"
And as he spake he fell back in a drunken sleep. Then Ulysses bade his
comrades be of good courage, for the time was come when they should be
delivered. And they thrust the stake of olive wood into the fire till it
was ready, green as it was, to burst into flame, and they thrust it into
the monster's eye; for he had but one eye, and that in the midst of his
forehead, with the eyebrow below it. And Ulysses leant with all his
force upon the stake, and thrust it in with might and main. And the
burning wood hissed in the eye, just as the red-hot iron hisses in the
water when a man seeks to temper steel for a sword.
Then the giant leapt up, and tore away the stake, and cried aloud, so
that all the Cyclopes who dwelt on the mountain side heard him and came
about his cave, asking him, "What aileth thee, Polyphemus, that thou
makest this uproar in the peaceful night, driving away sleep? Is any one
robbing thee of thy sheep, or seeking to slay thee by craft or force?"
And the giant answered, "No Man slays me by craft."
"Nay, but," they said, "if no man does thee wrong, we cannot help thee.
The sickness which great Zeus may send, who can avoid? Pray to our
father, Poseidon, for help."
Then they departed; and Ulysses was glad at heart for the good success
of his device, when he said that he was No Man.
But the Cyclops rolled away the great stone from the door of the cave,
and sat in the midst stretching out his hands, to feel whether perchance
the men within the cave would seek to go out among the sheep.
Pages:
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273