Ulysses reached the land of the Phaeacians where he would be safe.Thereon he floated about for two nights and two days in the water,with a heavy swell on the sea and death staring him in the face; butwhen the third day broke, the wind fell and there was a dead calmwithout so much as a breath of air stirring. As he rose on the swellhe looked eagerly ahead, and could see land quite near. Then, aschildren rejoice when their dear father begins to get better afterhaving for a long time borne sore affliction sent him by some angryspirit, but the gods deliver him from evil, so was Ulysses thankfulwhen he again saw land and trees, and swam on with all his strengththat he might once more set foot upon dry ground. When, however, hegot within earshot, he began to hear the surf thundering up againstthe rocks, for the swell still broke against them with a terrificroar. Everything was enveloped in spray; there were no harbourswhere a ship might ride, nor shelter of any kind, but onlyheadlands, low-lying rocks, and mountain tops.Ulysses' heart now began to fail him, and he said despairingly tohimself, "Alas, Jove has let me see land after swimming so far thatI had given up all hope, but I can find no landing place, for thecoast is rocky and surf-beaten, the rocks are smooth and rise sheerfrom the sea, with deep water close under them so that I cannotclimb out for want of foothold. I am afraid some great wave willlift me off my legs and dash me against the rocks as I leave thewater- which would give me a sorry landing. If, on the other hand, Iswim further in search of some shelving beach or harbour, ahurricane may carry me out to sea again sorely against my will, orheaven may send some great monster of the deep to attack me; forAmphitrite breeds many such, and I know that Neptune is very angrywith me."While he was thus in two minds a wave caught him and took him withsuch force against the rocks that he would have been smashed andtorn to pieces if Minerva had not shown him what to do. He caught holdof the rock with both hands and clung to it groaning with pain tillthe wave retired, so he was saved that time; but presently the wavecame on again and carried him back with it far into the sea-tearinghis hands as the suckers of a polypus are torn when some one plucks itfrom its bed, and the stones come up along with it even so did therocks tear the skin from his strong hands, and then the wave drewhim deep down under the water.Here poor Ulysses would have certainly perished even in spite of hisown destiny, if Minerva had not helped him to keep his wits about him.He swam seaward again, beyond reach of the surf that was beatingagainst the land, and at the same time he kept looking towards theshore to see if he could find some haven, or a spit that should takethe waves aslant. By and by, as he swam on, he came to the mouth ofa river, and here he thought would be the best place, for there wereno rocks, and it afforded shelter from the wind. He felt that therewas a current, so he prayed inwardly and said:"Hear me, O King, whoever you may be, and save me from the angerof the sea-god Neptune, for I approach you prayerfully. Any one whohas lost his way has at all times a claim even upon the gods,wherefore in my distress I draw near to your stream, and cling tothe knees of your riverhood. Have mercy upon me, O king, for I declaremyself your suppliant."Then the god stayed his stream and stilled the waves, making allcalm before him, and bringing him safely into the mouth of theriver. Here at last Ulysses' knees and strong hands failed him, forthe sea had completely broken him. His body was all swollen, and hismouth and nostrils ran down like a river with sea-water, so that hecould neither breathe nor speak, and lay swooning from sheerexhaustion; presently, when he had got his breath and came tohimself again, he took off the scarf that Ino had given him andthrew it back into the salt stream of the river, whereon Inoreceived it into her hands from the wave that bore it towards her.Then he left the river, laid himself down among the rushes, and kissedthe bounteous earth."Alas," he cried to himself in his dismay, "what ever will become ofme, and how is it all to end? If I stay here upon the river bedthrough the long watches of the night, I am so exhausted that thebitter cold and damp may make an end of me- for towards sunrisethere will be a keen wind blowing from off the river. If, on the otherhand, I climb the hill side, find shelter in the woods, and sleep insome thicket, I may escape the cold and have a good night's rest,but some savage beast may take advantage of me and devour me."In the end he deemed it best to take to the woods, and he foundone upon some high ground not far from the water. There he creptbeneath two shoots of olive that grew from a single stock- the onean ungrafted sucker, while the other had been grafted. No wind,however squally, could break through the cover they afforded, norcould the sun's rays pierce them, nor the rain get through them, soclosely did they grow into one another. Ulysses crept under theseand began to make himself a bed to lie on, for there was a greatlitter of dead leaves lying about- enough to make a covering for twoor three men even in hard winter weather. He was glad enough to seethis, so he laid himself down and heaped the leaves all round him.Then, as one who lives alone in the country, far from any neighbor,hides a brand as fire-seed in the ashes to save himself from having toget a light elsewhere, even so did Ulysses cover himself up withleaves; and Minerva shed a sweet sleep upon his eyes, closed hiseyelids, and made him lose all memories of his sorrows.BOOK VI.SO HERE Ulysses slept, overcome by sleep and toil; but Minervawent off to the country and city of the Phaecians- a people who usedto live in the fair town of Hypereia, near the lawless Cyclopes. Nowthe Cyclopes were stronger than they and plundered them, so their