Myths That Every Child Should Know

the good lady was very busy, because she had the care of the wheat, and the Indian corn, and the rye and barley, and, in short, of the crops of every k

ich she was always noted for wearing) and got into her car dra

you are away. May I not run down to the shore, and ask some of

any harm. But you must take care not to stray away from them, nor go wandering about the fields by y

in showing their glistening faces and sea-green hair above the water, at the bottom of which was their home. They brought along with them a great many beautiful shells; and, sitting down on the moist sand, where the surf wave broke over them, they busied themselves in m

h we can snuff up the salt breeze of the ocean. And don't you see how careful we are to let the surf wave break over us every moment or two,

y apron full of flowers, and be back again before the surf wave has broken ten times over you. I

ie down on a bank of soft sponge, under the water. The air to-day is a little too dry fo

s, so large and fragrant-roses, with so rich and delicate a blush-such superb hyacinths and such aromatic pinks-and many others, some of which seemed to be of new shapes and colours. Two or three times, moreover, she could not help thinking that a tuft of most splendid flowers had suddenly sprouted out of the earth before her very eyes, as if on purpose to tempt her a fe

to herself, "I was looking at that spot only a moment

e a hundred flowers of the most brilliant hues, and each different from the others, but all having a kind of resemblance among themselves, which showed them to be sister blossoms. But there was a deep, glossy lustre on

e most beautiful shrub that ever sprang out of the earth. I will pull it

l her might, and observed that the earth began to stir and crack to some distance around the stem. She gave another pull, but relaxed her hold, fancying that there was a rumbling sound right beneath her feet. Did the roots extend down into some enc

to this wonderful cavity, and soon saw a team of four sable horses, snorting smoke out of their nostrils, and tearing their way out of the earth with a splendid golden chariot whirling at their heels. They leaped out of the bottomless hole, chariot and all; and there they were, tossing their black manes, flourishing their black tails, and curveting with every one of their hoofs off t

e affrighted Proserpina, he beck

as he knew how to put on. "Come! Will not you like t

good-natured, in spite of his smile; and as for his voice, its tones were deep and stern, and sounded as much like the rumbling of an earth

ied she, all in a tremble.

e chariot, shook the reins, and shouted to the four black horses to set off. They immediately broke into so swift a gallop that it seemed rather like flying through the air than running along the earth. In a moment, Proserpina lost sight of the pleasant vale of Enna, in which she had always dwelt. Another instant, and even the summit of Mount ?tna had become so blue in the distance tha

e stranger did his

ade of pearls, and diamonds, and rubies. Can you guess who I am? They call my name Pluto, and I am the king of diamonds and all other precious stones. Every atom of the gold and silver that lies under the earth belongs to me, to say nothing of the copper and iron, and of

cried Proserpina

ause there is little or no sunshine thereabouts, the apartments are illuminated with diamond lamps. You never saw anything ha

ones," sobbed Proserpina. "Oh, my mother

ed himself, only shouted t

es that are under the earth; and you treat me as if I were doing you an injury. The one thing which my palace needs is a merr

erable as she could. "I shall never smile ag

poor little voice was almost screamed away; and when it was nothing but a whisper, she happened to cast her eyes over a great, broad field of waving grain-and whom do you think she saw? Whom but Mother Ceres, ma

ks had very dismal foliage; and by and by, although it was hardly noon, the air became obscured with a gray twilight. The black horses had rushed along so swiftly that they were already beyond the limits of the sunshine. But the duskier it grew, the more did Pluto's visage assume an ai

y and impertinent glare of the sun. How much more agreeable is lamp-light or torchlight, more par

roserpina. "And will you carr

you see that tall gateway before us? When we pass those gates, we are at home. And there

h of them fiercer than the two others; but, fierce as they were, King Pluto patted them all. He seemed as fond of his three-headed dog as if it had been a sweet little spaniel with silken ears and curly hair. Cerberus, on the other hand, was evidently rejoiced to see his master, and expressed his attachment, as other dogs do, by wagging his tail at a great rate. Proserpina's eyes

serpina, shrinking closer to Plut

try to enter my dominions without being sent for, or to get away when I wish t

t were to be seen among the rocks, and pointed to several places where one stroke of a pickaxe would loosen a bushel of diamonds. All along the road, indeed, there w

ding so lazily beneath it. Never in her life had she beheld so torpid, so black, so muddy looking a stream: its waters reflected no images of anything that was

