And the old man blest him, and then looked earnestly upon him, and said-- 'Who are you, fair youth, and wherefore travel you this doleful road ?' 'Who I am my parents know; but I travel this doleful road because I have been invited by a hospitable man, who promises to feast me, and to make me sleep upon I know not what wondrous bed.' Then the old man clapped his hands together and cried-- 'O house of Hades, man-devouring! will thy maw never be full?
Know, fair youth, that you are going to torment and to death, for he who met you (I will requite your kindness by another) is a robber and a murderer of men.
Whatsoever stranger he meets he entices him hither to death; and as for this bed of which he speaks, truly it fits all comers, yet none ever rose alive off it save me.' 'Why ?' asked Theseus, astonished.
'Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops his limbs till they be short enough, and if he be too short, he stretches his limbs till they be long enough: but me only he spared, seven weary years agone; for I alone of all fitted his bed exactly, so he spared me, and made me his slave.
And once I was a wealthy merchant, and dwelt in brazen-gated Thebes; but now I hew wood and draw water for him, the torment of all mortal men.' Then Theseus said nothing; but he ground his teeth together.
'Escape, then,' said the old man, 'for he will have no pity on thy youth.
But yesterday he brought up hither a young man and a maiden, and fitted them upon his bed; and the young man's hands and feet he cut off, but the maiden's limbs he stretched until she died, and so both perished miserably--but I am tired of weeping over the slain.

And therefore he is called Procrustes the stretcher, though his father called him Damastes.
Flee from him: yet whither will you flee?
The cliffs are steep, and who can climb them?
and there is no other road.' But Theseus laid his hand upon the old man's month, and said, 'There is no need to flee;' and he turned to go down the pass.
'Do not tell him that I have warned you, or he will kill me by some evil death;' and the old man screamed after him down the glen; but Theseus strode on in his wrath.
And he said to himself, 'This is an ill-ruled land; when shall I have done ridding it of monsters ?' And as he spoke, Procrustes came up the hill, and all the merchants with him, smiling and talking gaily.

And when he saw Theseus, he cried, 'Ah, fair young guest, have I kept you too long waiting ?' But Theseus answered, 'The man who stretches his guests upon a bed and hews off their hands and feet, what shall be done to him, when right is done throughout the land ?' Then Procrustes' countenance changed, and his cheeks grew as green as a lizard, and he felt for his sword in haste; but Theseus leapt on him, and cried-- 'Is this true, my host, or is it false ?' and he clasped Procrustes round waist and elbow, so that he could not draw his sword.
'Is this true, my host, or is it false ?' But Procrustes answered never a word.
Then Theseus flung him from him, and lifted up his dreadful club; and before Procrustes could strike him he had struck, and felled him to the ground.
And once again he struck him; and his evil soul fled forth, and went down to Hades squeaking, like a bat into the darkness of a cave.
Then Theseus stript him of his gold ornaments, and went up to his house, and found there great wealth and treasure, which he had stolen from the passers-by.

And he called the people of the country, whom Procrustes had spoiled a long time, and parted the spoil among them, and went down the mountains, and away.
And he went down the glens of Parnes, through mist, and cloud, and rain, down the slopes of oak, and lentisk, and arbutus, and fragrant bay, till he came to the Vale of Cephisus, and the pleasant town of Aphidnai, and the home of the Phytalid heroes, where they dwelt beneath a mighty elm.
And there they built an altar, and bade him bathe in Cephisus, and offer a yearling ram, and purified him from the blood of Sinis, and sent him away in peace.
And he went down the valley by Acharnai, and by the silver-swirling stream, while all the people blessed him, for the fame of his prowess had spread wide, till he saw the plain of Athens, and the hill where Athene dwells.
So Theseus went up through Athens, and all the people ran out to see him; for his fame had gone before him and every one knew of his mighty deeds.
And all cried, 'Here comes the hero who slew Sinis, and Phaia the wild sow of Crommyon, and conquered Kerkuon in wrestling, and slew Procrustes the pitiless.' But Theseus went on sadly and steadfastly, for his heart yearned after his father; and he said, 'How shall I deliver him from these leeches who suck his blood ?' So he went up the holy stairs, and into the Acropolis, where AEgeus' palace stood; and he went straight into AEgeus' hall, and stood upon the threshold, and looked round.
And there he saw his cousins sitting about the table at the wine: many a son of Pallas, but no AEgeus among them.

There they sat and feasted, and laughed, and passed the wine-cup round; while harpers harped, and slave-girls sang, and the tumblers showed their tricks.
Loud laughed the sons of Pallas, and fast went the wine-cup round; but Theseus frowned, and said under his breath, 'No wonder that the land is full of robbers, while such as these bear rule.' Then the Pallantids saw him, and called to him, half-drunk with wine, 'Holla, tall stranger at the door, what is your will to-day ?' 'I come hither to ask for hospitality.' 'Then take it, and welcome.