“When I was still very young there came to the island a Phoenician ship, laden with trinkets for barter.  Now in my father’s house was a Phoenician woman, tall and fair, and skilled in needlework.  She was my nurse, and I was wont to run about the town with her.  One day, as she was washing clothes not far from the ship, she was recognised by a Phoenician sailor as being of his own race, and he inquired how she came to the island.  She answered that she was a native of Sidon, and a rich man’s daughter, stolen from her home by pirates, and sold across the seas.  ‘And hast thou a mind to see thy native land again?’ asked the fellow.  ‘Thy father and mother still live and prosper’; for she had told him that her father’s name was Arybas.  ‘I will go with you,’ answered the woman, ’if ye will swear an oath to carry me home unharmed.’  They all swore to do as she said, and after that she instructed them how to proceed.  ‘Keep close counsel,’ she said, ’and let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all.  Lose no time in selling your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let one of you come up to the house and give me a sign.  I will not come empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my passage.  Furthermore, I have charge of my master’s child, a knowing little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye may sell him for a great price.’

“The bargain was struck, and the woman departed.  Then for a whole year they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father’s house, to warn the woman that the time was come.  He brought with him a necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price, the fellow made a sign to my nurse.  When he was gone she took me by the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house.  There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had been dining with his guests.  They had now gone forth to attend the council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets and hid them in her bosom.  Then with one rapid glance round, to make sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where the Phoenician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her, fearing nothing.

“Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival.  They took us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond the reach of pursuit.  On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible blow.  They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes.”