3 A cunning plan

Chapter 3 A cunning plan I gathered a few of my men in a huddle and pointed out a branch in the corner of the cave. "Sharpen that," I told them. Then, I turned to the Cyclops, who was eyeing up my men, deciding which poor soul to eat next. "We hardly have any food or water, but we do have some very fine wine with us," I called. "Would you like some?"

The Cyclops beamed. "Yes! Give it to me!" He grabbed the bottle and took a swig. "What's your name, stranger?" "My name is Nobody," I said. (This was part of my plan.) "Well, Nobody," said the Cyclops. "I shall do something nice for you, since you did this for me... I was about to thank him, when he went on: "Yes. I'll eat you last! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" "Oh," I said, and I gulped. "Would you like some more wine?" Soon, just as I had hoped, the wine made him sleepy and he began to doze, snoring like a sty full of pigs.

I gestured to my men to heat the sharpened branch in the fire. When its sharp end was white-hot, we hefted it onto our shoulders and jammed it into the Cyclops' closed eye with a sizzle. He woke with a jolt and screamed out: "Nobody's hurting me! Help!" Another giant who lived next door heard him and laughed. "If nobody's hurting you, then stop crying, you great big baby!"

Furious and whimpering in pain, the blinded Cyclops lay back down and eventually fell asleep. The next morning, he rolled the stone away from the cave mouth to let his sheep out to graze. At my order, each man strapped himself quickly and quietly beneath one of the Cyclops' huge sheep. As each animal wandered out into the fields to graze, one of my men escaped into the free, fresh air. Once outside, we let the sheep go and ran to the ship. In my triumph, I couldn't resist turning back and yelling, "I tricked you! I'm not Nobody! I'm Odysseus!"

The Cyclops howled and began to throw rocks at us- luckily, his aim was terrible. "Father! Poseidon! God of the Seas!" he cried out. "Odysseus has blinded me. Punish him! Make him suffer as I suffer!" "Oh dear," I said to Eurylochus, as we sailed away. "Do you think telling him my real name might have been a mistake?"