Myths And Legends 5 By English Author S D HUDSON

Myths and Legends are ancient tales of intrigue and fantasy, with an emphasis on the Gods and their battles and challenges in history. In these gently read stories, we escape into a time long past. Rewritten and Performed by English author S D HUDSON

Transcript

Hello.

This is SD Hudson.

Welcome to my story series,

Myths and Legends.

Are you ready?

Then sit back,

Relax and listen as I transport you back to another time and another place.

The Adventures of Odysseus.

The war was over at last and after ten long years the soldiers who had fought it could sail home.

Among them was Odysseus,

King of Ithaca.

His men rode him out to sea on their ship the Odyssey,

Leaving the battlefields far behind them.

It was a glorious day and a beautiful boat,

But there was little room aboard for food and water.

Some huge jugs of wine stood in the prowl though,

They had been taken from the defeated enemy.

It was delicious wine,

Well known for its potency.

The first time they tasted it,

Odysseus's men fell asleep over their oars.

It's a little bit too strong,

Odysseus decided,

I shouldn't have let them drink so much.

And all at once a storm overtook them and blew them off course to an island goodness knows where.

Wake up men,

Wake up,

Odysseus cried.

We have arrived at a new island.

I'm sure those caves up there must be inhabited.

Let's climb up and ask for directions and something to eat.

I'm starving.

But make sure to leave your swords here and bring a jug of wine,

Then they know we are friendly.

The first cave they came to was huge and smelled of cheese,

But nobody was about.

A fire was burning in one corner,

So the soldiers sat down and waited.

Soon they heard a clatter of hooves on the cliff path.

It was the island shepherd,

He was driving his flock home from the fields to the caves.

Then all of a sudden many sheep entered the cave as big as cows with fleeces like snow drifts.

But although they were big,

The shepherd was even bigger still.

He made the men look tiny,

He was so huge,

As big as the wooden horse of Troy perhaps,

And his hair,

His hair hung down like creepers all around his body.

He had a single eye in the middle of his forehead and it winked as Odysseus and his men looked at him.

Supper,

He roared in delight,

Looking at the men,

And Odysseus realized in horror he meant them,

He was going to eat them.

They tried to get away,

But the shepherd rolled a massive boulder across the mouth of the cave before picking up a man in each paw and gobbling them down,

Making sure to spit out their belts and their sandals.

Sir we came to you in peace cried Odysseus,

How dare you eat my men?

At this point he was more angry than afraid for he needed his men to row the boat.

I eat what I want,

Said the Cyclops,

And who are you to be speaking to me that way?

Odysseus went to say his name,

Then thought better of it.

I am called no one,

He said,

And I demand that you let us go.

I was a fool for thinking I should bring a present to someone like you.

Present?

Said the Cyclops,

Where?

You have a present for me,

Give it to me then,

Give it to me.

I won't eat you if you give me a present.

Odysseus was pleased at himself for having thought so quickly.

Then he pulled from behind his back the jug of wine.

That will do,

He said to himself.

The Cyclops was pleased.

He chewed off the seal and gulped down the wine all in one go,

Then he smacked his lips in delight.

Good stuff?

Very good stuff,

No one?

Thank you.

So you'll roll back the boulder then and let us go?

Said Odysseus.

Oh,

I wouldn't say that,

Slurred the Cyclops.

He was beginning to fall about,

Though wine was doing its thing.

I won't eat you till morning,

He said.

Towards dawn,

The sailors heated the point of the shepherd's crook until it was red hot in the fire.

Then they gave it to Odysseus.

Charge!

He called and plunged the red hot point right into the Cyclops's one horrible eye.

The Cyclops woke up with a scream and this brought his fellow giants running to help him.

What's wrong?

What's wrong with you,

Cyclops?

They called from outside the cave.

Is there anyone in there with you?

No one's in here with me,

Groaned the Cyclops.

Are you hurt then?

They cried.

No one has hurt me,

Bellowed the Cyclops.

Oh,

Good,

Good,

Said the giants and plodded back to their caves.

They didn't realize the Cyclops had been talking about Odysseus all along.

Perhaps he's had a nightmare,

They said to themselves.

The Cyclops groped about blindly.

You tricked me,

He said to Odysseus,

But trickery won't save you this time.

You and your men will never leave this cave alive.

Then he rolled the boulder aside so that the mouth of the cave was open and his sheep could run out to the fields and feed.

But the Cyclops himself sat in the doorway,

His hands spread,

Ready to catch Odysseus and any of his men who dared to try and escape.

But Odysseus was quick thinking and told his men to cling on under the huge woolly sheep so that the Cyclops wouldn't feel them.

The Cyclops stroked each fleece as it came by him,

But he did not feel any of the men hanging on underneath.

So Odysseus and his crew escaped.

And as their ship sailed away,

Odysseus called,

Know this Cyclops,

I,

The hero Odysseus,

I was the one who blinded you,

Remember my name.

