Αὐτὰρ ὃ τοξευτῇσι τίθει ἰόεντα σίδηρον,
καδ δ' ἐτίθει δέκα μὲν πελέκεας, δέκα δ' ἡμιπέλεκκα,
ἱστὸν δ' ἔστησεν νηὸς κυανοπρῴροιο
τηλοῦ ἐπὶ ψαμάθοις, ἒκ δὲ τρήρωνα πέλειαν
λεπτῇ μηρίνθῳ δῆσεν ποδός, ἧς ἄρ' νώγει
τοξεύειν: ὃς μέν κε βάλῃ τρήρωνα πέλειαν,
πάντας ειράμενος πελέκεας οἶκον δὲ φερέσθω:
ὃς δέ κε μηρίνθοιο τύχῃ ὄρνιθος ἁμαρτών,
ἥσσων γὰρ δὴ κεῖνος, ὁδ' οἴσεται ἡμιπέλεκκα.
Then for the archers he set forth as a prize dark iron—ten double axes laid he down, and ten single; and he set up the mast of a dark-prowed ship far off in the sands, and with a slender cord made fast thereto by the foot a timorous dove, and bade shoot thereat. "Whoso shall hit the timorous dove let him take up all the double axes and bear them home, and whoso shall hit the cord, albeit he miss the bird: lo, his is the worser shot; he shall bear as his prize the single axes."