observed King Pluto. "Is it

ry dismal one,"

draught of it makes people forget every care and sorrow that has hitherto tormented them. Only sip a little of it, my dear Proserpina, and you will instantly cease to grieve f

imes rather be miserable with remembering my mother, than be happy in

ine times we will have in my palace. Here we are just at

the midst of this enchanted light; nor was there a single object in the hall that was really agreeable to behold, except the little Proserpina herself, a lovely child, with one earthly flower which she had not let fall from her hand. It is my opinion that even King Pluto had never been happy in his palace, and that this was the true reason why he had stolen away Pr

aring a most sumptuous banquet, and above all things not to fail of

aid Proserpina. "Nor will I taste a morsel of fo

ind, if he had only known how. "You are a spoiled child, I perceive, my little Proserpina; but wh

e taste any food there, they can never get back to their friends. Now, if King Pluto had been cunning enough to offer Proserpina some fruit, or bread and milk (which was the simple fare to which the child had always been accustomed), it is very probable that she would soon have been tempted to eat it. But

glimpse of her, as you remember, half hidden among the waving grain, while the four black steeds were swiftly whirling along the chariot in which her

aughter's voice. It seemed so unaccountable, however, that the girl should have strayed over so many lands and seas (which she herself could not have traversed without the aid of her winged dragons), that the good Ceres tried to believe that it must be the child of some other parent, and not her own darling Proserpina who had uttered this lamentable cry. Nevertheless, it troubled her with a vast many tender fears, such as are ready t

re, she hastened thither as fast as she could, and there beheld the wet faces of the poor sea nymphs peeping over a wave. All this while, the good creatures had been waiting on the bank of sponge, and, once every half

e is my child? Tell me, you naughty sea n

hould dream of such a thing. Proserpina has been at play with us, it is true; but she left us a long while ago, meaning only to run a

long the beach with a basket of fish; a rustic had seen the child stooping to gather flowers; several persons had heard either the rattling of chariot wheels or the rumbling of distant thunder; and one old woman, while plucking vervain and catnip, had heard a scream, but supposed it to be some childish nonsense, and therefo

ghly on foot. At all events, this was the way in which she began her sorrowful journey, holding her torch before her, and looking carefully at every object a

! The earth did not produce it by any help of mine, nor of its own accord. It is the wor

bosom, not knowing whether she might eve

would demand a banquet for supper and a stately chamber to repose in. And when they saw only a sad and anxious woman, with a torch in her hand and a wreath of withered poppies on her head, they spoke rudely, and sometimes threatened to set the dogs upon her. But nobody had seen Proserpina, nor could give Mother Ceres the least hint which way to seek her. Thus passed the night; and still she continued her search without sitting down to

er, and forth would step a beautiful maiden, who was the hamadryad of the oak, dwelling inside of it, and sharing its long life, and rejoicing when its green leaves sported with the breeze. But not one of these leafy damsels had seen Proserpina. Then, going a little farther, Ceres would, perhaps, come to a fountain gushing out of a pebbly hollow in the earth, and would dabble with her hand in the water. Behold, up through its sandy and pebbly bed, along wit

sometimes she came suddenly upon a rude gang of satyrs, who had faces like monkeys and horses' tails behind them, and who were generally dancing in a very boisterous manner, with shouts of noisy laughter. When she stopped to question them, they would only laugh the louder and make new merriment out of the lone woman's distress. How unkind of those ugly satyrs! And once, while crossing a solitary sheep pasture, she sa

she picked up and put in her bosom, because she fancied that they might have fallen from her poor child's hand. All day she travelled onward through the hot sun;

t a search; so she peeped into the entrance of the cave, and lighted it up a little more by holding her own torch before her. In so doing, she caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a woman, sitting on the brown leaves of the last autumn, a great heap of which had been swept into the cave by the wind. This woman (if woman it were) was by no means so beautiful as many of her sex; fo

s, "to talk with this melancholy Hecate, were

leaves by the dog-headed woman's side. In all the world,

know what sorrow is. Tell me, for pity's sake, have you see

l cries of distress and affright, all over the world, are pretty sure to find their way to them; and nine days ago, as I sat in my cave, making myself very miserable, I heard the voice of a young

