The next morning, I was there when Atalanta, Meleager, and a dozen other heroes met at the edge of the Calydonian Forest. The centaurs, Giddiopeus and Trotteus, gathered with the heroes to come along on the hunt.

“Let’s go!” shouted Meleager. He blew a loud blast on a ram’s horn and led the way into the forest. Atalanta was right behind him. The centaurs trotted along on either side of her. I kept invisible pace with them. Peleus, Hercules, Theseus, Castor, Polydeuces, and the rest of the heroes followed. Feus and Plexippus brought up the rear.

The heroes carried big iron spears. The centaurs were armed with bows and arrows. Atalanta carried a spear. She had a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over one shoulder and a dagger tucked under her belt. She was ready for anything. The hunting party strode swiftly through the trees. After a time, the heroes became separated from one another.

Giddiopeus and Trotteus came up to Atalanta, who was now walking off to the side of the other hunters.

“How’s it going, gorgeous?” asked Trotteus.

Atalanta just kept walking, her eyes searching the forest for the boar.

The centaurs were slow to take a hint. They trotted closer to Atalanta. Giddiopeus bent down and put his face close to hers.

“How about a good-luck kiss?” he said. He scrunched up his lips.

Atalanta let out a thunderous growl. She sounded like a very angry bear.

“Sheesh!” said Giddiopeus. Then he said, “Whoooooooooa!” because Atalanta had picked him up. She held the huge half-man, half- horse high over her head. Then she bent her knees, leaned back, and heaved him up into the branches of a nearby tree.

Trotteus’s eyes grew wide. He whirled around to take off, but Atalanta was too quick for him. She scooped him up and tossed him into the branches of another tree.

“Help!” cried Giddiopeus.

The heroes heard the commotion. They ran to see what was going on.

“Help us down!” called Trotteus.

The heroes stared at the big horse-bodied creatures clinging awkwardly to the tree branches.

Atalanta smiled. “Climb down yourselves!”

“It’s not that easy when you’ve got hooves!” said Giddiopeus.

“And big rear ends!” added Atalanta.

All the heroes cracked up laughing.

“That’s not funny!” said Giddiopeus.

“Neither is being pestered while I’m hunting,” said Atalanta. “So long!”

The heroes turned and walked on through the forest, leaving Giddiopeus and Trotteus to get down from the treetops as best they could. The group tramped through the woods for hours. I tramped invisibly along with them.

At twilight, with shadows growing long, Polydeuces stopped and cried, “Wild boar in sight!”

Atalanta ran to where he stood. She peered through the trees. I peered too. There he was. His massive head was bent down as he drank from a pool of water beside a cliff. Even in the fading light, I could tell that this was a huge specimen.

“The boar’s back is to the cliff,” Meleager said, keeping his voice low. “He’s trapped. If we spread out, we can all shoot him at once. Then we shall share the glory. And the cash reward!”

Quietly, the hunters spread out.

Meleager cried, “Greetings, boar! Meet your fate at the hands of the heroes of Greece!”

The wild boar quickly lifted his huge head. I caught a flash of curved white tusk. Big curved white tusk. This boar was a giant! He snorted angrily, pawing at the earth.

The heroes drew back their spears. Atalanta fit an arrow to her bow.

The great beast began running at the heroes.

“He’s charging!” cried Feus.

“Ready?” said Peleus.

“Aim!” said Meleager.

“Hold it!” said Atalanta.

Plexippus threw down his spear gun.

“Aw, man!” cried Feus. “We told you a woman would wreck things!”

“Yeah,” agreed a few others. “She’s messing up the hunt!”

Atalanta just kept staring at the boar.

I stared at him too. And I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Atalanta was the first to find her voice. “Boar?” she said. “Is that you?”

Boar stared back at Atalanta with a pair of beady black eyes. Then he nodded, hanging his head in shame.

“Whoa!” cried Hercules. “Is the boar giving up?”

Peleus groaned. “A boar hunt is not supposed to end this way!”

“Right!” called Plexippus. “Let’s shoot him now!”

“We can bring him down!” cried Feus.

“No!” growled Atalanta. “This boar isn’t a monster. He’s my wrestling coach!”

My head was spinning. Sure, this was Calydonia. And the heroes were hunting for a huge, fierce boar. But I’d never thought the boar would turn out to be the Boar. The wrestling phenom! Wielder of the Flying-Hoof Thrust! I had wondered what Boar would do after he quit wrestling. Now I had my answer. Ravage the countryside. Lay waste to Calydonia. But why?

Atalanta dropped her weapons and ran to Boar. She put an arm around his bristly shoulder. The two spoke softly to each other, while Plexippus, Feus, and the others grumbled. At last Atalanta turned to face the hunting party.

