Once upon a time... A long time ago, there lived a king named Minos. He was very powerful and evil too.
Minos had built a giant maze, a labyrinth, and at the center of the maze, he kept a terrifying creature, the Minotaur. Now this was no ordinary animal. It was a monster, half man and half bull. Minos took pleasure in attacking Athens, a tiny village across the sea every now and then.
The king of Athens did not have the resources to fight Minos, and his kingdom suffered a great deal whenever Minos'navy attacked them. King Minos offered them a deal. He asked the king of Athens to send seven boys and seven girls every year to be eaten by the Minotaur.
The king of Athens did not have any other option other than to accept the deal. From that year, seven boys and seven girls were sent to the dreaded island of Crete, where the Minotaur was kept. King Minos kept his word and he did not attack Athens anymore.
Prince Theseus, the son of the king, was very sad. To see the small children leave the island every year, he knew that this was a wrong thing to do. So he came up with an idea.
He was going to kill the monster. His father begged him not to go, but the prince took his place as the seventh Athenian boy. Along with the other Athenian boys and girls, Theseus sailed towards Crete.
As the ship docked in Crete, King Minos himself came down to inspect the prisoners from Athens. He enjoyed the chance to taunt the Athenians and to humiliate them even further. Standing behind the king, listening, was his daughter, Ariadne.
From the moment she set eyes on Theseus, Ariadne fell in love with him. As she listened to her father goading and taunting the young prince, She decided that she would help him. Later that night, she wrote a letter and slipped it under the bedroom door of Theseus.
When Theseus read the letter, he slipped out of the palace and met Ariadne. She was holding a sword and a ball of string. Ariadne told the prince to use the sword to kill the Minotaur.
Then she told him to tie the string to the door and unroll it. As he moved through the maze, Thesias thanked the princess for her kindness. Don't forget now, she cautioned Thesias, you must take me with you to Athens. Prince Thesias promised to take her with him. The guards took the Athenian children the next morning and shoved them into the maze.
Then they locked the door from the outside. Theseus followed Ariadne's advice to the word. He tied one end of the string to the door, and the other children firmly held on to it, making sure it stayed tied.
Theseus searched through the maze and found the minotaur. What followed was a great fight. Prince Theseus fought bravely, and he finally managed to kill the minotaur using the sword that Ariadne gave him. The prince then followed the string to get out of the maze, and when he arrived at the door, he saw Princess Ariadne smiling and waiting for him. She opened the door with her keys, and along with other children, they ran to the ship.
I cannot believe how my life has changed, said Ariadne as they sailed across the calm seas. I am free of my cruel father and that I will soon marry you. But in the truth, Theseus did not find Ariadne attractive, and he wanted to get rid of her somehow.
They stopped at an island on the way to get provisions. Ariadne, too, got out of the ship, and she strolled along the beach. Soon, she got bored and fell asleep.
All the people gathered to admire the sleeping princess. Theseus sailed quietly away. with the children of Athens and left her there, sleeping.