Myths That Every Child Should Know

a great price, by the bushel, if any of them could be found growing in the orchards of nowadays! But there is not, I suppose

een any. Children, nevertheless, used to listen, open-mouthed, to stories of the golden apple tree, and resolved to discover it, when they should be big enough. Adventurous young men, who desired to do a braver thing than any of their fellows, set out in quest of this fruit. M

Had the apples been sweet, mellow, and juicy, indeed that would be another matter. There mi

k, he was wandering through the pleasant land of Italy, with a mighty club in his hand, and a bow and quiver slung across his shoulders. He was wrapt in the skin of the biggest and fiercest lion that ever had been seen, and which he himself had killed; and though, on the whole, he was kind, and generous, and noble, there was a

, until, at last, he came to the brink of a river where

d the stranger, "whether this is the ri

the touch of their fingers, that made the flowers more fresh and dewy, and of brighter hues, and sweeter fragrance, while they played with them, than even when th

ls had been weary of seeking it, after so many disappointmen

" replied he, "has ordered me to g

damsels, "desire to obtain them for themselves, or to present them to some fair

ing. "He has often been severe and cruel

t spoken, "that a terrible dragon, with a hundre

, from my cradle upward, it has been my business, and

nably expect to perform deeds far beyond the might of other men. But, then, the dragon with a hundred heads! What mortal, even if he possessed a hundred lives, could hope to escape the fangs of such a monster? So kind-h

ars of joy; and what can she do more, should you win ever so great a victory? No matter for the golden apple

half buried in the earth, near by. With the force of that idle blow, the great rock was shattered all to pieces. It cost the stranger n

damsels with a smile, "that such a blow would

and opened their hideous jaws to devour him; and he, a baby of a few months old, had griped one of the fierce snakes in each of his little fists, and strangled them to death. When he was but a stripling, he had killed a huge lion, almost as big

s, you know," observed one of th

ce; and, besides, there was one of the heads that could not possibly be killed, but kept biting as fiercely as ever, long after it was cut off. So I was force

the stranger might refresh himself in the intervals of his talk. They took pleasure in helping him to this simple food; a

by the antlers, and carried it home alive. And he had fought with a very odd race of people, half horses and half men, and had put them all to death, from a s

ed one of the young maidens, with a smile.

so gigantic a task that it would have taken me all my life to perform it, if I had not luckily thought

live and let him go again, and had tamed a number of very wild horses, and had conquered Hippolyta, the warlike queen of the Amazons.

uired the prettiest of the damsel

ly been the sword belt of Mars; and it can

amsel, tossing her head. "Then I

ght," said

htful sort of figure, as you may well believe. Any person, looking at his tracks in the sand or snow, would suppose that three sociable companions had been walking along together. On hearin

must have been a very queer monster to look a

ry of his adventures, he looked around

of me before," said he, mode

over the world. We do not think it strange, any longer, that you should set out in quest o

b, and so entwined it about with the brightest, softest, and most fragrant blossoms that not a finger's breadth of its oaken substance could be seen. It looked all like a huge bunch o

deeds which it had cost him so much toil and danger to achieve. But still he was not satisfied. He could not think that w

reath, "now that you know my name, will you not tel

o many wonders, and spent such a toilsome life-cannot you content you

shook h

epart now

msels. "You must go to the seashore, and find out the Old One, and

, laughing at this odd name. "An

hink it proper to be acquainted with them, because they have sea-green hair, and taper away like fishes. You must talk with this Old Man of the Sea. H

kindness,-for the bread and grapes with which they had fed him, the lovely flowers with which they had crowned him, and the songs and dances

of hearing, one of the

ng her finger to make the caution more impressive. "Do not be astonished at anythi

e maidens resumed their pleasant labour of making flower

said they, "when he returns hither with the three golden

iant or a monster. And so eager was Hercules to achieve what he had undertaken, that he almost regretted to have spent so much time with the damsels, wasting idle breath upon the story of his adventures. But thus it always is with persons who are destined to perform great things. What they have already done seems less than nothing.

emselves upon the hard sand, in a long line of snowy foam. At one end of the beach, however, there was a pleasant spot, where some green shrubbery clambered up a cliff, making its rocky face look soft and beauti

e fashion of a duck; and his long beard, being of a greenish tinge, had more the appearance of a tuft of seaweed than of an ordinary beard. Have you never seen a stick of timber, that has been long tossed about by the waves, and has got all overgrown with barnacles, and, at last drifting ashore, s

d to him about. Thanking his stars for the lucky accident of finding the old fell

One was well awake, "which is the

g and claw! But the bird could not get away. Immediately afterward, there was an ugly three-headed dog, which growled and barked at Hercules, and snapped fiercely at the hands by which he held him! But Hercules would not let him go. In another minute, instead of the three-headed dog, what should appear but Geryon, the six-legged man monster, kicking at Hercules with five of his legs, in order to get the remaining one at liberty! But Hercules held on. By

