Troy: The Greek Myths Reimagined (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology #3)

by Stephen Fry

“Majesty, they have gone! They truly have gone. Not a Greek left behind. Well, no sire, that is not quite true. There is . . . We came across . . .” “Get your breath back, young man,” says Priam, “and tell us what you found at the Achaean camp.” “The Achaean camp is not a camp. Not anymore. It is dug up, burnt, abandoned. We did find one man there. We left a guard on him because, as well as this one man, we found—” The captain breaks off unable to suppress a great grin. “Sire, you will never guess what we found!” “Don’t play games with your king. Out with it, man!” snaps Deiphobus. “Tell us in plain language what you found.” “In plain language, highness,” says the captain, too euphoric to be brought up short by Deiphobus’s harsh tone, “we found . . . a horse.” “Well, I’m sure there’s nothing so very strange in that,” says Hecuba. “But no!” says the captain, unable to stop smiling. “This is a horse like you’ve never seen before. A horse”—he points up at the ceiling—“a horse as high as this roof. A horse made of wood!”