Free Argos by Ralph Hardy Page A

all to her citadel.”
    The men did as my master ordered, except for Eurylochos, who addressed the men thus: “Poor wretches! Where are you going? Why do you seek evil in Circe’s palace? She will turn us all into swine or wolves or lions so that we can guard her great house.”
    My master, upon hearing this, nearly drew his sword, but instead his men obeyed him and not Eurylochos. When they had finished their tasks, they left Eurylochos alone by the hollow ship, but he soon followed after.
    When they reached Circe’s hall, she bathed them all with loving care, anointed them with oil and put about them mantles of fleece and tunics. Then when they entered the room where the rest of their companions were feasting, they burst into tears, so happy were they to be together again. But Circe said, “Cry not, for I know of your suffering on the sea and the damage done to you on land. Eat your food and drink your wine until the spirit returns to your chests.”
    â€œFair Circe will nourish them, will she not?” I ask the mountain sparrow when he says this.
    â€œAye, Boar Slayer. She knows herbs and potions that will restore your master’s men, it is true.”
    The mountain sparrow says nothing for many minutes. Never have I known a sparrow to not chirp incessantly until this one. I watch as he hops onto another rail, in the shadow of a branch, and the golden light no longer shines on him. Hermes has gone, but there is more I must know.
    â€œTell me, bravest of birds. When will they leave Aiaia? What is the rest of Hermes’s message?”
    â€œWhat message do you speak of, strange dog?” the sparrow asks, and he begins to fly away.
    â€œMountain sparrow!” I snap.
    He pauses midflight.
    â€œI know where there are fields of grasshoppers waiting for your sharp beak,” I say, hoping he will stay longer. “But you must first return to that rail yonder and finish your tale.”
    After a few moments the sparrow returns to the rail and the light reappears.
    â€œThey may never leave that island, Argos,” the sparrow says finally. “Circe’s potions will cure their bodies, but steal their minds. Already they have forgotten their homeland. Some do not even remember their names. You should forget them too. Even your master, Odysseus. That is Hermes’ message to you.Now, where are those grasshoppers?”
    â€œThree stadia over to the west is a newly threshed field,” I whimper. “You will find them there.”
    â€œI thank thee, Aptos,” he says, and flies away.
    Now I stand on my hind legs and place my paws on the rail where the golden light had shown, hoping that Hermes has more to say, but alas, the light is long gone, and I am alone.

CHAPTER XIII
Telemachos learns to hunt
    A t first I did not believe the mountain sparrow, but as the days pass and no black ship is sighted at the harbor, I begin to fear the worst. Odysseus, sacker of cities, would not forget his homeland, his beloved wife, his valiant son, and his loyal dog unless a goddess had emptied his mind.
    My mistress Penelope weeps every night by the sea. When the suitors leave, she takes her torch, and she and I climb down the narrow trail to the rocky beach, and she lays her hand on my shoulder and cries to the gods for the return of my master. Great is her despair and terrible are her lamentations. Most nights she holds the torch up as high as she can, waving it in great arcs above her head, as if my master’s sleek black ship is bearing toward us, and the lookouts, perched high on themast, on seeing the torch, will guide the black ship safely home to Ithaka. The ship never arrives.
    Then, when the torch is nearly extinguished, I guide my mistress back to our house, walking slowly so she doesn’t stumble along the path. At the door I step aside and let her enter, while I begin another night of sentinel duty, patrolling the sheep pens, guarding them from the mountain