For ten long years, the Greeks fought a war against the city of Troy. In the end, they won because of one clever man. His name was Odysseus, and he was the king of a small island called Ithaca.

Odysseus had the idea of the wooden horse. The Greeks built a huge horse and hid soldiers inside it. The people of Troy thought it was a gift and pulled it into their city. That night, the soldiers climbed out and opened the gates. Troy fell, and the war was over.

Now Odysseus wanted only one thing: to go home. His wife, Penelope, was waiting for him. His son, Telemachus, was a baby when he left, and now the boy was ten years old.

Odysseus and his men set sail in twelve ships. "In a few weeks," they said, "we will see our families again." They were wrong. The trip home would take ten more years.

Soon a terrible storm came. For nine days, strong winds pushed the ships far off their course. On the tenth day, they reached the land of the Lotus-Eaters.

The Lotus-Eaters were friendly. They gave some of the men a sweet fruit called the lotus. But anyone who ate it forgot everything, even their homes and families. The men only wanted to stay and eat more.

Odysseus pulled them back to the ships. They cried and fought, but he tied them under the benches. "Row!" he shouted to the others. "Row fast, before anyone else eats this fruit!"

After many days at sea, they came to a land where they could see smoke from fires and hear the sounds of sheep. "I want to know who lives here," Odysseus said. He chose twelve of his best men and walked up to a large cave near the sea. He also took a jar of very strong, sweet wine.

The cave was empty, but it was full of cheese, milk, and young lambs.

"Let's take some cheese and some lambs and go," said the men. "The owner of this cave may be dangerous." But Odysseus wanted to meet the owner. In those days, good hosts gave presents to their guests. So the men made a fire, ate some cheese, and waited.

In the evening, the owner came home. He was a Cyclops, a giant with only one eye in the middle of his forehead. His name was Polyphemus, and he was as tall as a tree. He drove his sheep into the cave. Then he picked up a huge rock and put it across the door. Even twenty wagons could not move that rock.

The Cyclops saw the men. "Who are you, strangers?" he asked in a deep voice.

"We are Greeks, on our way home from Troy," said Odysseus. "Please be kind to us. The gods want us to treat guests well."

The Cyclops laughed. "I do not care about the gods," he said. Then he caught two of the men with his big hands and ate them for dinner. After that, he lay down and fell asleep.

Odysseus took out his sword. He wanted to kill the giant right away. But then he stopped. If the Cyclops died, who would move the rock? The men could never do it, and they would all die inside the cave.

In the morning, the Cyclops ate two more men. Then he took his animals out and put the rock back. All day, Odysseus thought hard. In the cave he found a long pole of olive wood. He made one end sharp and hid it under the straw.

That evening, the Cyclops ate two more men. Then Odysseus walked up to him with a bowl of the strong wine. "Drink this, Cyclops," he said.

The giant drank it and loved it. "Give me more!" he said. "And tell me your name. I will give you a present."

Odysseus gave him more wine, and then more again. "My name is Nobody," he said. "Everyone calls me Nobody."

"Then here is my present, Nobody," said the giant. "I will eat you last." He fell back and went to sleep.

Odysseus put the sharp end of the pole into the fire until it was red hot. Then he and his men pushed it into the giant's eye.

The Cyclops woke up with a terrible scream. Other Cyclopes lived in caves nearby, and they came running. "What is wrong, Polyphemus?" they called from outside. "Is someone hurting you?"

"Nobody is hurting me!" he shouted. "Nobody!"

"Well, if nobody is hurting you, be quiet," they said, and they went home.

In the morning, the blind giant moved the rock and sat at the door. He held out his hands to catch the men. But Odysseus had another plan. He tied each man under the belly of a big sheep, and he himself held on under the biggest ram. The giant touched the animals' backs as they went out, but he did not feel the men underneath.

They ran to the ship and rowed away. But Odysseus could not stay quiet. "Cyclops!" he shouted. "If anyone asks who took your eye, tell them it was Odysseus, king of Ithaca!"

The giant threw a huge rock, and it almost hit the ship. Then he lifted his hands to the sky and prayed to his father, Poseidon, the god of the sea.

"Father," he cried, "never let Odysseus reach his home. And if he does get home, let him arrive late, alone, and in trouble."

Poseidon heard his son. From that day on, the sea itself was Odysseus's enemy.