Yesterday Odysseus got into even more
trouble in the land of the Cyclopes. He and his men stopped there to get food and to rest.
He found a large cave containing enormous cheeses, gigantic loaves of bread and a huge
bowl of milk. Minutes later the cave began to shake and in came a herd of sheep followed
by their shepherd, a one-eyed giant!
Odysseus and his men hid but the "round eye" (the
cyclops) had seen them. The monstrous figure picked up a handful of the soldiers and ate
one. This left Odysseus and the rest of his men devastated. The horrible monster put a
gigantic boulder in front of the cave entrance so that they couldn’t escape. "I
am Polyphemus!" it boomed," Son of Poseidon." The Cyclops asked Odysseus
his name."I’m Nobody, my name is Nobody," said wily Odysseus. The cyclops
said he’d kill him last.
Odysseus came up with a plan. The next day he and his crew gave
the cyclops all their wine and got him drunk. Then they sharpened a huge stick and burnt
the end. They left it to cool and then they rammed it into his eye while he slept. It left
the cyclops screaming and his neighbours came to see what was the matter. "Nobody
blinded me!" he roared. "Who blinded you?" they asked. "Nobody!"
he replied. His neighbours looked at each other and went away. |
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The next day Odysseus and his men
escaped, hidden under the sheep, as they went out to graze. The blinded giant felt the
sheep but the men were fortunate that he did not check underneath. When it was safe to
jump off they ran to their ships and sailed away. Polyphemus was furious!
Then Odysseus taunted the cyclops. "It was I, Odysseus, who
blinded you!" The cyclops heard him and cursed him. He threw a rock into the water
and just missed Odysseus’ ship. The cyclops called on his father, Poseidon god of the
sea, to ensure Odysseus never gets home. Odysseus sailed away but will the curse work? Or
will our hero get safely home. We shall see.
Reporters: Dave & James
Polyphemus the cyclops |
