The night of the horse

1.The soldier came down the stairs—two at a time.‘Captain, they’ve gone,’ he cried. ‘They’ve disappeared —all of them. The plain is …’ But the captain was
no longer listening. He was going up the stairs —three at a time.

2. Seconds later, the captain stood on the high wall of the city of Troy. He looked down at the empty plain and, beyond it, at the empty sea. ‘They’ve gone and we’ve won,’ he said. ‘The Greeks have tried for ten years to capture our city. Now they’ve sailed away. And they’ve taken everything with them.’

3. ‘Not everything, sir,’ the soldier said. ‘They’ve left their horse.’ Outside the main gates of the city stood a huge wooden horse.

4. ‘Ah, yes,’ the captain said, ‘that wooden horse. It’s so big that they couldn’t take it with them. Well, it’s ours now. Get some help and pull it into the city. That won’t be difficult. It’s on wheels.’

5. ‘But why is it on wheels?’ the soldier asked. ‘I think that maybe the Greeks want us to …’

6.The captain interrupted him. ‘You’re a soldier,’ he said. ‘You don’t have to think. You have to obey orders, and I’m giving you one now. Move that horse.’ So the Trojans dragged it into the city with ropes.

7. That night, in the main square, all the citizens of Troy celebrated. They sang and danced around the horse, and made jokes about their enemies, the stupid Greeks. Then the Trojans made sure all the gates of the city were securely locked, and they all went to sleep, including the gate guards.

8.By midnight, the square was empty, except for the giant horse. The six Greek soldiers waited for another hour, to be sure. Then, very quietly, they opened the secret door on the side of the horse and climbed out.

9. No guards stopped them as they opened the main gates. Outside stood the Greek army. It had returned in the darkness when the citizens were celebrating inside.

10. Now the army entered the city. The Greeks seized the captain. For ten years, they could not capture the city by fighting, but in one night, they succeeded in capturing it through a trick.