Lila’s Big Race “Lila, wake up,” boomed Lilaʼs father from downstairs, “itʼs market day today and I want to be there bright and early!” Lila hurriedly got out of her small wooden bed. She quickly got dressed and stumbled down the stairs. “Hurry up Lila,” screamed Lilaʼs little brother, Cylon, who was screeching like a banshee, “or we wonʼt get a spot at the market!” “We will, for Zeusʼs sake,” she retorted through a mouth full of porridge, “we always do!” “Actually,” stammered her father, sounding extremely embarrassed, “we might not get a place at the market...” “What in the name of Hades are you talking about?! We always get a spot at the market!” she caterwauled. “Yes I know, but thereʼs a new rule. You have to pay to get a spot the market and the earlier you get there the less you have to pay, and the thing is weʼre just not making enough money to get a good spot...” he trailed off and stared very hard at a piece of straw near his foot. “What...?” She breathed, “Weʼre not making enough money?!” Her farther nodded grimly. Cylon started to cry.
“Donʼt cry Cylon, you havenʼt heard my plan yet,” said her father with a smile. “Plan? What plan?” she asked. She saw a glint in his eye that told her that this plan was something big. “We are moving to Athens!” he announced, so loud that he seemed to want the whole village to know. “What?” Cylon gasped “Weʼre moving to Athens? But Dad, itʼs the middle of the school year!” “I know, but you can go to another school there,” their father explained rapidly, dancing about with excitement. “Lila, I want you to help Cylon pack his things and then you can pack your own. We are leaving tomorrow.” “But what about all the animals?” asked Lila. “Our belongings donʼt take up much room, we can put them in the front of the cart with us, while the animals go in the back,” he said so fast Lila could barely tell what he was saying. “Now go and pack your things!” *** “Are we nearly there yet?” whined Cylon. “If we carry on much longer on this road, Iʼll be as hot as a roast ox leg!” “Donʼt worry, weʼll be there soon,” said their father, but he sounded discouraged. They had been on the road for hours and hours and all of them were thirsty enough to kill for just one drop of pure, fresh water.
Then Lila thought of something. “Dad, why did you tell me it was market day earlier if were moving?�
“Oh, that?” said her father, with a glint of amusement in his eye, “That was an excuse to get you out of bed.” He chuckled and went on steering the cart. All of a sudden, something appeared on the horizon. “Whats that?” Cylon blurted out, “They look like...houses.” Lila squinted at the thing on the horizon. Now that Cylon had mentioned it, they did look a bit like houses. That was when she realized that they had arrived. *** “Itʼs finally done!” their father panted, who sounded exhausted, but with much pride in his voice. “Our new home is finally finished.” As a matter of fact, Lila was very proud of it as well. It was a small, cosy-looking house, and was slightly bigger than their old house. Itʼs not Zeusʼs temple, thought Lila, but itʼs home. Suddenly, Cylon let out a huge yawn. “For the love of Aphrodite, can we please go to bed now!” he grumbled, irritably. “Sure, you can go to bed.” said their father, with warmth in his eyes, “In fact, we should all go to bed.” “See you in the morning...” mumbled Cylon and Lilaʼs father as they headed into their rooms. “See ya!” called Lila from her new bedroom. She got into bed, turned on to her side, closed her eyes and fell straight to sleep.
*** “Lila wake up!” yelled Cylon, while jumping on his sisterʼs bed, “Itʼs market day and dad wants to get a good spot!” “All right, all right, Iʼll get out of bed so long as you get off, you great ox!” she said with a hint of amusement in her voice. Cylon scrambled off the bed as fast as he could and jumped around on the spot, waiting for Lila to get out of bed.She slipped out of bed and followed Cylon downstairs. “Good morning Lila, good morning Cylon.” said their father. He was grinning from ear to ear and seemed to be in a very cheerful mood. “First day at the Athens market. You excited?” he asked. “You bet!” yelled Cylon “Today weʼll sell five pigs, at least!” This was a pretty stupid guess, as selling just three pigs was a very good market day. “Maybe not that many, but hopefully a lot,” replied their father. “Lila, get the pigs out of their pen and take Cylon with you. Iʼll hitch the donkey to the cart.” Lila and Cylon went over to the pigpen. “Stand back Cylon. You know what the pigs are like when theyʼre hungry!” ordered Lila. Cylon took a step back. Carefully, so as not to cut her finger on the ancient, rust-covered piece of metal, Lila slid the bolt. After a few seconds, the first pigs started to come out of the pen. “Well, looks like dad did feed them yesterday,” giggled Cylon.
