One day, Agamemnon sent Odysseus to the island of Thrace to bring back food for the army. Odysseus obeyed, but weeks later, he returned empty-handed, saying there was no food to be found.
Palamedes laughed when he heard.
"You can't trust that man," he said to Agamemnon. "He's lazy, and he's a coward. Remember when we called him to war, he pretended to be mad because he was so afraid to come."
Odysseus turned red as Agamemnon laughed loudly.
"Yes, and if you weren't so clever, Palamedes," Agamemnon said, still laughing. "He would be at home now with the women and children."
"Palamedes should go to Thrace," Odysseus said. "If he is so clever, perhaps he can make something out of nothing, and so return with food."
"I will," said Palamedes, "It cannot be so hard," and a few weeks later he returned to the shores, his ships filled with corn.
Odysseus thought only of revenge. He had never forgiven Palamedes for taking him away from his wife and son, and now he hated him more than ever. Ever since he had come to Troy, he had been trying to find a way of killing him. But Palamedes was very popular with the men, particularly after he had invented dice — an excellent way of passing the time during this long war far from home. Murdering him would be difficult.
That night, Agamemnon was woken by shouting outside his tent.
Drawing his sword, he went outside. There, he found Odysseus.
"What's the matter? You look like you have seen a ghost," Agamemnon said.
"I have had a horrifying dream," Odysseus said. "I can't even begin to describe it to you, but I was warned by the gods that we must move camp immediately for one day and one night, or else something terrible will happen."
Agamemnon, who was a very superstitious man, agreed, and the next the day the whole camp was moved to a different position.
|
●英字新聞社ジャパンタイムズによる英語学習サイト。英語のニュース、よみもの、リスニングなどのコンテンツを無料で提供。無料見本紙はこちら
