morsel off the poor animal's bones.
The next morning, their appetites were as sharp as ever. They

looked at Ulysses, as if they expected him to clamber up the
cliff again, and come back with another fat deer upon his

shoulders. Instead of setting out, however, he summoned the
whole crew together, and told them it was in vain to hope that

he could kill a stag every day for their dinner, and therefore
it was advisable to think of some other mode of satisfying

their hunger.
"Now," said he, "when I was on the cliff, yesterday, I

discovered that this island is inhabited. At a considerable
distance from the shore stood a marble palace, which appeared

to be very spacious, and had a great deal of smoke curling out
of one of its chimneys."

"Aha!" muttered some of his companions, smacking their lips.
"That smoke must have come from the kitchen fire. There was a

good dinner on the spit; and no doubt there will be as good a
one to-day."

"But," continued the wise Ulysses, "you must remember, my good
friends, our misadventure in the cavern of one-eyed Polyphemus,

the Cyclops! Instead of his ordinary milk diet, did he not eat
up two of our comrades for his supper, and a couple more for

breakfast, and two at his supper again? Methinks I see him yet,
the hideousmonster, scanning us with that great red eye, in

the middle of his forehead, to single out the fattest. And
then, again, only a few days ago, did we not fall into the

hands of the king of the Laestrygons, and those other horrible
giants, his subjects, who devoured a great many more of us than

are now left? To tell you the truth, if we go to yonder palace,
there can be no question that we shall make our appearance at

the dinner table; but whether seated as guests, or served up as
food, is a point to be seriously considered."

"Either way," murmured some of the hungriest of the crew; "it
will be better than starvation; particularly if one could be

sure of being well fattened beforehand, and daintily cooked
afterwards."

"That is a matter of taste," said King Ulysses, "and, for my
own part, neither the most careful fattening nor the daintiest

of cookery would reconcile me to being dished at last. My
proposal is, therefore, that we divide ourselves into two equal

parties, and ascertain, by drawing lots, which of the two shall
go to the palace, and beg for food and assistance. If these can

be obtained, all is well. If not, and if the inhabitants prove
as inhospitable as Polyphemus, or the Laestrygons, then there

will but half of us perish, and the remainder may set sail and
escape."

As nobody objected to this scheme, Ulysses proceeded to count
the whole band, and found that there were forty-six men,

including himself. He then numbered off twenty-two of them, and
put Eurylochus (who was one of his chief officers, and second

only to himself in sagacity) at their head. Ulysses took
command of the remaining twenty-two men, in person. Then,

taking off his helmet, he put two shells into it, on one of
which was written, "Go," and on the other "Stay." Another

person now held the helmet, while Ulysses and Eurylochus drew
out each a shell; and the word "Go" was found written on that

which Eurylochus had drawn. In this manner, it was decided that
Ulysses and his twenty-two men were to remain at the seaside

until the other party should have found out what sort of
treatment they might expect at the mysterious palace. As there

was no help for it, Eurylochus immediately set forth at the
head of his twenty-two followers, who went off in a very

melancholy state of mind, leaving their friends in hardly
better spirits than themselves.

No sooner had they clambered up the cliff, than they discerned
the tall marble towers of the palace, ascending, as white as

snow, out of the lovely green shadow of the trees which
surrounded it. A gush of smoke came from a chimney in the rear

of the edifice. This vapor rose high in the air, and, meeting
with a breeze, was wafted seaward, and made to pass over the

heads of the hungry mariners. When people's appetites are keen,
they have a very quick scent for anything savory in the wind.

"That smoke comes from the kitchen!" cried one of them, turning
up his nose as high as he could, and snuffing eagerly. "And, as

sure as I'm a half-starved vagabond, I smell roast meat in it."
"Pig, roast pig!" said another. "Ah, the dainty little porker.

My mouth waters for him."
"Let us make haste," cried the others, "or we shall be too late

for the good cheer! "
But scarcely had they made half a dozen steps from the edge of

the cliff, when a bird came fluttering to meet them. It was the
same pretty little bird, with the purple wings and body, the

yellow legs, the golden collar round its neck, and the
crown-like tuft upon its head, whose behavior had so much

surprised Ulysses. It hovered about Eurylochus, and almost
brushed his face with its wings.

"Peep, peep, pe--weep!" chirped the bird.
So plaintively intelligent was the sound, that it seemed as if

the little creature were going to break its heart with some
mighty secret that it had to tell, and only this one poor note

to tell it with.
"My pretty bird," said Eurylochus--for he was a wary person,

and let no token of harm escape his notice--"my pretty bird,
who sent you hither? And what is the message which you bring?"

"Peep, peep, pe--weep! " replied the bird, very sorrowfully.
Then it flew towards the edge of the cliff, and looked around

at them, as if exceedinglyanxious that they should return
whence they came. Eurylochus and a few of the others were

inclined to turn back. They could not help suspecting that the
purple bird must be aware of something mischievous that would

befall them at the palace, and the knowledge of which affected
its airy spirit with a human sympathy and sorrow. But the rest

of the voyagers, snuffing up the smoke from the palace kitchen,
ridiculed the idea of returning to the vessel. One of them

(more brutal than his fellows, and the most notorious
gormandizer in the crew) said such a cruel and wicked thing,

that I wonder the mere thought did not turn him into a wild
beast, in shape, as he already was in his nature.

"This troublesome and impertinent little fowl," said he, "would
make a delicate titbit to begin dinner with. Just one plump

morsel, melting away between the teeth. If he comes within my
reach, I'll catch him, and give him to the palace cook to be

roasted on a skewer."
The words were hardly out of his mouth, before the purple bird

flew away, crying, "Peep, peep, pe--weep," more dolorously than
ever.

"That bird," remarked Eurylochus, "knows more than we do about
what awaits us at the palace."

"Come on, then," cried his comrades, "and we'll soon know as
much as he does."

The party, accordingly, went onward through the green and
pleasant wood. Every little while they caught new glimpses of

the marble palace, which looked more and more beautiful the
nearer they approached it. They soon entered a broad pathway,

which seemed to be very neatly kept, and which went winding
along, with streaks of sunshine falling across it and specks of