on the tenth day after leaving troy, odysseus and his men came to an island, where the people only took lotus fruit and flowers as their food. this plant had such a magic effect on its eaters that it could make them forget their past and produce a dreamy laziness over them. when odysseus' men arrived, they were kindly1 invited by the people on the island to eat the sweet food. its magic power began to work on the mimmediately. they fell into a deep daydream2. they lost all wishes for future. to them the sea and ship appeared dull and hateful. and they were not eager to see wife, child and kingdom. when he saw no trace of his men coming back, odysseus became suspicious3. he set out with some well armed men to find out the truth. it did not take him long to find out the magic effect of the food. not allowing his followers4 to touch the plant, he ordered them to drag their lazy friends back to their ship. there he had them tied to the benches until they slept off the harmful effect of the lotus. without hesitation5 they set sail, leaving the dreamy lotus eaters behind. __