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Theseus and the Minotaur - Chapter Preview

(Penguin Longman Active Reading)
By Ken Beatty

A King's Sword

'You have two fathers, Theseus,' his mother said. 'You are the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and the son of King Aegeus.'

Theseus lived with his mother in Troezen, in Greece. He was a clever, happy young man, but he did not know his father.
One day, his mother said to him, 'Come into the garden, Theseus. Do you see that big rock? Can you move it, my son?'
Theseus was strong He moved the rock and looked under it. There was a sword - a king's sword!
'This is the sword of King Aegeus,' his mother said. 'And now it is yours.'
Theseus looked at her, and then at the sword. 'Mine?' he said. 'Why is it mine?'
'You have two fathers, Theseus,' his mother said. 'You are the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and the son of King Aegeus. King Aegeus lives in Athens. Go to him now. It is time.'
That night, Theseus said goodbye to his mother.
'I am going to walk to my father's home,' he said to her.
'But it is a long and difficult walk,' his mother said.
'I am strong,' Theseus said. 'You know that, Mother. Don't cry for me.'
Theseus walked for ten days. There were many bad men on the road. But he fought them - and he killed them. Then he came to Athens, to the home of King Aegeus.
But Aegeus had a new wife, Medea, and she had a son too. She was angry about Theseus.
'He is your father's first son,' she said to her son. 'You are going to be king after your father - not him.'
She wanted to kill Theseus. But Aegeus watched her and he stopped her.
The king talked to Theseus. 'You moved the rock and you have my sword,' he said. 'You are my son.'