, almost ready to faint. "Where was the

tward. I can tell you nothing more, except that, in my honest opinion, you will never see your daughter again. The best

finding her (if that black day is ordained to come), then, if you will give me room to fling myself down, either on these withered leaves or on the naked rock

might enjoy her bad spirits quite as well as if she were to stay in the cave. So she finally consented to go, and they set out together, both carrying torches, although it was broad daylight and clear sunshine. The torchlight seemed to make a gloom; so that the

ng in this woebegone mann

n my poor child, and can doubtless tell what has become

im. He is a gay, light, frivolous young fellow, and will only smile in your face. And besides, there is suc

ed Ceres. "Come, let us make haste, or the sun

nniest spot in the whole world. There they beheld a beautiful young man, with long, curling ringlets, which seemed to be made of golden sunbeams; his garments were like light summer clouds; and the expression of his face was so exceedingly vivid that Hecate held her hands before her eyes, muttering that he ought to wear a bla

wreath of snakes gave a spiteful hiss, and Hecate heartily wished herself back in her cave. But as

and have come to you for assistance. Can you tell

d that he was apt to forget what had happened no longer ago than yesterday. "Ah, yes, I remember her now. A very lovely child, indeed. I am happy to tell you

ried Ceres, clasping her hands

g Pluto and carried off to his dominions. I have never been in that part of the universe; but the royal palace, I am told, is built in a very noble style of architecture, and of the most splendid and costly materials. Gold, diamonds, pearls, and all manner of

er heart? What are all the splendours you speak of, without affection? I must have he

cannot have the pleasure of attending you. Besides, I am not upon the best of terms with King Pluto. To tell you the truth, his three-headed mastiff would nev

er meaning in her words, "you have

"and hear me turn the pretty and touching

o judge of his sensibility by this beautiful production, he must have been endowed with a very tender heart. But when a poet gets into the habit of using his heartstrings to make chords for his lyre,

e king of the mines, at the threshold of which lay the three-headed Cerberus, there seemed no possibility of her ever making her escape. The dismal Hecate, who loved to take the darkest view of things, told Ceres that she had better come with her to the cavern, and spend the rest of her life in being miserable. Ceres ans

put on the very morning of Proserpina's disappearance. She roamed about in so wild a way, and with her hair so dishevelled, that people took her for some distracted creature, and never dreamed that this was Mother Ceres, who had the oversight of every seed which the husband-man planted. Nowadays, however, she gave herself no trouble about seed time nor harvest, but left the farmers to take care of their own affairs, and the crops to fade or flourish, as the case might be. There was nothing, no

me, that the iron-hearted King Pluto will take a liking to your

s baby. The infant, it seems, was sickly (being troubled with its teeth, I suppose), and would take no food, and was all the time moaning with pain. The queen-her name was Metanira-was desirous of finding a nurse; and when she beheld a woman of matronly aspect com

e child entirely t

"if you will devote all your time to him.

or, sickly boy. But beware, I warn you, that you do not interfere with any kind of treatment whi

eemed to do him good; for he smiled

put to bed. You would hardly believe me, if I were to tell how quickly the baby prince got rid of his ailments, and grew fat, and rosy, and strong, and how he had two rows of ivory teeth in less time than any other little fellow, before or since. Instead of the palest, and wretchedest, and puniest imp in the world (as his own mother confessed him to be when Ceres first took him in charge), he was

t saying, "how is it that yo

eplied; "and having nursed my own chi

and then, and flinging a warm and ruddy light upon the walls. Ceres sat before the hearth with the child in her lap, and the fire-light making her shadow dance upon the ceiling overhead. She undressed the little prince, and bathed him all over with some fragrant liquid out of a vase. The next thing she did was to rake back the red embers, and make a hollow place among them,

re, and snatched up poor little Prince Demopho?n out of his bed of live coals, one of which he was griping in each of his fists. He immediately set up a grievous cry, as babies are apt to do when rudely startled out o

wed with superhuman strength and intelligence, and would have lived forever. Do you imagine that earthly children are to become immortal without being tempered to it in the fiercest heat of the fire? But you have ruined your own son. F

and took her departure without heeding Queen Metanira, who entreated her to remain, and cover up

else to busy herself about, she became just as wretched as before. At length, in her despair, she came to the dreadful resolution that not a stalk of grain, nor a blade of grass, not a potato, nor a turnip, nor a

