Then they went out to the garden; and the merchant princes said, ‘Heroes, run races with us. Let us see whose feet are nimblest.’
‘We cannot race against you, for our limbs are stiff from sea; and we have lost our two swift comrades, the sons of the north wind. But do not think us cowards: if you wish to try our strength, we will shoot, and box, and wrestle, against any men on earth.’
And Alcinous smiled, and answered, ‘I believe you, gallant guests; with your long limbs and broad shoulders, we could never match you here. For we care nothing here for boxing, or for shooting with the bow; but for feasts, and songs, and harping, and dancing, and running races, to stretch our limbs on shore.’
So they danced there and ran races, the jolly merchant kings, till the night fell, and all went in
