was before us.'

'"To the Sirens first you shall come," said she, "to the Sirens, who sit
in their field of flowers and bewitch all men who come near them. He who
comes near the Sirens without knowing their ways and hears the sound of
their voices--never again shall that man see wife or child, or have joy
of his home-coming. All round where the Sirens sit are great heaps of
the bones of men. But I will tell thee, Odysseus, how thou mayst pass
them."'

'"When thou comest near put wax over the ears of thy company lest any of
them hear the Sirens' song. But if thou thyself art minded to hear, let
thy company bind thee hand and foot to the mast. And if thou shalt
beseech them to loose thee, then must they bind thee with tighter bonds.
When thy companions have driven the ship past where the Sirens sing then
thou canst be unbound."'

'"Past where the Sirens sit there is a dangerous place indeed. On one
side there are great rocks which the gods call the Rocks Wandering. No
ship ever escapes that goes that way. And round these rocks the planks
of ships and the bodies of men are tossed by waves of the sea and storms
of fire. One ship only ever passed that way, Jason's ship, the Argo, and
that ship would have been broken on the rocks if Hera the goddess had
not helped it to pass, because of her love for the hero Jason."'

'"On the other side of the Rocks Wandering are two peaks through which
thou wilt have to take thy ship. One peak is smooth and sheer and goes
up to the clouds of heaven. In the middle of it there is a cave, and
that cave is the den of a monster named Scylla. This monster has six
necks and on each neck there is a hideous head. She holds her heads over
the gulf, seeking for prey and yelping horribly. No ship has ever passed
that way without Scylla seizing and carrying off in each mouth of her
six heads the body of a man."'

'"The other peak is near. Thou couldst send an arrow across to it from
Scylla's den. Out of the peak a fig tree grows, and below that fig tree
Charybdis has her den. She sits there sucking down the water and
spouting it forth. Mayst thou not be near when she sucks the water down,
for then nothing could save thee. Keep nearer to Scylla's than to
Charybdis's rock. It is better to lose six of your company than to lose
thy ship and all thy company. Keep near Scylla's rock and drive right
on."'

'"If thou shouldst win past the deadly rocks guarded by Scylla and
Charybdis thou wilt come to the