e as ever they did in chill November. The rich man's broad acres and the cottager's small garden patch were equally blighted. Every little girl's flower bed showed nothing but dry stalks. The old people shook their white heads, and said that the earth had grown aged like themselves, and was no longer capable of wearing the warm smile of summer on its face. It was really piteou

see any verdure, it must first grow along the path

flying leap right over the three-headed mastiff, and stood at the door of the palace in an inconceivably short time. The servants knew him both by his face and garb; for his short cloak, and his winged cap and shoes, and his snaky staff had often been seen thereabouts in times gone by. He requested to be shown

possess the faculty of living on air, and Proserpina seems to have possessed it too. At any rate, it was now six months since she left the outside of the earth; and not a morsel, so far as the attendants were able to testify, had yet passed between her teeth. This was the more creditable to Proserpina, inasmuch as King Pluto had caused her t

reading stealthily behind her in the echo of her footsteps. Neither was all the dazzle of the precious stones, which flamed with their own light, worth one gleam of natural sunshine; nor could the most brilliant of the many-coloured gems, which Proserpina had for playthings, vie with the simple beauty of the flowers she used to gather. But still, wherever the girl went, a

tured persons have often as warm hearts at bottom as those of a more cheerful character. If you would only sta

thing you can do now is to let me go again. Then I might remember you sometimes, and think that you wer

the broad daylight, and gathering flowers. What an idle and childish taste that is! Are not these gems, which I

rom Pluto's hand, and flinging them to the other end of the

a was sporting through the hall almost as merrily as she and the four sea nymphs had sported along the edge of the surf wave. King Pluto gazed after her, and wished that he, too, was a child. And little Proserpina, when she turned about an

," whispered she, lo

for though his features were noble, they were very dusky and grim. "Well, I have not deserved it of you, after keeping you a p

pose; for, you will recollect, if Proserpina tasted a morsel of food

or another, which he imagines may be to my liking. But he might just as well save himself the trouble, poor, fat little man that he is. I h

o get some of the finest and juiciest pears, peaches and plums which could anywhere be found in the upper world. Unfortunately, however, this was during the time when Ceres had forbidden any fruits or vegetables to grow; and, after seeking all over the earth, King Pluto's servant found only a single pomegranate, and that so dried up as to be not worth eating. Nevertheless, since there wa

te on the golden salver, she told the s

If I were ever so hungry, I should never think of

great deal of eagerness; for, to say the truth, on seeing something that suited her taste, she felt all the six months' appetite taking possession of her at once. To be sure, it was a very wretched looking pomegranate, and seemed to have no more juice in it than an

y smell it," th

t, of their own accord. Just as this fatal deed was done, the door of the apartment opened, and in came King Pluto, followed by Quicksilver, who had been urging him to let his little prisoner go. At the first noise of their entrance, Proserpina withdrew the pomegranate from her mouth. But Q

ad already reflected that it was an unjustifiable act to take you away from your good mother. But, then, you must consider, my dear child, that this vast palace is apt to be gloomy (although the precious stones certainly shine very bright), and that I am not of the most cheerfu

red Proserpina. "You have really

he iron-hearted keeper of it. And an iron heart I should surely have, if I could detain you here any longer, my poor child, w

shed a tear or two, thinking how lonely and cheerless the great palace would seem to him, with all its ugly glare of artificial light, after she herself-his one little ray of natural sunshine, whom he had stolen

may change his royal mind. And take care, above all things, tha

e set her blessed foot, there was at once a dewy flower. The violets gushed up along the wayside. The grass and the grain began to sprout with tenfold vigour and luxuriance, to make up for the dreary months that had been wasted in barrenness. The starved cattle immediately set to work grazing, after their long fast, and ate enormou

on the doorstep, with her torch burning in her hand. She had been idly watchi

was an enchanted torch, and should hav

r the brown and barren fields, exactly as you may have observed a golden

antly. "Does it presume to be green, when I have bidden it

" cried a well-known voice, "and t

to be described. The grief of their separation had caused both of them to shed a great many tears; and

ittle more quiet, Mother Ceres

ou taste any food while you

was, and all shrivelled up, till there was little left of it but seeds and skin), and having seen no fruit for so long a time, and being faint with hunger, I was tempted just to bite it. The instant

seeds you must spend one month of every year in King Pluto's palace. You are but half restore

other six with you. He certainly did very wrong to carry me off; but then, as he says, it was but a dismal sort of life for him, to live in that great gloomy place, all alone; and it has made a wonderful change in