Then spake the sage Penelope again:
“Go, call him hither, that he may relate His story in my presence. Let these men, As it may please them, sitting at our gates Or in our halls, amuse themselves, for light Are they of heart. Unwasted in their homes Lie their possessions, and their bread and wine Are only for their servants, while themselves Frequent our palace, day by day, and slay Our beeves and sheep and fatling goats, and feast, And drink abundantly the dark red wine, And all with lavish waste. No man is here, Such as Ulysses was, to drive away This pest from our abode. Should he return To his own land, he and his son would take Swift vengeance on the men who do him wrong.”
She ended. Suddenly Telemachus Sneezed loudly, so that all the palace rang; And, laughing as she heard, Penelope Bespake Eumaeus thus with winged words:—
“Go, call the stranger. Dost thou not perceive My son has sneezed as to confirm my words. Not unfulfilled will now remain the doom That waits the suitors; none will now escape Death and the Fates. This further let me say, And thou remember it; if what he tells Be true, I will bestow on him a change Of fair attire, a tunic and a cloak.”
She spake, the swineherd went, and, drawing near Ulysses, said to him in winged words:—
“Stranger and father, sage Penelope, The mother of the prince, hath sent for thee. Though sorrowing, she is minded to inquire What of her husband thou canst haply say; And should she find that all thy words are true, She will bestow a tunic and a cloak, Garments which much thou needest. For thy food, What will appease thy hunger thou wilt find Among the people; ask, and each will give.”