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Chapter 5.
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Penelope's Tapestry Back in Ithaca, Penelope worked on a tapestry of blue and red flowers as she waited for news of Odysseus.
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As she worked, she could hear music and the sound of laughter from the great hall below.
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The palace was filled with people who called themselves Odysseus' friends, but did not want to work.
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They just wanted to eat and sing.
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Penelope was thankful that she had many trustworthy servants, but some of the others had become lazy too.
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She wished Odysseus was home again.
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He would soon send those lazy people away.
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I must be thankful that I still have my son, she told herself.
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But Telemachus was just a boy, a brave boy but still just a boy.
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He couldn't make the lazy people go away as his father would.
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The door to Penelope's little room opened with a crash.
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Mother!
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Telemachus ran into the room.
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His dark eyes were wide with fear.
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What is it my love?
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Those men in the great hall.
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I don't like them.
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They pushed me and laugh at me.
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And now two of them want to speak to you.
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What do they want?
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Penelope put down her needle and touched his hand.
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Let them come up, she said.
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It will be all right.
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There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs.
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Two men came into the room.
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Penelope, the first man said.
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Marry me.
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Our marriage will make me the happiest man in the world.
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Don't listen to him, Penelope.
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I am the man for you.
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You must be my wife, said the second man.
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Penelope looked at them.
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But I am a dissus' wife, she said.
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But this is the war in Troy has been over for more than five years.
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So where is he?
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One of the men asked.
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I'm sure that a dissus will come back.
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Said Penelope.
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No, he will not.
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The second man replied.
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Everyone agrees that he must be dead.
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Penelope began to work on her tapestry again.
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She was afraid to think that a dissus was dead.
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Five years was a long time.
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But she could not give up hope.
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Quickly she thought of a plan to make the men go away.
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Do you see this tapestry, she said?
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While I am working on it, I will think about what you have said.
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And when it is finished, I will give you my answer.
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The two men laughed and went back down the stairs.
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They were happy to wait until the tapestry was finished.
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Penelope turned to Telemachus.
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Now, go and play for a while before you go to bed.
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Telemachus did not really understand what the men and his mother had talked about.
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But as he played, he soon forgot about the men and began laughing again.
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Later that night, when Telemachus was asleep in bed, Penelope picked up her tapestry and her needle.
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By the light of a candle she unpicked a big red flower.
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All the work she had done that day.
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I will sew that flower again tomorrow.
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She said to herself as she blew out her candle.
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And then I will unpick another.
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Those men will have to wait a very long time for my answer.
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