Faustulus

King Amulius ordered Rhea Silvia and her newborn sons to be drowned in the Tiber. Weeks of rain had swollen the river. His men carried the mother and the twins to the water. Rhea Silvia was swept away, but the basket holding the boys drifted until it caught in the roots of an olive tree. The twins cried when the current stopped carrying them.

A she-wolf heard their cries and found them in the basket. She rubbed their bodies with her snout, then carried them to her cave. She nursed the boys there and kept them safe. Faustulus, a shepherd who served King Amulius, saw the she-wolf caring for the infants. He waited until dusk, when she left the cave to hunt. He entered the cave, gathered up the babies, and carried one under each arm to his wife, Acca Larentia.

Acca Larentia rejoiced when she saw the boys. She made them a bed in their small hut, lined it with sheepskins, and cared for them. The couple named the twins Romulus and Remus. The boys grew up as diligent sons. They helped in the house and tended the sheep with Faustulus. Faustulus kept their true identity secret for many years. He knew that they were the grandsons of Numitor, the deposed king of Alba Longa, and the great-nephews of Amulius.

At last, Faustulus told Romulus the whole story. Someone else told Numitor that his grandsons still lived. Romulus and Remus each led a group of men against Amulius. They attacked and killed the king. Numitor then called the local people together and told them about Amulius's crime, the twins' birth, and their rescue and upbringing. Romulus and Remus entered at the head of their men and saluted their grandfather. The people confirmed Numitor as their rightful king.