Possibly from the 13th century, this Celtic telling of the return and verification of the identity of Ulysses ends delightfully.<\/p>\n
The Recognition of Ulysses<\/p>\n
…\u201dgood people said the queen \u201cwho are you at all?\u201d \u201cI am Ulysses son of Laertes,\u201d said he. \u201cYou are not the Ulysses whom I know\u201d said she. \u201cI am indeed,\u201d he said, \u201cand I will describe my credentials\u201d; and then he told of their secrets and their talks together and their hidden thoughts. \u201cWhat has happened to your looks or your men,\u201d said she, \u201cif you are Ulysses?\u201d \u201c They are lost,\u201d he said \u201cWhat was the last of your keepsakes that you left with me?\u201d she said. \u201cA golden brooch,\u201dsaid he, \u201cwith a silver head; and I took your brooch with me when I went into the ship and it was then you turned back from me,\u201d said Ulysses. \u201cThat is true,\u201d she said \u201cand if you were Ulysses you would ask after your dog.\u201d \u201cI had not thought it would be alive at all,\u201d he said. \u201cI made a broth of long life\u201d said she, \u201cbecause I saw that Ulysses loved it greatly. And what sort of dog at all is that dog?\u201d she said. \u201cIt has white sides and a light crimson back and a jet black belly and a green tail,\u201d said Ulysses. \u201cThat is the description of the dog.\u201d She said, \u201cand no one in the place dares give it its food except myself and you and the steward\u201d \u201cBring the dog in\u201d said he. And four men went to fetch it and brought it in with them. And when it heard the sound of Ulysses\u2019 voice, it gave a tug at its chain so that it laid the four men flat all over the house behind it, and, jumped at Ulysses \u2018 breast and licked his face. When Ulysses\u2019 people saw that, they leaped towards him. Whoever could no get at his skin to kiss him covered his clothes with kisses…<\/p>\n
(From A Celtic Miscellany, Trans. by Kenneth Jackson)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It seems that man is capable of pulling off an endless amount of deceit. Spy craft known no end of sophistication. Secrets can be passed on or extracted. Appearances can be faked. Inside information can be known through other means and the examiner could even doubt their own memory of the situation. Here, the queen does her best to judge and though all the tests are passed, she remains skeptical. What breaks the spell? The dog. Apparently nothing on earth, not even the Devil himself could trick the dog. When he jumps on his old master and licks him, all further questioning is thrown in the trash. What do animals know that we don’t? How to tell the truth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Possibly from the 13th century, this Celtic telling of the return and verification of the identity of Ulysses ends delightfully. The Recognition of Ulysses …\u201dgood people said the queen \u201cwho are you at all?\u201d \u201cI am Ulysses son of Laertes,\u201d said he. \u201cYou are not the Ulysses whom I know\u201d said she. \u201cI am indeed,\u201d … <\/p>\n