“It is too dark to travel on,” she said. “Let us build a fire. We can sit around it, warming ourselves, while Boar tells us his tale.”

“What!” cried Plexippus. “Are we taking orders from a woman now?”

“Yeah!” cried Feus. “We give the orders, not her!”

“Right, right!” cried several of the heroes. “We give the orders!”

“So give.” Atalanta folded her muscle-bound arms across her chest.

The heroes of Greece looked puzzled. For a long time, no one spoke up.

“Well, it is dark,” said Peleus at last.

“And cold,” said Castor.

“Not that it bothers us,” said Hercules.

“Still,” said Polydeuces, “I guess we could use a fire.”

“And we might as well hear what Boar has to say,” said Telamon.

So the heroes went out to gather wood. Soon a heroic fire was raging. Atalanta sat down in front of it. Boar took a place beside her. I sat down invisibly behind him. At last all the heroes gathered around the fire, eating whatever they had brought along for supper.

“Tell us, Boar,” said Atalanta, when everyone was settled. “How did you come to this sorry state?”

Boar rose to his hooves. He turned to Meleager and began to speak in his boarish rhymes:

“Prince man, long ago your daddy, to be nice,

Sent up to Mount Olympus a great big sacrifice.

To every god and goddess he sent up smoke so hot,

But he left out one goddess—one goddess he forgot.

The fearless huntress, Artemis.”

 Atalanta drew in a breath. “Go on, Boar,” she said. Boar nodded and continued:

“Artemis did rant and rave.

She came to see me in my cave.

She said, ‘Boar, the Calydonian king has misbehaved!

Go wreck his fields and wreck his town,

Turn all of Calydonia upside down!’”

“That was you?” exclaimed Meleager. “You were the boar who ravaged Calydonia?”

Boar nodded.

“I trampled Calydonian fields, and I laid waste,

But that sort of thing isn’t really to my taste.

I needed a job—a boar’s got to nibble,

So after a while, I went to see the sibyl.”

“You went to the oracle of Delphi?” asked Atalanta. “Was she the one who told you to take up wrestling?”

Once again, Boar nodded.

“Sibyl said, ‘Boar, get into the ring,

Snort and stomp and do your thing.’

So I went down to Wrestle Dome,

And it became my wrestling home.

All opponents I did bust

With my best move, the Flying-Hoof Thrust.

I roared, I snorted, I stomped and stamped,

And soon I was Immortal Wrestling Champ!”

Even though I rooted for Eagle-Eye, I’d always admired Boar. He was a true champion. And what a great show he put on in the ring! I was dying to whip off my helmet and shake his hoof, tell him how much I’d loved watching his matches. But this wasn’t the moment. I made myself sit quietly and invisibly where I was.

Boar went on:

“Little wrestlers said, ‘Boar, teach us to be cool!’

So I opened up a wrestling school.

They said, ‘Boar, teach us to be champs!’

So I opened up a wrestling camp.”

“It was a great camp, Boar,” said Atalanta. “I learned so much from you.” Boar smiled.

“Little wrestlers came to me,

To get as good as they could be.

I taught them moves and everything,

’Bout how to make it big in the ring.”

“But what happened?” asked Meleager. “Why did you start ravaging again?” Boar stared sadly into the fire.

“One day the Wrestling Fed up and said,

 ‘Boar, your Flying-Hoof Thrust move is dead.

You can cry—Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!

But there’s nothing you can do.

Without my Flying-Hoof Thrust,

I could not adjust.

Next match, I got pinned to the mat

In ten seconds flat,

By Python, also known as Snake.

I no longer had what it takes.

My move I couldn’t use,

So match after match, I did lose.

Little wrestlers left my school.

They said, ‘Boar, you’re not so cool.

There’s a new spot that’s hot—

Python’s School of Hard Knots.’

Wrestle Dome said, ‘Get out! Get out!

We don’t want to see your snout!’

I was hurt, I was mad,

I came back to Calydonia and started acting bad.

I ravaged fields and woods,

Wrecked everything I could!

But I won’t do it anymore.

Before you stands one sorry Boar.”

It had taken Boar all night to tell his woeful tale. Now the sky glowed pink with the light of dawn. Boar sat down beside the fire. No one said anything for a long time.

“So you’ll stop destroying Calydonia?” Meleager said at last.

Boar nodded.

“It’s a deal.

I’ll stop for real.”

Plexippus sprang to his feet. “This is hogwash!” he cried, waving his spear in the air.

“Yes!” cried Feus, jumping up as well. “We came here to kill a boar. I say we kill this one!”