That Daedalus was a very cunning workman ; but of all his artful contrivances , this labyrinth is the most wondrous . Were we to take but a few steps from the doorway , we might wander about all our lifetime , and never find it again . Yet in the very center of this labyrinth is the Minotaur ; and , Theseus , you must go thither to seek him . '' `` But how shall I ever find him , '' asked Theseus , `` if the labyrinth so bewilders me as you say it will ? '' Just as he spoke , they heard a rough and very disagreeable roar , which greatly resembled the lowing of a fierce bull , but yet had some sort of sound like the human voice . Theseus even fancied a rude articulation in it , as if the creature that uttered it were trying to shape his hoarse breath into words . It was at some distance , however , and he really could not tell whether it sounded most like a bull 's roar or a man 's harsh voice . `` That is the Minotaur 's noise , '' whispered Ariadne , closely grasping the hand of Theseus , and pressing one of her own hands to her heart , which was all in a tremble . `` You must follow that sound through the windings of the labyrinth , and , by and by , you will find him . Stay ! take the end of this silken string ; I will hold the other end ; and then , if you win the victory , it will lead you again to this spot . Farewell , brave Theseus . '' So the young man took the end of the silken string in his left hand , and his gold-hilted sword , ready drawn from its scabbard , in the other , and trod boldly into the inscrutable labyrinth . How this labyrinth was built is more than I can tell you . But so cunningly contrived a mizmaze was never seen in the world , before nor since . There can be nothing else so intricate , unless it were the brain of a man like Daedalus , who planned it , or the heart of any ordinary man ; which last , to be sure , is ten times as great a mystery as the labyrinth of Crete . Theseus had not taken five steps before he lost sight of Ariadne ; and in five more his head was growing dizzy . But still he went on , now creeping through a low arch , now ascending a flight of steps , now in one crooked passage and now in another , with here a door opening before him , and there one banging behind , until it really seemed as if the walls spun round , and whirled him round along with them . And all the while , through these hollow avenues , now nearer , now farther off again , resounded the cry of the Minotaur ; and the sound was so fierce , so cruel , so ugly , so like a bull 's roar , and withal so like a human voice , and yet like neither of them , that the brave heart of Theseus grew sterner and angrier at every step ; for he felt it an insult to the moon and sky , and to our affectionate and simple Mother Earth , that such a monster should have the audacity to exist . As he passed onward , the clouds gathered over the moon , and the labyrinth grew so dusky that Theseus could no longer discern the bewilderment through which he was passing .
He would have left quite lost , and utterly hopeless of ever again walking XXXXX a straight path , if , every little while , he had not been conscious of a gentle twitch at the silken cord .
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