kingNausithous moved them thence and settled them in Scheria, far from allother people. He surrounded the city with a wall, built houses andtemples, and divided the lands among his people; but he was dead andgone to the house of Hades, and King Alcinous, whose counsels wereinspired of heaven, was now reigning. To his house, then, didMinerva hie in furtherance of the return of Ulysses.She went straight to the beautifully decorated bedroom in whichthere slept a girl who was as lovely as a goddess, Nausicaa,daughter to King Alcinous. Two maid servants were sleeping near her,both very pretty, one on either side of the doorway, which wasclosed with well-made folding doors. Minerva took the form of thefamous sea captain Dymas's daughter, who was a bosom friend ofNausicaa and just her own age; then, coming up to the girl's bedsidelike a breath of wind, she hovered over her head and said:"Nausicaa, what can your mother have been about, to have such a lazydaughter? Here are your clothes all lying in disorder, yet you aregoing to be married almost immediately, and should not only be welldressed yourself, but should find good clothes for those who attendyou. This is the way to get yourself a good name, and to make yourfather and mother proud of you. Suppose, then, that we make tomorrow awashing day, and start at daybreak. I will come and help you so thatyou may have everything ready as soon as possible, for all the bestyoung men among your own people are courting you, and you are notgoing to remain a maid much longer. Ask your father, therefore, tohave a waggon and mules ready for us at daybreak, to take the rugs,robes, and girdles; and you can ride, too, which will be muchpleasanter for you than walking, for the washing-cisterns are some wayfrom the town."When she had said this Minerva went away to Olympus, which theysay is the everlasting home of the gods. Here no wind beats roughly,and neither rain nor snow can fall; but it abides in everlastingsunshine and in a great peacefulness of light, wherein the blessedgods are illumined for ever and ever. This was the place to whichthe goddess went when she had given instructions to the girl.By and by morning came and woke Nausicaa, who began wonderingabout her dream; she therefore went to the other end of the house totell her father and mother all about it, and found them in their ownroom. Her mother was sitting by the fireside spinning her purpleyarn with her maids around her, and she happened to catch her fatherjust as he was going out to attend a meeting of the town council,which the Phaeacian aldermen had convened. She stopped him and said:"Papa dear, could you manage to let me have a good big waggon? Iwant to take all our dirty clothes to the river and wash them. You arethe chief man here, so it is only right that you should have a cleanshirt when you attend meetings of the council. Moreover, you have fivesons at home, two of them married, while the other three aregood-looking bachelors; you know they always like to have cleanlinen when they go to a dance, and I have been thinking about allthis."She did not say a word about her own wedding, for she did not liketo, but her father knew and said, "You shall have the mules, mylove, and whatever else you have a mind for. Be off with you, andthe men shall get you a good strong waggon with a body to it that willhold all your clothes."On this he gave his orders to the servants, who got the waggonout, harnessed the mules, and put them to, while the girl broughtthe clothes down from the linen room and placed them on the waggon.Her mother prepared her a basket of provisions with all sorts ofgood things, and a goat skin full of wine; the girl now got into thewaggon, and her mother gave her also a golden cruse of oil, that sheand her women might anoint themselves. Then she took the whip andreins and lashed the mules on, whereon they set off, and their hoofsclattered on the road. They pulled without flagging, and carried notonly Nausicaa and her wash of clothes, but the maids also who werewith her.When they reached the water side they went to thewashing-cisterns, through which there ran at all times enough purewater to wash any quantity of linen, no matter how dirty. Here theyunharnessed the mules and turned them out to feed on the sweet juicyherbage that grew by the water side. They took the clothes out ofthe waggon, put them in the water, and vied with one another intreading them in the pits to get the dirt out. After they had washedthem and got them quite clean, they laid them out by the sea side,where the waves had raised a high beach of shingle, and set aboutwashing themselves and anointing themselves with olive oil. Thenthey got their dinner by the side of the stream, and waited for thesun to finish drying the clothes. When they had done dinner they threwoff the veils that covered their heads and began to play at ball,while Nausicaa sang for them. As the huntress Diana goes forth uponthe mountains of Taygetus or Erymanthus to hunt wild boars or deer,and the wood-nymphs, daughters of Aegis-bearing Jove, take their sportalong with her (then is Leto proud at seeing her daughter stand a fullhead taller than the others, and eclipse the loveliest amid a wholebevy of beauties), even so did the girl outshine her handmaids.When it was time for them to start home, and they were folding theclothes and putting them into the waggon, Minerva began to considerhow Ulysses should wake up and see the handsome girl who was toconduct him to the city of the Phaeacians. The girl, therefore,threw a ball at one of the maids, which missed her and fell intodeep water. On this they all shouted, and the noise they made wokeUlysses, who sat up in his bed of leaves and began to wonder what itmight all be."Alas," said he to himself, "what kind of people have I comeamongst? Are they cruel, savage, and uncivilized, or hospitable andhumane? I seem to hear the voices of young women, and they sound