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"The next day I started with twelve men, the crew of my own ship, to find out what kind of men inhabited the country opposite us, leaving all the other boats and their men on the island. When we sailed up to the coast of the mainland, we heard the voices of giants, and the bleating of their sheep and goats. And we saw a cave with a high roof, over whose entrance grew laurel shrubs, and many cattle, sheep, and goats were lying around at rest. We found an enclosure of rough stone in the form of a court, with tall pines and leafy oaks at the mouth of the cave.
"The largest giant of all the race of Cyclops dwelt there and took care of his cattle all alone. Usually he spent his time prowling all by himself around the mountains. He had nothing to do with his neighbors, but led a solitary life, plotting wicked deeds. He looked more like a huge mountain top, with shaggy overhanging forests, towering above other mountains, than a human being.
"We were soon inside the cave, but we did not find the owner at home. We had carried with us a wine-skin full of wine which a priest of Apollo had given us. The wine was very fragrant and so pleasant that no one who had once tasted it, could let it alone. We had taken along a basket of food also, for fear of meeting with men of great strength and no sense of the courtesy due to strangers.
"As we looked around the cave we wondered at what we saw. There were baskets all about heaped with cheeses, and pens of lambs separated into three folds, the older in one pen, the younger in another, and the youngest in a third. And there were pails full of whey, and buckets of milk. My companions ate as much of the cheese as they liked, after which they begged to drive all the lambs and kids down to the ship.
"But I would not allow this. It was my wish to stay there and see the cave-dweller and find out what kind of a man he was. I thought he would give me a handsome present, according to the laws of hospitality. It was cold in the cave, so we lit a fire and sat down to wait for the owner to arrive.
"He came toward evening, carrying a load of wood on his back, which he threw down with such a crash that my men ran with terror into the corners of the cave. The giant drove all such sheep and goats as would give him milk into the cave, leaving the others in the outside court, and then closed up the entrance with a rock so large that twenty-four four-wheeled wagons could not have moved it. Having done this, he sat down and milked the sheep and goats and gave to each its young one.
"Next, he curdled half of the milk and put the curd into woven baskets, but he kept the other half for his evening meal. When he had ended this work he lit a fire, and seeing the strangers he began to ask them questions, to find out who they were. His voice was deep and frightful, like the rumbling of a volcano, and our hearts trembled, but I found words to answer him: 'We are Greeks, and come from Troy. It was our intention to return home, but contrary winds have driven us on this shore.
"'We belong to the army of Agamemnon, whose fame is very great because he has overcome a strong city and conquered many nations. But now we throw ourselves at thy feet and pray that thou wilt receive us as guests, or else give us the gifts that are due to strangers, lest the gods avenge us.'
"Having said this, I stopped, but the Cyclops told us that we were fools to believe in the gods. 'The Cyclops,' he said, 'care nothing for the gods. We are better than they are. If I spare thee it will be of my own free will, and not for fear of the gods. But where are thy ships? Are they near here or far off?' This he said hoping to deceive us, but I saw through his trick, and replied: 'The storm has thrown our ships upon the cliffs and broken them to pieces, and we had to swim for our lives.'
"The cruel monster did not answer me again, but he seized two of my companions and dashed them to the ground with such force that they died on the spot. He devoured them as a lion devours his prey. He left nothing of them, neither bones nor flesh nor hair. We wept aloud and prayed to Zeus with our hearts full of despair."