‘Glad everyone’s happy,’ said Susan quickly, afraid she’d have to listen to them thanking each other all day.
‘Brace yourself and I will pass you my great burden,’ said Atlas. Then he shrugged the sky onto Hercules’ head and shoulders.
Hercules shuddered. For a moment Susan feared his legs would buckle under the colossal weight. Then he steadied himself. That was close, thought Susan, suddenly realising that if Hercules faltered the sky would have crushed her.
‘Oof,’ groaned Hercules, his back bending and swaying with the great weight of the heavens. ‘That’s heavy.’
‘You’re telling me,’ said Atlas, straightening up with a gigantic CR-EEEAK! ‘Now don’t go away,’ he added, chuckling, ‘I’ll be back very soon with those apples.’
Off he went.
Susan sighed and sat down.
‘I suppose we just wait now,’ she said.
‘Ooh, my shoulders,’ complained Hercules. ‘Let me see if I can get more comfortable.’
He hoisted the heavens up a bit onto his left shoulder. The sky tilted alarmingly.
‘Whooa!’ shrieked Susan. ‘Straighten up! The sky is falling!’
Hercules jerked the sky a little higher onto his right. The sky sloshed to the left.
‘Steady on!’ cried Susan.
The sky lurched and wobbled.
Hercules lurched and wobbled.
‘Watch out!’ said Susan, trying to prop him up.
The sky straightened.
‘Careful!’ said Susan.
‘You have no idea what it’s like holding the sky on your shoulders,’ grumbled Hercules. ‘And I’m getting sunburn on my neck, I can feel it.’
‘Sorry,’ said Susan. ‘Shall I help you hold?’
Hercules glared at her.
‘Be my guest,’ he snapped. ‘Your holding a cloud will make all the difference.’
‘Okay, I won’t then,’ said Susan. ‘Anyhow, I’m sure Atlas will be back any minute.’
Slowly the day turned to night. Still Atlas did not return. The first stars twinkled in the dark heavens. They hung so low Susan tried to reach up and touch them. She stood on tiptoes, but they sparkled just out of her reach.
‘Do you think he’s coming back?’ said Hercules. He’d been silent for hours.
‘Of course he will,’ said Susan. But she had been worried about the same thing. Would Atlas seize his chance of freedom and never return? Then Hercules would be trapped here for ever, and it would be all her fault.
‘My head is itchy,’ complained Hercules.
‘Maybe you’ve got nits,’ said Susan. ‘Everyone at my school keeps getting-’
‘It’s the stars, stupid. I never realised how pointy they were. Ouch! Oooh! Eeek!’
THUD! THUD! THUD!
‘Atlas!’ shouted Hercules, as the giant loomed up out of the darkness. ‘Thank goodness you’re back.’
Phew, thought Susan. For a while she’d thought they were in big trouble.
Atlas lumbered into view, the three golden apples glowing like suns in his hand.
‘Hercules, I’ve been thinking,’ he said. ‘I’ll deliver these apples to Eurystheus for you. I can walk a lot faster than you can, and if you’ll just hold the heavens for a few more months I’ll be back as soon as I’ve completed this labour for you.’
Susan stood up sharply. He’ll never come back, she thought. Hercules will be trapped here for ever. Even slow-witted Hercules could smell a rat.
‘It’s an awfully long journey to Tiryns,’ said Hercules, frowning. ‘I’d hate to inconvenience you.’
‘No trouble at all,’ said Atlas, smiling. ‘I’ve been standing in this same spot for thousands of years. Do me good to stretch my legs. Cheerio.’ And Atlas set off into the night at a jaunty pace.
‘Now what are we going to do, smarty-pants?’ hissed Hercules. ‘You and your great ideas.’
‘I’m thinking, I’m thinking,’ hissed Susan fiercely. How did she try to make Freddie do something he didn’t want to do?
‘Oh, Atlas,’ called Susan.
‘Yes?’ said the Titan, reluctantly turning around.