“Yeah, but who was supposed to feed them? I donʼt think it was on dadʼs chores list, was it?” teased Lila. “Oh, shut up!” said Cylon, irritably. *** “Finally, weʼre here!” said their father, beaming, “Kids, welcome to the Athens market!” Lila just stood and stared, her mouth wide open. It was huge! she had never seen a market so big! “This is the Athens market?!” gasped Cylon “itʼs ginormous!” The market certainly was very big. The ground was dusty and worndown, but it was still very grand looking. The market was full of tradesmen and peasants, and more animals than you could count in a lifetime. There were poets, jugglers and philosophers, all competing for crowds. There were glorious temples surrounding the marketplace, white and glistening in the shining sun. “Lila, help Cylon with the pigs. They ainʼt piglets any more, you know!” said her father. Lila went round to the back of the cart and saw that poor Cylon had collapsed under the weight of one of the slightly fatter pigs! Lila heaved the pig off Cylon, who sat there gasping for breath. “Honestly Cylon, your brain must be the size of a chickpea! You know you canʼt lift one of the big ones by yourself.” scolded Lila.
“Well, Iʼm sorry. Maybe if you had been helping it wouldnʼt have happened!” said Cylon, sulkily. “Stop arguing, both of you!” thundered their father, “Or you can spend the night in the stables!” “Yes, Dad.” they chorused. They picked up the pigs, Cylon with some difficulty, and headed off to find their stall. “Thatʼs strange...” said Cylon, who seemed to be deep in thought. “What?” asked Lila. “Look at the other pigs, now look at our pigs. See how much fatter our pigs are?” said Cylon. “Maybe they are not as good at breeding as we are back home,” said their father. “But this could be an advantage for us.” “How in the name of Poseidon is that an advantage?!” asked Cylon. “Because our pigs are fatter than theirs, so we will have more customers,” explained their father. “Ohhh,” said Cylon. “Thatʼs pretty clever.” Lila had to admit, it was pretty clever. Maybe we will sell five pigs after all! she thought to herself. *** “Pigs! Get your big, fat, juicy pigs!” boomed Lilaʼs father. Lila was in awe. Within ten minutes, they had sold two pigs! Soon another man, who was young and tall, came up to the stall.
“Those are fine pigs you got there!” said the man, “How much do they cost?” “Five gold coins.” said their father “Raised them myself!” “What?! Thatʼs a horrible price!” said the man, who seemed enraged, “I wonʼt buy one of them!” “Your loss, as they are fine pigs. Plus, good live-stock is hard to find here in Athens I can see.” said there father with a grin. “Oh fine, Iʼll buy one.” said the man reluctantly, “But I still think itʼs a ripoff!” He paid, took the pig, and left, grumbling to himself. As the walked away, the man in the stall next to them said “Probably a sacrifice for Zeus so he does well in the Olympics.” “The what?” asked Cylon. “Donʼt tell me you donʼt know about the Olympics?!” said the man, who seemed amazed. “Sorry, but we donʼt know what the Olympics are...” said Lila, feeling stupider by the second. “Mother of Athena!” gasped the man “Itʼs the biggest news this spring. How can you possibly not know what it is?!” “Maybe you could tell us about it?” said their father. “OK, but it better be quick. I got a stall to run, ya know!” *** “...And that is the Olympics in plain Greek,” finished the man.
