have not been small."

She heard his pleaded reasons, and of force she must assent; so to her
nymphs she gave in charge from her sacred woods to cut down timber, to
make Ulysses a ship. They obeyed, though in a work unsuitable to their
soft fingers, yet to obedience no sacrifice is hard; and Ulysses busily
bestirred himself, labouring far more hard than they, as was fitting, till
twenty tall trees, driest and fittest for timber, were felled. Then, like
a skilful shipwright, he fell to joining the planks, using the plane, the
axe, and the auger with such expedition that in four days' time a ship was
made, complete with all her decks, hatches, sideboards, yards. Calypso
added linen for the sails, and tackling; and when she was finished, she
was a goodly vessel for a man to sail in, alone or in company, over the
wide seas. By the fifth morning she was launched; and Ulysses, furnished
with store of provisions, rich garments, and gold and silver, given him by
Calypso, took a last leave of her and of her nymphs, and of the isle
Ogygia which had so befriended him.

[Illustration: _Took a last leave of her and of her nymphs_.]




CHAPTER FIVE

The Tempest.--The Sea-bird's Gift.--The Escape by Swimming.--The Sleep in
the Woods.


At the stern of his solitary ship Ulysses sat, and steered right artfully.