‘I think that’s a super plan,’ said Susan. ‘If anyone deserves a holiday you do. And my friend Hercules here is really enjoying the glory of holding up the heavens – you will tell everyone about his great feat, won’t you?’
‘Certainly,’ said Atlas, smiling.
‘There’s just one thing. As you know, the stars are awfully ticklish. If you would just take back the sky for a moment, while Hercules gets a pad for his head, it would make everything much more comfortable for him.’
‘Good idea,’ said Atlas. He nodded, and laid down the apples.
‘Now watch how I do this,’ he said. Slowly and carefully, he stooped and eased the awful burden of the heavens off Hercules’ aching shoulders.
‘See,’ he said. ‘You balance the weight evenly, like this. Much easier.’
Hercules rubbed his back and slowly straightened his weary body. Then he scooped up the apples.
‘You know, Atlas,’ he said, juggling the golden globes in his giant hand, ‘you hold the heavens so much better than I do. I think perhaps I’d better take the apples to Eurystheus after all.’
And with that, Hercules and Susan hastened off, leaving Atlas moaning and cursing behind.
‘Poor Atlas,’ said Susan. ‘I feel bad for tricking him.’
‘I don’t,’ said Hercules. ‘It is his fate to hold the heavens.’
Susan suddenly felt very tired.
‘Well, I’m off,’ said Susan. ‘Soon you’ll be a free man again.’
‘Thank you for your help,’ said Hercules suddenly. ‘I am grateful.’
‘You’re welcome,’ said Susan, smiling. ‘And now I wish to go home.’
Nothing happened.
Silly coin, she thought, reaching into her pocket. Except that she didn’t have a pocket. Her hand slid down her nightgown. Susan stood absolutely still. She had a sudden flash of memory, of her hand brushing against her jeans as they lay on the ground. The full horror of her predicament hit her. She was trapped in Ancient Greece, while the magic coin lay in a tent in the twenty-first century.
For a long moment Susan could not breathe. Then her heart began to pound.
‘Oh my-’ gasped Susan. She clasped her hand to her mouth. ‘The coin! It’s back home with my sister and brother! Hercules! Help me! Help me!’ And Susan started to scream. A terrible howling yelp of terror burst from her throat.
‘I will call to them,’ said Hercules.
‘I will call to them,’ said Perseus, joining him.
‘I will call to them,’ said Andromeda.
‘I will call to them,’ said Orpheus.
They formed a circle round her.
‘It’s no use,’ said Susan tearfully. ‘Eileen and Freddie are too far away to hear. HELP! HELP!’ She screamed despite herself, because she could not swallow her fear.
The four Greeks stood silent. They cupped their hands to their open mouths, but no sound came out.
‘See?’ said Susan, starting to cry again. ‘I told you there was no point.’
Two small shapes walked out of the night mist towards her. Both wore pyjamas. One rubbed his eyes. The other looked as if she were sleep-walking.
‘This is not happening,’ said Eileen. ‘This is not happening.’
Susan thought she had never seen such a beautiful sight in her life as her sleepy brother and dazed sister. She hugged them both so tightly that Freddie squealed to be let go.
‘What are you doing here? How did you know?’
‘We heard people calling,’ said Freddie. ‘I’m not sure what happened next.’
‘Oh thank you, thank you,’ said Susan, turning around. But the heroes had vanished. How on earth had they managed to summon her family?
‘This is a dream,’ said Eileen. ‘I am having a waking dream. It’s quite common, really. I’m asleep in the tent. Sound, sound asleep.’
>
Freddie gave Susan the coin. It felt thin and smooth, as if it were worn out with the mighty magic it had just worked. Susan gripped the hands of her brother and sister, and wished.
They were back. Back in the hot, stuffy, smelly, wonderful tent.
Freddie and Eileen sank down onto their pillows and fell instantly back to sleep. Susan was too shaken by what had happened to even lie down. Instead, she unzipped the tent flap and stepped outside.