, by these magical transformations, that the hero would be glad to let him go. If Hercules had relaxed his grasp, the Old One would certainly have plunged down to the very bottom of the sea, whence he would not soon have given himself the trouble of coming up, in order to answer any impertinent

ape, and really put him to no small torture, he finally thought it best to reappear in his own figure. So there

t is quite a tiresome affair to go through so many false shapes. "Why do you squeeze me so

nd you will never get out of my clutch until you tell

t everywhere, like other seafaring people. Of course, he had often heard of the fame of Hercules, and of the wonderful things that he was constantly performing in various parts of the earth, and how determined he always was to accomp

s, "till you come in sight of a very tall giant, who holds the sky on his shoulders. And the giant,

emarked Hercules, balancing his club on the tip of hi

y, the hero resumed his journey. He met with a great many strange adventures, which would

business to fight with such a fellow; for, as often as he got a knock-down blow, up he started again, stronger, fiercer, and abler to use his weapons than if his enemy had let him alone. Thus, the harder Hercules pounded the giant with his club, the further he seemed from winning the victory. I have

ath if he had not slain the king of the country and made his escape. Passing through the deserts of Africa, and going as fast as he could, he arrived at

f the sun, when it rises or sets over the edge of the world. It evidently drew nearer; for, at every instant, this wonderful object became larger and more lustrous. At length, it had come so nigh that Hercules discovered it to be an immense cup or bowl, made either of gold

ght Hercules, "but never one that would nee

hin bounds, it was ten times larger than a great mill wheel; and, all of metal as it was, it floated over the heaving surges more lightly than an acor

some unseen power, and guided hitherward, in order to carry Hercules across the sea, on his way to the garden of the Hesperides. Accordingly, without a moment's delay, he clambered over the brim, and slid down on the inside, where, spreading out his lion's skin, he proceeded to take a little repose. He had s

ance, a hundred times as loudly as ever you heard a church bell. The noise awoke Hercules, who instantly started up and gazed around him, wondering whereabouts he was. He was not lon

e of his wonderful travels and adventures. It was a greater marvel than the hydra with nine heads, which kept growing twice as fast as they were cut off; greater than the six-legged man monster; great

in, and flitted before his huge eyes, so that he could neither see Hercules nor the golden cup in which he was voyaging. And, most wonderful of all, the giant held up his great

a nose a mile long, and a mouth of the same width. It was a countenance terrible from its enormity of size, but disconsolate and weary, even as you may see the faces of many people, nowadays, who are compelled to sustain burdens above their strength. Wha

been growing and decaying around his feet; and oak trees, of six or seven ce

perceiving Hercules, roared out, in a voice that resembled thunder,

eet there? And whence do y

pretty nearly or quite as loud as the giant's own.

in a fit of immense laughter. "T

e angry at the giant's mirth. "Do you think I

iant's immeasurable legs were to be seen, standing up into the obscurity of the tempest; and, now and then, a momentary glimpse of his whole figure, mantled in a volume of mist. He seemed to be speaking, most of the time; but his big, deep, rough voice ch

ng it up, and the pleasant sunshine beaming over his vast height, and illuminating it against the background of the su

les still standing on the seas

giant in the world! And I

"But, can you show me the way t

ant there?" as

apples," shouted Hercules,

erides, and gather the golden apples. If it were not for this little business of hold

Hercules. "And cannot you r

the summit of that nearest one, your head would be pretty nearly on a level with mine. You seem to be a fel

t deal of muscular power to uphold the sky, yet, if any mortal could be supposed capable of such an exploit, he wa

very heavy?"

he giant, shrugging his shoulders. "But it gets

d the hero, "will it take y

shall take ten or fifteen miles at a stride, and be at the

will climb the mountain behind you t

. And, besides, he thought that it would be still more for his own glory if he could boast of upholding the sky, than merely to do so ordinary a thing as t

ance for joy at his freedom; flinging himself nobody knows how high into the air, and floundering down again with a shock that made the earth tremble. Then he laughed-Ho! ho! ho!-with a thunderous roar that was echoed from the mountains, far and near, as if they and the giant had been so many rejoicing brothers

tant mountain. At last the gigantic shape faded entirely out of view. And now Hercules began to consider what he should do in case Atlas should be drowned in the sea, or if he were to be stung to death by the dragon with the hund

s. "If it wearies me so much in ten minutes, ho

world beneath him, and acknowledged to himself that it was a far happier kind of life to be a shepherd at the foot of a mountain than to stand on its dizzy summit and bear up the firmament with his might and main. For, of course, as you will easily understand, Hercules had an immense responsibility on his mind, as well as a weight on his head and shoulders. Why, if he did n

a cloud, on the far-off edge of the sea. At his nearer approach, Atlas held up his hand, in which Her

ercules, when the giant was within hear

tree, I assure you. Ah! it is a beautiful spot, that garden of Hesperides. Yes; and the dragon with a hun

eartily thank you for your trouble. And now, as I have a long way to go, and am rather in haste-and as the king, m

at, my good friend, I consider you a little unreasonable. Cannot I carry the golden apples to the king, your cousin, much quicker than you could? As His M

wilight, you might have seen two or three stars tumble out of their places. Everybody

"I have not let fall so many stars within the last five centuries. By the ti

wrathfully, "do you intend to m

rhaps the next thousand. I bore it a good while longer, in spite of the backache. Well, then, after a thousand years, if I happen to feel in the mood, we may p

your head one instant, will you? I want to make a cushion of my lion's skin, for the weight to rest upon.

ing with a too selfish consideration of his own ease. "For just five minutes, then, I'll take back the sky. Only for five min

up the three golden apples, that were as big or bigger than pumpkins and straightway set out on his journey homeward, without paying the slightest heed to the thundering tones of the giant, who bellowed a

as tall as he, and which bears his name; and when the thunder rumbles about its s