from their distant caves, and called to him, " Who has hurt thee, Polyphemus ? " He answered them, " No-man has hurt me, No-man has blinded me." Then they said, " If no man has hurt thee, thy trouble is from the gods, and we may not interfere. Bear it patiently, and pray to them." In the morning Polyphemus opened the door, and sitting in it, let his sheep pass out, feeling each one, so that the Greeks might not escape. But the crafty one fastened himself and his remaining comrades under the breasts of the largest sheep, and so, hidden by the wool, escaped unnoticed. They hurried to their ship and put out to sea. And now feeling safe, Ulysses shouted to the blind mon- ster and taunted him, whereon, rushing to the shore, Polyphemus lifted up a vast rock and hurled it toward the sound he heard. It almost struck the vessel, and its waves swept the little craft back to the land. In great haste they shoved off again, and when they felt safe, shouted at him once more. He followed them, hurling rocks, but now they were beyond his reach and returned safely to their companions. Next the wanderers reached the island of ^Eolus, who controls the winds. He received them with royal hospitality, pointed out to them their proper course to