*600
In the great hall, the gods and
goddesses wait for you.
*601
You feel very tiny standing before the
gods and goddesses.<
<
"[name]!" thunders a voice from the very
center of the hall. It comes from the
god who seems to be the most powerful of
all. "I am Zeus, king of the gods," he
booms.
*602
"You did not see fit to read the tales
of ancient Greece, so I brought you here
to learn the hard way," Zeus says. "I
see you have managed to escape the
Minotaur.  But have you finally learned
anything about the gods and goddesses?
We will soon find out."
*603
A tall goddess holds up a green jade
box. "I am Hera, queen of the gods," she
says. "In the box are the tokens of all
the gods. I will choose three. Each
time, Zeus will ask you a question about
the god whose token I choose. If you
answer all three questions correctly,
you may return home."
*604
"What if I don't answer correctly?" you
ask.<
<
"I hope that you will," Hera says
simply.<
<
You gulp.<
<
Hera opens the box.
*605
Hera closes her eyes and chooses a
token. Zeus looks at the token, then at
you. "Answer with just one word, please,
and spelling counts!" he says. Then he
asks, [question]
*606
Zeus glares at you. "[name]," he says,
"I will give you a chance to change your
answer." He asks again, [question]
*607
Zeus raises a lightning bolt in anger.
"Wrong!" he booms. "Again you have
failed to show proper interest in the
gods. You shall return to the maze,
without their gifts. Do not return here
until you have met and shown your
respect for all the gods!"
*608
You see Pegasus and climb on his back,
hoping that Zeus will hold onto his
lightning.
*609
Zeus smiles slightly. "You are right,
[name]," he says. "Let us see if you can
answer the next question as easily."
*610
"You are right!" Zeus declares. All of
the gods and goddesses cheer.
*611
"You have shown proper respect for the
gods and goddesses," Zeus says.
"Now I will keep my promise and send you
home. But take this [PASSWORD] with you.
With it you can return for another visit
and perhaps some different adventures."
*612
Hermes steps forward and takes your arm.
"Thank you, Zeus," you say. Before you
can say anything else, Hermes whisks you
away, out of the palace and up through
the clouds.
*613
Suddenly, you land with a thump. You
look around, but Hermes has disappeared.
"[name]!" says a voice. "Please do not
look at your neighbors' papers." You are
back in Mr. Panagoulias's class. And,
except for your name, your paper is
still blank. Your time is almost up. You
start writing furiously about all you
heard and saw on your journey. Mr.
Panagoulias looks at you suspiciously
and strolls past your desk. You can feel
his beady eyes reading your paper over
your shoulder. "Remarkable, [name]!" he
says. "It's almost as if you were
there."
*614
You don't say anything. But you put your
hand in your pocket, and you can feel
that the [PASSWORD] that Zeus gave you
is still there. It really did happen!
And you really will go back to Olympus
again someday.
*615
THE END
*1000