“Now, if you donʼt mind I would like to get back to work!” He turned back to his customer and started bargaining the price of some olive oil. “Wow!” said Lila “I wish I could be in the Olympics.” “Fat chance!! Only boys can be in the Olympics.” retorted Cylon “Only boys?!? Only boys!! ONLY BOYS!!!!!” screamed Lila Everyone went quiet and looked at her. “Why are you so excited about only boys being able to compete in the Olympics?” Cylon was confused. “Oh..ah...nothing nothing lets get back to work” But it wasnʼt nothing. No, not at all. It was really something!!! It was going to take cunning, stealth and patience. It was time for some detective work Lila Style. *** That night “Detective Lila” started investigating. She needed to get to the roof as quietly as possible. After everyone had gone to sleep, Lila as quietly as she could, pulled out her secret escape rope used only for emergency purposes and this was an emergency. After securing a tight knot she carefully lowered the other end to the ground and began her descent. Reaching the ground, letting go of the rope and running to the back of the house she carefully examined the pig pen to see if it would serve its purpose. “Yes, this will do just fine.” she whispered. She took a few steps back and charged at the pig pen. Hitting full speed she jumped and used the fence
to push her way over the mud and onto the roof of the pen. Her timing had been perfect, but when she landed she hit the roof with a thud. She sat motionless in the quiet of the darkness praying to Zeus that her father, or even worse her brother had not stirred. After a few seconds she decided the coast was clear and continued her mission. Her next target was the stables, which would lead her to the roof, her destination. The stables were not much taller than the pig pen so a running start was not needed. She leapt up at the stables with ease, but the next jump would not be so easy. For the next jump would take her to the roof, followed by an even more challenging climb to the chimney. She prepared herself and jumped off the ground with all her might, and just made it to the roof. She pulled herself on to her elbows and looked over her shoulder. On the horizon, the sky was starting to turn orange; within five minutes, dawn would break and the rest of her family would wake up. She had to get to the chimney, and fast. She scrabbled as fast as she could up the terracotta roof tiles. She was getting close to the chimney, but what was this? She was slipping! Oh no! she thought I始m going to fall off the roof! Suddenly, something caught her eye. There was one tile that was cracked down the middle; she shot out her hand and grabbed at the crack. She stopped with her legs dangling dangerously over the edge. She hauled herself back up, and sat frozen to the spot with fear. Then she remembered what she was doing up here. She scrambled up the roof once again and this
time reached the chimney. She pulled herself up by it. From this viewpoint she should be able to spot the hole above Cylon始s room. After a while of frantic searching she spotted the hole. Slowly, so as not to lose her balance, she walked over to it. She peered into it, but there was only blackness. Her father must have actually fixed the roof and put up some wood to keep out the rain. But this was no worry to Lila. She brought out her pocket knife and carefully, so as not to make too much noise, scraped away the wood layer by layer. She checked the hole again, now she could see clearly. Now, all she had to do was wait. *** Lila had almost dozed off, when she finally heard something from underneath the tiles. Her head snapped up the second she heard it. She bent over and peered through the hole. Cylon was still wearing his nightshirt, but she knew that he would have to get dressed before he came down to breakfast. So she watched and waited as he got sleepily out of bed, grumble a bit, and start to get undressed. It was a horrible sight, but it would be worth it, if she got into the olympics. If I ever get into the olympics, she thought to herself, I will be a runner and win lots of races... Suddenly, something hit her. Usually, Lila slept for longer than Cylon. So most mornings Cylon woke Lila up. What would he say if he found her on the roof? She had to get down...fast!
*** Lila burst into her room, jumped into her bed, pulled the sheet up and shut her eyes tight. Next thing she knew, Cylon had charged into her room, and as usual started jumping up and down on the bed. “Get off! Iʼm trying to sleep” Lila grumbled, doing a very good sleepy voice. She rolled over, and pretended to go back to sleep. “But Iʼm hungry!” moaned Cylon. “I want some breakfast!” “Get some yourself” said Lila “Hades, donʼt you know how to do anything for yourself?” All the same, she got out of bed and went down to get Cylon some breakfast. “Youʼd better hurry up and eat, or else youʼll be late for school and get a beating again.” As Cylon hurriedly stuffed porridge into his mouth Lila sneaked off to the shed. It was time to get some work done. It was time for step two... *** It looked like all Lilaʼs hard work had paid off. The disguise was ready. Lila tried it on --- it was perfect! Wow, the leather actually looks like skin, thought Lila. She looked just like a boy. She decided that her boyʼs name would be Aiolos. She didnʼt like the idea that when she was in the suit she would have no clothes on. If she was going to be a boy she would need some clothes, so she got a loincloth and tied it on the suit. Thatʼs better, thought Lila, but now I have to actually get to Olympia. How in the world am I going to do that?