In fury the Cyclops picked up boulders and hurled them down onto the ship hoping to sink it and terrified Odysseus sailed away as fast as he could.

But the Cyclops had not finished yet.

I am the son of Poseidon the Sea God,

He said,

And I call on my father to destroy you.

Deep in the ocean Poseidon heard his son's voice and his angry storms drove the Odyssey even further off course to a beautiful island carpeted with flowers.

There a house stood on the beach and the crew of the Odyssey ran up to it.

A woman welcomed them inside but for some reason Odysseus hung back.

Only after the door was closed did he peep in at the window.

Each sailor was brought bread,

Honey and wine and the woman carried a golden wand as she circled the table rubbing it across their heads.

One by one the men began to change,

Their faces grew whiskery,

Their noses grew flat and they dropped the bowls they were given for their hands were changing into bony hooves.

Then they rolled out of their chairs onto the ground,

They had been turned into pigs.

The wicked woman laughed and drove them out of the back door and into her sties where the other pig squealed miserably.

Odysseus searched among the flowers and he stooped down to pick one particularly tiny white flower.

He put it into his mouth and went boldly up to the house.

Come in,

So happy to see you said the woman inside,

Her voice as sweet as her face.

Then she did the same,

She brought Odysseus bread,

Honey and wine and he ate the bread and honey and drank the wine.

The woman stood behind him and wrapped him with her golden wand.

Now get to the stye with the rest of the pigs,

She cried but Odysseus was too quick witted for her.

This flower is proof against magic potions he said,

Showing her the white flower in his mouth.

The woman struck him again but her charms were powerless.

Odysseus she said,

She knew his name and that startled him.

A fortune teller once foretold I would be out tricked by Odysseus,

King of Ithaca.

That must be you.

I lay my magic and my heart at your feet.

Just turn those pigs back into my men said Odysseus.

So the woman ran,

Thrust her golden wand into each pig's ear and in moments he had his men back with him again,

Shivering on hands and knees.

Now will you love me said the woman.

No said Odysseus,

My wife Penelope is waiting for me at home.

It was one whole year he remained on the island before he went home.

This is such a dangerous voyage the woman sobbed,

You must pass the singing sirens and the whirlpool.

I'll tell you what to do so you'll be safe.

So she told Odysseus and his men to plug their ears with wax so as not to hear the songs of the sirens.

But Odysseus was curious,

He wanted to hear those famous singers that everyone had spoken of.

He set sail with his men and told them to rope him to the mast.

I do not want to plug my ears he said to himself,

I must hear their sweet song.

Then as the last knot of the rope was tied,

Some music came floating across the ocean.

These sirens aren't hideous at all thought Odysseus.

This song is beautiful untie me men and let me swim over and speak to the sirens.

But his men did not hear him.

The siren's singing grew sweeter still and his loveliness almost broke Odysseus' heart.

Untie me he cried,

You go on sailing if you like but I will stay.

These ladies are calling me let me go.

But his men did not hear him.

And as the boat sailed away from the island the singing grew softer.

Odysseus spoke to his men.

Did you not hear that beautiful song he said?

No they said,

We saw vultures with women's heads perched on a rock and the bones of a thousand dead sailors.

Odysseus could not believe it.

The woman at the island had told the truth after all.

But there was another danger still.

The whirlpool.

It was a great sucking mouth in the face of the ocean and it lay in the shadow of a cliff.

Twice a day it sucked in everything within seven miles and twice a day it spewed out the wreckage.

So Odysseus made sure him and his men raced past the whirlpool at the safest time of day to come to no harm at all.

But Poseidon's revenge was not over.

His son the Cyclops had told him what Odysseus had done.

So his storm horses drove the Odyssey back,

Back,

Back towards the terrible gaping mouth that was the whirlpool.

Then the soldiers just had time to say goodbye to each other before their ship slipped in over the glassy rim.

For just one moment it hung in mid-air.

Then Odysseus leapt onto the stern,

Sprang upwards and caught hold of a little bush growing out of the cliff.

Down fell his ship and his men into the raging whirlpool beneath.

And for four aching hours Odysseus clung to that bush soaked with spray and deafened by roaring water.

Then all at once the tide filled the whirlpool and stilled the water.

Even pieces of Odysseus' ship floated to the surface and he dropped down and clung to a plank of wood to float way across the sea.

For nine more years Odysseus travelled the oceans from island to island until at last he found help and friendship and a ship to carry him home to Ithaca.

The End Thank you for listening.

I hope you enjoyed this story.

If you did,

Please consider listening to my Tales of the New World.

These stories of an anthropomorphic haven high at the top of Motherby Hill.

Reviews

All these stories were wonderful. I could easily have listened to them had they been longer for my walk but they're good for my bedtime, S. 😘 Thankyou Shall start on your New World Stories nxt. 🐨🇦🇺🐱😻☺

This is one of my all-time favorite myths. Thank you.

Loved it!

Sweet and beautifully read. Thank you 🙏🏼❤️