05 Minimus II - Moving on in Latin

Some builders are better than others . . .

Flavius is supervising another group of soldiers who are constructing a stone gateway. Rufus enjoys watching them.

milites saxa maxima tollunt. Brigantes polyspaston mirabile spectant.

Rufus returns home with the frightened mouse. She soon makes friends with Minimus, and Rufus names her "Minima" . Rufus explains to Corinthus how Minima was almost crushed by the falling stone. Corinthus tells Rufus that the famous Greek hero Odysseus was

nearly killed by a huge boulder too . . .

NEVER SHOW OFF TO A GIANT

Once upon a time the great Greek hero Odysseus found himself trapped, with twelve of his men, inside the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops. Trying to persuade the one-eyed giant to stop eating his men, Odysseus introduced himself as Nobody and offered the giant some wine. Once the giant was drunk, Odysseus blinded him and he and his surviving men escaped to the safety of their ship. Polyphemus cried out to the other Cyclops that Nobody had hurt him. So they would not come to help him, and he had to stumble and grope his way to the seashore in pursuit of the Greeks.

As he sailed away, Odysseus boasted to the Cyclops, revealing his true identity:

"If anyone asks you how you came by your blindness, tell him your eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca."

Polyphemus was so enraged that he prayed to his father Poseidon to give Odysseus a troublesome journey home across the ocean. Then he hurled a massive boulder at Odysseus's ship, and almost caused it to sink.

All change for Panclora

Freedom!

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