Book IV The Red-Haired King and his Lady

There once was a king and queen named Menelaus and Helen.

One day, two men named Pisistratus and Telemachus arrived at Menelaus’s castle.

Menelaus invites them in, thinking they are beggars, offering them food and a place to sleep.

Menelaus talks about how hard it was to return from the Trojan War Menelaus talks about how hard it was to return from the Trojan War. He talks about how much he misses his friend Odysseus.

Helen, the Daughter of Zeus and Menelaus’s wife, realizes that one of the beggars is Telemachus, Odysseus’s son. Everyone starts to cry over the absence of Odysseus.

Menelaus tells everyone that they should go to bed and stop talking about such sad topics, but Helen wants to continue the conversation, and drugs the drinks, and they all tell stories about Odysseus.

When Telemachus wakes up in the morning, he asks Menelaus if he knows what happened to Odysseus. Menelaus tells Telemachus that he was being held prisoner on an island, but he didn’t know who was holding him.

A nymph told Menelaus to find and capture the god Proteus to get answers.

Proteus was hard to capture, since he could change shapes, but when Menelaus and his men finally managed to catch the god, Proteus told them that they were being held by Zeus for not performing a sacrifice before embarking on a journey.

Menelaus also asked Proteus what happened to others who fought in the Trojan War. Proteus told him that the men named Ajax and Agamemnon had died, but Odysseus was still alive and being held captive by the nymph Kalypso on the island of Ogygia.

Menelaus finishes his story Menelaus finishes his story. When Telemachus says that he is going to return to Ithaca, Menelaus tries to give him gifts, but Telemachus refuses all but a silver bowl.

Back in Ithaca, Telemachus mother, Penelope, is being approached by many men who want to marry her, thinking that her husband Odysseus is dead.

The men find out that Telemachus is gone, and make a plan to kill Telemachus when he returns. Penelope hears of the plan and is very upset because she didn’t even know that her son was gone.

Penelope prays to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to protect her son Telemachus from harm. Athena sends a vision of Penelope’s sister to reassure Penelope that Telemachus is being protected by the goddess.

As Penelope is being comforted, the man that plans to kill her son set sail in an attempt to ambush Telemachus at sea.

Book XI The Kingdom of the Dead

Odysseus was trying to return from the Trojan War, and ended up at the entrance to the Underworld.

There, Odysseus dug a trench and killed a sheep and a ram to talk to ghosts.

One of the ghosts was Odysseus’s mother, Anticleia.

The ghost Odysseus wanted was named Tiresias The ghost Odysseus wanted was named Tiresias. Tiresias told Odysseus that Odysseus’ men would not make it back to Ithaca if they killed sacred cows.

Anticleia tells Odysseus that his wife, Penelope, is very sad and still waits for Odysseus to return.

Odysseus also spoke to the heroes Agamemnon and Achilles, who both told Odysseus of the lies that they had been told while alive, but Achilles said that he would still rather be alive.

Don Quixote Chapter V

There is a man lying on the side of the road, in need of help There is a man lying on the side of the road, in need of help. His name is Don Quixote. 

A laborer comes on a mule and takes Don Quixote back to his home.

The entire ride back, Don Quixote is reciting lines from books, comparing his current events to the ones of a knight.

The laborer attempts to heal Don Quixote’s self pride by waiting until night to take him home.

Don Quixote’s friends, the barber and the priest, are at his house when the laborer arrives. They feed Don Quixote, and send him to bed.

Don Quixote Chapter VI

Don Quixote’s friends disapprove of the books he reads Don Quixote’s friends disapprove of the books he reads. So they make a plan to burn down Don Quixote’s library and all his books.

Against the other’s disagreement, one of Don Quixote’s friends, the Priest, chooses to pick which books to destroy.

The Priest saves some books for himself, because he believes them to be important.