a wild-goose chase

THE SCENE
"This story takes place in ancient Rome in the legendary time when gods visited Earth to interact with humans in person." (pg 311)

THE CHARACTERS
"Philemon and Baucis are the man and woman who welcome guests to their home. Clio is their goose. Jupiter and Mercury are two ancient Roman gods." (pg 311)

THE PLOT
"A husband and wife welcome two guests into their cottage. They have no food for the guests, but they do have a pet goose. As the pair try to provide their guests with food, the guests reveal their identities and reward the host and hostess for their generosity." (pg 311)

VOCABULARY REVIEW
fowl: bird
ramshackle: falling apart
wielding: controlling
disintegrated: broke into small pieces
gaped: hung open
quills: feathers
gilded: decorated with gold
hospitality: friendliness and generosity toward guests
preening: grooming and making pretty

RE-TELLING OF THE MYTH
we hear a knock on the door. two peasants stand at the door.we have never failed to show great hospitality. "'come in! sit down! my wife will cook you supper!'" (pg 312) my husband says. Philemon and I talk quietly in the kitchen. we have no food to feed them, but we do have a goose; Clio.

"The goose must be killed, we will cook him for our guests." Philemon said. I agreed though this is not only a farmyard fowl, it is a family pet. Philemon grabbed the ax as him and I ran trying to catch the goose. he swings at the fowl and his quills fly every where.

The two great gods revealed their identity and rose up and up from the ground. They thanked Philemon and Baucis saying "Your generosity surpasses that of the gods themselves!" (pg 314) The two ask for no disrespectful talk about the gods. Jupiter and Murcery ask what they would want for return for their wonderful hospitality, anything. The wife and husband ask for nothing in return, as Jupiter walks outside.

He calls the two peasants out as they look up at their newly built temple. It was grand and gilded. They give their thanks as the two gods leave and the neighbors come to see the new temple. The family likes to work hard and at one point is getting tired. The two temple owners are getting tired from all of this hard work. Every time they see each other the one rests their head on the others shoulder. Jupiter and Mercery decide to put one tree on either side of the temple. The two trees branches intertwined and the one tree rested on the other just like the wife and husband. The tree is where Clio would rest in the evening. THE END

MORAL OF THE MYTH
The moral of the myth A Wild-Goose Chase is that you always need to treat people the way you want to be treated. You will only get treated respectfully if you treat others respectfully.

work cited

• Journey Across Time, Roman Civilization