The Galley Slave
Tale no. 18 – The Galley Slave ‘I was a galley slave in Ancient Barbaria. I worked on board the barge of the beautiful Princess Nefertiti of Barbaria, although we galley slaves never got to actually see the princess herself. Apparently she couldn’t bear the stench of our sweaty bodies down in the galley, and preferred to stay in her own, luxurious quarters on the upper deck of her opulent barge. We galley slaves were chained up in rows of three men to an oar, on either side of a central, raised, wooden gangway, on the lower deck of the barge. I never got to know the names of the two other slaves I was chained beside on my oar, as talking amongst the slaves was completely prohibited. We were only permitted to talk to our taskmistresses – and then in humble slave-speak, and only to beg for their sweet, feminine mercy or to praise and bless them for whipping us. Fortunately for me, however, I was chained at the end of the row right next to the central gangway, so I had a good view of our...