Emily Little - The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War

Text copyright 1988 by Random House LLC.
Cover art and interior illustrations copyright 1988 by Michael Eagle
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Little, Emily.
The Trojan horse : how the Greeks won the war / by Emily Little ; illustrated by Michael Eagle.
p. cm. (Step into reading. A step 5 book.)
Summary: Recounts how the Greeks used a wooden horse to win the Trojan War.
ISBN 978-0-394-89674-8 (trade) ISBN 978-0-394-99674-5 (lib. bdg.)
1. Trojan horse (Greek mythology)Juvenile literature. [1. Trojan War. 2. Mythology, Greek.]
I. Eagle, Michael, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Step into reading. Step 5 book.
BL820.T75L58 2003 398.2093802dc21 2002013675

eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-77148-3

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v3.1

It is three thousand years ago in the land now called Turkey. A shepherd stands above a grassy field, watching his sheep. To the west the sea sparkles in the sunlight. To the east the dusty plain stirs in the wind.

About four miles from the sea there is a great stone wall built on a hill. Inside the wall there is a rich, proud kingdom.

It is the ancient kingdom of Troy.

The wall around Troy is there to protect the city. It is made of stones that men cut and fit together. In some places it is very high and very thick. The lower part of the wall is covered with limestone. The limestone makes the wall slippery. Climbing up the wall is impossible.

At the top of the wall there are places where the Trojan bowmen can stand. Here they can pull back their bowstrings and let their arrows fly. So going over the wall is impossible too!

There is only one way into Troythrough the great double gate. Shepherds go through, with their bundles of wool. Plowmen go through, with their carts full of vegetables. Traders go through, with their treasures of gold and silver and bronze.

Gatekeepers guard the gate day and night. If a hostile army is coming across the plain, they close the gate and push in the bolts. Behind the bolted gate, behind the stone wall, Troy is safe.

Troy is an important city in the ancient world. And Priam*, the king of Troy, is a very powerful ruler. He has many allies. He rules the land and sea for miles around. But King Priam is not content. He wants to be more powerful than the Greeks, who live far away across the Aegean Sea.
(*A pronunciation guide can be found .)

The Greeks speak the same language as the Trojans and believe in the same gods as the Trojans. But they are enemies, not friends!

The land where the Greeks live is rocky and hilly. They cannot grow enough wheat. They must sail to Asia to buy more. But to get to Asia the Greeks must pass through a narrow channel of water that connects the Aegean Sea with the Black Sea. Troy is located at the very entrance to this channel.

King Priam takes advantage of this! When a Greek ship full of cargo sails past Troy, the Trojans stop it. They demand a toll. If the Greeks want to go by, they must pay!

Cargo ships are big and heavy. They are not made to go fast like warships. So the Greeks have to pay the tollwith bags of wheat, jars of oil, bars of gold.

The Greeks are furious. Why should they have to pay to use the channel? The sea is free. If the Trojans keep this up, there will be war!

But King Priam is not afraid. There is a great stone wall around his city. No onenot even a Greek armycan get into Troy.

In the Greek kingdom of Sparta, King Menelaus paces the floor and plans his revenge. Something terrible has happened. The Trojans have captured his wife, Helen. They have taken her to Troy.

Helen! She is the most beautiful woman in the world. And now she will be forced to marry Paris, prince of Troy!

Menelaus plans to go to Troy with his army. But he cannot fight alone. The Trojans and their allies outnumber the Spartans.

Menelaus summons a runner. He gives him a message to take to his brother, Agamemnon.

In the Greek kingdom of Mycenae, King Agamemnon sits and listens. A runner has brought him a message. The Trojans have taken Helen!

Troy! That city has been pirating Greek ships for years. This kidnapping is the final straw! Greece must act. The Greek armies must band together. The time has come to make war.

Agamemnon goes to the temple to pray. He bows before the sacred statue of Athena, goddess of war, goddess of wisdom. He asks for help. He has his men place a giant bull at the feet of the statue. If Athena likes this gift, she will side with the Greeks.

In the Greek kingdom of Ithaca the kings son Odysseus is saying good-bye to his wife and son. He is going to Troy. The Greek armies are banding together to fight the Trojans, and they need a strong, shrewd leader like Odysseus.

The warships are loaded. Everything is on boardarmor, weapons, chariots, food, even horses! The sails are up. The oarsmen are ready to row.

Odysseus stays a minute longer. His son is just a baby. He promises to return as soon as he can.