Surely there is no more danger to us? I thought.
“It is a strange thing, Leander,” Telemachos said. “For the last three days, hundreds of seagulls have flown in circles just outside, swooping and diving. Should they not be at the shore?”
I could not answer him, but later that day a crow told me why the gulls were flying so close to us. They were seeking to honor one who had been their friend. When I am stronger, I will go to the harbor and thank them on behalf of Argos, the Boar Slayer, most loyal dog son of Odysseus, sacker of cities, dog brother of noble Telemachos, mate of golden Aurora, and father of Leander, the lion slayer.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my detriment I tend to keep my writing close to the vest, but a few people were instrumental in bringing Argos to print, and I wish to acknowledge them here. My children, Kabir and Shalini, never rolled their eyes when I told them about my idea for Argos, and for that I thank them. Jonas Horwitz and David Hardy read early drafts and made useful suggestions. Tom and Laura McNeal, two fine writers I admire tremendously, introduced me to my agent, the late George Nicholson. If there is a pantheon for young adult publishers, George stands alone on Mount Olympus. I deeply appreciate the efforts of Erica Silverman and the fine people at Sterling Lord Literistic, who continue to support my writing. To my editor at HarperCollins, Toni Markiet, I extend my most sincere gratitude. She took a chance on a fledgling writer with a strange idea for a book and let me remain true to my vision for Argos. Finally, my wife, Anu Kumar, never wavered in her support of my writing habit, encouraging me through fallow periods and rejections and making my successes all the more sweet, and for that I could never say thank you enough.
A note on sources: I think I first encountered the story of Odysseus through Tennyson, in the great poem Ulysses. I then read Robert Fagles’s version sometime in junior high, and in college I read Richmond Lattimore’s The Odyssey. Since I don’t read ancient Greek, I dipped into all three again as I wrote Argos and found them just as good as I remember.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RALPH HARDY graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in English and received his MFA from Columbia College, Chicago. He now lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife and children and a dog named Harvey, who is nothing like Argos. He is the author of Lefty: A Novel and a number of short stories. For more information, go to www.ralphhardyfiction.com.
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CREDITS
Cover art © 2016 by Therese Larsson
Hand lettering by David Coulson
Cover design by Aurora Parlagreco
COPYRIGHT
ARGOS: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog. Copyright © 2016 by Ralph Hardy. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
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Names: Hardy, Ralph, date, author.
Title: Argos : the story of Odysseus as told by his loyal dog / Ralph Hardy.
Description: New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers, [2016] | Summary: Retells the epic tale of Odysseus, the ancient Greek hero who encounters witches and other obstacles on his journey home after fighting in the Trojan War, told from the point of view of the steadfast companion who never gives up hope of his master’s safe return.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015029169 | ISBN 9780062396785 (hardback)
EPub Edition © May 2016 ISBN 9780062396808
Subjects: | CYAC: Odysseus (Greek mythology)—Juvenile fiction. | Odysseus (Greek mythology)—Fiction. | Mythology, Greek—Fiction. | Dogs—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Legends, Myths, Fables / Greek & Roman. | JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Dogs. | JUVENILE FICTION / Classics.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.H367 Ar 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015029169
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FIRST EDITION
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