It was a gorgeous moonlit night. And the stars! It looked as if the whole sky was covered in pinpricks of light. Susan gazed at the stars and constellations which twinkled and sparkled and took shape before her eyes. There was Orion, with his belt of three stars. There was Perseus, Andromeda, and Pegasus. And Orpheus’ lyre. And there was Hercules.
‘Susan! Susan! Susan!’
Susan spun round. The voices were everywhere, calling to her from the stars.
‘Thank you, Susan! Thank you!’
The air reverberated with their echoing sound.
Susan flung out her arms.
‘No!’ she cried. ‘Thank you.’
HELP!
I was once discussing my favourite characters from Greek myths with some friends. I mentioned the monster ‘Shimmerer’, the goddess ‘Athen’, the god ‘Possedon’. No idea who I’m talking about? Neither did my friends. I meant to say ‘Chimaera’, ‘Athena’, and ‘Poseidon’, but I didn’t have a clue how to pronounce them correctly. Here’s the guide I wish I’d had.
ALPHEUS al-fay-uss
ANDROMEDA an-drom-med-a
APOLLO a-poll-oh
APHRODITE aff-ro-die-tee
ARISTAEUS ar-iss-tay-uss
ATHENA ath-ee-nah
ATLAS at-lass
AUGEAS ow-gay-ass
BELLEROPHON bell-air-oh-fon
CASSIOPEIA cass-ee-oh-pee-ah
CEPHEUS sef-ee-uss
CERBERUS er-ber-uss
CHIMAERA kim-air-ah
CORINTH corr-inth
CRETE creet
DAEDALUS dy-dall-uss
DIONYSUS dy-oh-ny-suss
ELIS el-liss
ERIS air-iss
ERYMANTHIAN er-imm-an-thian
EURYDICE you-rid-ee-see
EURYSTHEUS you-riss-thee-oos
GORGON gore-gone
HADES hay-deez
HERA hair-a
HERCULES her-kue-leez
HERMES her-meez
HESPERIDES hess-perr-id-eez
ICARUS ick-er-uss
IDA eye-da
IOBATES eye-oh-bah-teez
LADON lah-donn
LYCIA liss-ee-ah
MEDUSA med-yoos-ah
MENELAUS men-ay-lay-uss
MIDAS my-dass
OENONE ee-noh-nee
OLYMPUS oh-limp-uss
ORION oh-rye-on
ORPHEUS or-fee-uss
PACTOLUS pack-toe-lus
PAN pan
PARIS par-iss
PEGASUS peg-a-suss
PELEUS pee-lee-uss
PERSEPHONE per-sef-oh-nee
PERSEUS per-see-us
PIRENE py-ree-nee
POLYDECTES poll-ee-deck-teez
POSEIDON po-sy-don
PYTHIA pith-ee-ah
SATYR sat-er
SISYPHUS siss-ee-fuss
SPARTA spar-ter
STYX sticks
TAENARUM tee-nare-rum
TANTALUS tan-ta-luss
THETIS thee-tiss
THRACE thrayss
TIRYNS tirr-inz
TITAN tie-tan
TMOLUS t’mole-uss
TRITONIS try-toe-niss
TROY troy
ZEUS zee-ooss
Copyright
AN ORION CHILDREN’S EBOOK
First published in 1999 by Orion Children’s Books
This edition first published in 2003 by Orion Children’s Books
This eBook first published in 2012 by Orion Children’s Books
Text © Francesca Simon 1997, 1999
Illustrations © Tony Ross 2003
A version of the title story was first published in Timewatch
(Dolphin, Quids for Kids), 1997
The right of Francesca Simon and Tony Ross to be identified as author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the copyright, designs and patents act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 4440 0885 2
Orion Children’s Books
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Orion House
5 Upper St Martin’s Lane
London WC2H 9EA
An Hachette UK Company
www.orionbooks.co.uk
Helping Hercules Page 8
