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Stories from the Odyssey by H. L. (Herbert Lord) Havell
page 127 of 227 (55%)
and drown us all, I would rather swallow the brine, and so make an
end, than waste away by inches on a desert island."

The famishing sailors lent a ready ear to his words, and having picked
out the fattest of the oxen they slaughtered them and offered
sacrifice, plucking the leaves of an oak as a substitute for the
barley-meal for sprinkling between the horns of the victims, and
pouring libations of water instead of wine. When the vain rite was
finished, they spitted slices of the meat, and roasted them over the
glowing embers.

Meanwhile Odysseus had awakened from his sleep, and made his way, not
without forebodings of ill, back to the camp. As he approached, the
steam of roasting meat was borne to his nostrils. "Woe is me!" he
cried, "the deed is done! What a price must we now pay for one hour of
sleep."

Vengeance, indeed, was already prepared. Helios received prompt news
of the sacrilege from one of the nymphs who had charge of his flocks
and herds, and hastened to Olympus to demand speedy punishment for the
transgressors, vowing that if they escaped he would leave the earth in
darkness and carry the lamp of day to the nether world. Zeus promised
that the retribution should be swift and complete, and Helios
thereupon returned immediately to his daily round, knowing full well
that the father of gods would keep his word.

When Odysseus entered the camp he rebuked his men bitterly for their
impiety. But no words, and no repentance, could now repair the
mischief; the cattle were slain, and in that very hour dire portents
occurred, to show them the enormity of their crime. A strange moaning
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