She could run away, but Cylon and her father would be worried sick. Thatʼs when she had the idea. When a girl gets married, she goes and lives with her husband. All she had to do was pretend to be engaged! She took off the suit and went back into the house. When she came into the dining room, she saw that her father had woken up. Cylon was still wolfing down porridge. “Dad, thereʼs something I should tell you...” said Lila. “Yes, what is it?” asked her father. “Iʼm engaged!” exclaimed Lila. “WHAT!” screamed Cylon. But Lila took no notice. “And I have to leave...today!” “When do you need to leave?” asked her father. “Now.” replied Lila. “Ok, I give my consent. Iʼll help you pack.” *** At last! She had arrived in Olympia! But it was not quite like she imagined. It was HUGE!!! The temples alone were five times bigger than her house, And the race track was vast. I better get used to it, she thought, seeing as Iʼll be spending the next twelve months here. She carried on down the winding road to the training ground. It was time for a workout!
*** “Well, what do we have here?” one of the athletes chuckled. He was tall and muscular, like most of the other athletes. “Whoever he is, heʼs merely bigger than a sandfly!” said one of the other athletes. In that second Lila pounced on the athlete “A sandfly who will bite you!” she jumped off him, and as she walked away she purposely kicked him. She carried on walking over to the running track. The other athletes thought she was useless, and they were wrong. They had not seen her run. She got into the starting position, got ready, and kicked off into a sprint. The athletes watching gaped in astonishment. Either they were crazy, or he was the fastest person they had ever seen. “Heʼs faster than a hare!” said the first athlete. “And to think, Iʼll be racing against him...” said the second athlete in dismay. Lila grinned as she heard their comments, knowing that she wasnʼt even going her fastest. She ran even faster into her fastest sprint ever. This time they were all too dumbstruck to speak. Lila slowed down with a huge smirk on her face. She couldnʼt help it --- it was the first time she had ever been taken seriously. It felt so good!
She walked off the pitch and headed to the dormitories, as it was almost sunset. Lila felt pretty good about herself. For the first time in her life, she was being treated with respect. Oh, Iʼm going to enjoy this... she thought to herself. *** “Attention all athletes!” yelled the priest from the top of the temple. “There is an important announcement to be made.” Lila sleepily trudged out of the door. “Whatʼs going on?” she asked the nearest athlete. “The priest has an announcement to make.” said the athlete. “Everyone, if I could have your attention please!” yelled the priest. Everyone fell silent. “I have been thinking about this and have come to a conclusion, that it is a disgrace that boys should compete in the Olympics in the nude. So I have decided that for this Olympics, all contestants for any event must wear loincloths.” An uproar came from the crowd, “Boo!” “No way!” “Never!” “Silence! I will have order! Anybody who doesn't wear a loincloth will not be eligible to compete in the games.” Everyone stopped protesting. The priest walked back into the temple and the athletes scattered, muttering curses on the priest. But Lila was deeply relieved. It would now not be possible to spot that she was a girl. She muttered a silent prayer of thanks to
Tyche, the goddess of luck, and walked over to the training field. Itʼs time to shape up.... she thought. *** “Emperor and athletes, men and boys!” boomed the announcer. “The time has come to light the Olympic torch!” An amazing cheer came from the crowd. “Wow!” thought Lila “I had no idea the Olympics was such a big event.” Suddenly, the runner came along. The crowd cheered more wildly than ever. The man stopped at the top of the peak and lit the giant beacon. The flames roared up in a great bonfire, sparks flying in all directions. “The torch has been lit.” came the announcerʼs voice from the top box. “Let the games begin! The first event is the Pankration.” Lila tensed. She was good friends with one of the athletes who was entering the Pankration, and she knew from him how dangerous the sport was. She watched as the different athletes came and went. Finally Lilaʼs friend Alkaios stepped out into the arena. He was up against probably the biggest man Lila had ever seen in her life. It was a nasty match, with lots of punches and kicks, and soon afterwards blood and bruises. Eventually the judge called it a draw. Alkaios came off with a bloody nose, a black eye, and a twisted wrist. Lila started to feel a little bit worried. She knew that the race wouldnʼt be that tough, but she knew there were some cheats among the athletes.
