2 Wild beasts

Chapter 2 Wild beasts "Your first task is to kill the Nemean Lion," said King Eurystheus, "and bring back its skin as proof."

Hercules picked up a bow and some arrows, a sword and a wooden club. Then he set off for the town of Nemea to find the lion. When he arrived, the Nemeans laughed at him. "You'll never kill the lion," they said. "It has such a tough lion, skin that no weapon can pierce it."

Sure enough, when Hercules fired an arrow at the lion, it bounced off. He hit it with his sword, but the blade bent. So he smashed the wooden club on its head. BONK! The lion was stunned. Hercules quickly grabbed the lion's neck in his mighty arms.

He squeezed tight until the lion was dead. But he couldn't cut off its skin with his sword. Instead, he used the lion's own sharp claws. Hercules tied the skin around his neck. The first task was complete.

"I can see that you're strong enough to kill a simple lion," said King Eurystheus. "But can you kill the terrifying hydra of Lernea?" The hydra was a creature with many long, snake-like heads. Each one spat poisonous venom.

Hercules was feeling brave. He even asked his nephew Iolaus to come along and watch this task. Together they headed for Lernea and the cave where the hydra lived.