stor made them both sit on the fleeces that were spread on the shore.
And dishes of meat were brought to them and cups of wine, and when they
had eaten and drunk, the old King, Nestor, spoke to them.

'Until they have partaken of food and drink, it is not courteous,' he
said, 'to ask of strangers who they are and whither they go. But now, my
guests, I will ask of you what your land is, and what your quest, and
what names you bear.'

Then Telemachus said: 'Nestor, renowned King, glory of the Greeks, we
have come out of Ithaka and we seek tidings of my father, of Odysseus,
who, long ago, fought by your side in the war of Troy. With you, men
say, he sacked the great City of the Trojans. But no further story about
him has been told. And I have come to your knees, O King, to beg you to
give me tidings of him--whether he died and you saw his death, or
whether you heard of his death from another. And if you should answer
me, speak not, I pray you, in pity for me, but tell me all you know or
have heard. Ah, if ever my father helped you in the land of the Trojans,
by the memory of what help he gave, I pray you speak in truth to me, his
son.'

Then said Nestor, the old King, 'Verily, my son, you bring sorrow to my
mind. Ah, where are they who were with me in our war against the mighty
City of Troy? Where is Aias and Achilles and Patroklos and my own dear
son, Antilochos, who was so noble and so strong? And where is Agamemnon
now? He returned to his own land, to be killed in his own hall by a most
treacherous foeman. And now you ask me of Odysseus, the man who was
dearer to me than any of the others--Odysseus, who was always of the one
mind with me! Never did we two speak diversely in the assembly nor in
the council.

'You say to me that you are the son of Odysseus! Surely you are.
Amazement comes over me as I look on you and listen to you, for you look
as he looked and you speak as he spoke. But I would have you speak
further to me and tell me of your homeland and of how things fare in
Ithaka.'

Then he told the old King of the evil deeds I worked by the wooers of
his mother, and when he had told of them Telemachus cried out, 'Oh, that
the gods would give me such strength that I might take vengeance on them
for their many transgressions.'

Then said old Nestor, 'Who knows but Odysseus will win home and requite
the violence of these suitors and the insults they have offered to your
house. The goddess Athene might bring this