*** “Now for the one you have all been waiting for --- the foot race!” the announcer declared dramatically. All the athletes came out. Compared to the others Lila was fairly scrawny. The crowd started muttering curiously. Lila stood on the starting line and glanced around. She was the smallest of all the athletes. I donʼt want to do this any more, thought Lila. Thereʼs no way I can win. The starter walked over to the edge of the track. “Athletes, get ready!” he called. Lila got into the starting position. “On your marks!” Well..... “Get set!” Here goes nothing....
“Go!” Immediately, Lila shot off. She hared away in front of the other athletes. Wow, she thought, that was easier than I thought. But, as she raced along, she realised she was not alone. One of the other athletes, Dimosthenis, was right on her tail. “Iʼm not going to let you win!” he growled, his eyes glittering. He raced off, leaving Lila in the dust. “But Iʼm not planning on losing”, she muttered to herself. She quickened her pace so that she was right next to Dimosthenis. “.....and as we near the end of the race, tied for first place are Dimosthenis and Aiolos!” came the announcerʼs excited yell. Come on, thought Lila, this is the only time I will ever get to be in the Olympics! I canʼt lose..... She sped up until she was running faster than she had ever run before. “But, whatʼs this? In the last few seconds Aiolos has taken the lead, and it seems that Dimosthenis is too tired to keep up..... and Aiolos has crossed the line!” Lila couldnʼt believe it. She had won the race! It felt so sensational! So wonderful! She wished every girl could feel this magical feeling.
“And now, moving on to the awards ceremony....”. All the other athletes were given awards. Lila was delighted to find that her friend Alkaios had won first place in the Pankration. “The first place for the foot race: he may be small as a sandfly, but he bites hard, itʼs Aiolos!” The crowd went wild. The Emperor himself came up with the lush green wreath and placed it gently on Lilaʼs head. “Zeus has blessed you with a wonderful gift” he said “Use it well!” “I will” promised Lila. “The Olympics is now at an end. Congratulations to all the athletes, may you do well in the world. The blessings of Hermes go with you as you travel back home.” But Lila wasnʼt going home. She couldnʼt go home. First there was a bit of business to be taken care of. *** “Everybody welcome to the very first ever Heraia!” boomed Lila from the top box. All the girls went wild --- they were eager to see how the athletes would do. “The first event is the foot race --- a personal favourite of mine.” The athletes were Janita, Eloisa, Cosmina and Alexa. The starter got into her position. “On your marks, get set, go!”
“Today will be the first time that any other girl feels what I felt when I first won. It will be a great sensation for her. I am glad that I have created the first ever chain of female athletes.” *** Well, dear reader, are you wondering what happened to all the characters? Lila is still the planner and supervisor of Heraia, which is the first ever sporting event for girls. She is still single as she does not particularly want a family and likes to live a quiet life by herself. Cylon turned out to be very athletic, and has won many Olympic events. He is currently living on that very same farm that Lilaʼs family used to live in, with his wife and two sons, Kadmos and Zephyros. So, altogether, this story has a pretty happy ending. The moral, you ask? Well, see if you can figure it out for yourself..... .....oh, fine, Iʼll tell you: it doesnʼt matter who you are or where you came from, you can always make a difference. There, happy? Good, because Iʼm not answering any more questions.....
The End