Myths That Every Child Should Know

. And, for aught I know, after so many thousand years, it is still gushing out of the very selfsame spot. At any rate, there was the pleasant fountain, welling freshly forth and sparkling adow

ountain, and likewise a maiden, who was dipping up some of the water in a

nsed and filled her pitcher, after drinking out of it. "Will y

his clear fountain was once a beautiful woman; and when her son was killed by the arrows of the huntress Diana, she mel

its cheery dance out of the shade into the sunlight, had so much as one tear-drop in its bosom! And this, then, is Pir

rink out of the spring) stared hard at young Bellerophon

Fountain of Pirene. But, pray, have you lost a horse? I see you carry the bridle in your hand; and a very pretty one it is wi

which, as wise people have informed me, must be found hereabouts, if anywhere. Do you know whether th

country fel

mmit of Mount Helicon. He was as wild, and as swift, and as buoyant, in his flight through the air, as any eagle that ever soared into the clouds. There was not

imming a little too low, he had got astray among our mists and vapours, and was seeking his way back again. It was very pretty to behold him plunge into the fleecy bosom of a bright cloud, and be lost in it, for a moment or two, and then break forth from the other side. Or, in a sullen rain storm, when there was a gray pavement of clouds over the whole sky, it would s

for pastime, as fleetly as the wind. Oftener than in any other place, he had been seen near the Fountain of Pirene, drinking the delicious water, or rolling himself

a glimpse at the beautiful Pegasus. But, of late years, he had been very seldom seen. Indeed, there were many of the country folks, dwelling within half an hour's walk of the fountain, who h

the reason wh

ngs be to a horse? Could he drag the plough so well, think you? To be sure, there might be a little saving in the expense of shoes; but then, how would a man like to see his horse flying out of

think otherwise," sai

tening very attentively, with his head stretched forward and one hand at hi

e, "In your younger days, I should imagine, y

dly know what to think, and very seldom think about the winged horse at all. If I ever saw the creature, it was a long, long while ago; and, to tell you the truth, I doubt whether I ever did see h

rl, who stood with the pitcher on her head, while this talk went on. "You

in the air. And one other time, as I was coming to the fountain with my pitcher, I heard a neigh. Oh, such a brisk and melodious neigh as

y a pity!" sai

ing of the story, and who was gazing at him, as children a

, playfully pulling one of his curls, "I su

ld, very readily. "I saw him ye

llerophon, drawing the child closer

imes, when I look down into the water, I see the image of the winged horse in the picture of the sky that is there. I wish he would come do

n the maiden, who had heard him neigh so melodiously, rather than in the middle-aged clown, who b

He held the bridle, with its bright gems and golden bit, always ready in his hand. The rustic people who dwelt in the neighbourhood, and drove their cattle to the fountain to drink, would often laugh at poor Bellerophon, and sometimes take him pretty severely to task. They told hi

way of flying; while one of his schoolfellows would scamper after him, holding forth a twist of bulrushes, which was intended to represent Bellerophon's ornamental bridle. But the gentle child, who had seen the picture of Pegasus in the water, comforted the young stranger more

ertaken to catch the winged horse. And we shall find no better opportunity

een able to obtain, this Chim?ra was nearly, if not quite, the ugliest and most poisonous creature, and the strangest and unaccountablest, and the hardest to fight with, and the most difficult to run away from, that ever came out of the earth's inside. It had a tail like a boa-constrictor; its body was like I do not care what; and it had three separate heads, one of

grain, or, for that matter, a village, with all its fences and houses. It laid waste the whole country round about, and used to eat up people and animals a

some valiant and beneficent deed, such as would make all mankind admire and love him. In those days, the only way for a young man to distinguish himself was by fighting battles, either with the enemies of his country, or with wicked giants, or with troublesome dragons, or with wild beasts, when he could find nothing more dangerous to encounter. King I

horse in all the world was half so fleet as the marvellous horse Pegasus, who had wings as well as legs, and was even more active in the air than on the earth? To be sure, a great many people denied that there was any such horse with wings, and said that the stories about h

n his hand. It was an enchanted bridle. If he could only succeed in putting the golden bit into the mouth of Pegasus, the wing

, instead of righting with it, was compelled to sit idly poring over the bright waters of Pirene, as they gushed out of the sparkling sand. And as Pegasus came thither so seldom in these latter years, and scarcely alighted there more than once in a lifetime, Bellerophon feared that he might grow an old man, and have no strengt

m, and was never weary of keeping him company. Every morning the child ga

oking up hopefully into his face, "I

s best to slay the Chim?ra without the help of the winged horse. And in that case poor Bellerophon would at least have been terribly scorched by the creature's breath,

oke to Bellerophon even

know not why it is, but I feel as if

tle hands into Bellerophon's. The latter was lost in his own thoughts, and was fixing his eyes vacantly on the trunks of the trees that overshadowed the fountain, and on the grapevines that clambered up among their branches. But the gentle child was gazing down into the wa

felt the pressure of the child's little hand

lerophon! There is a

hat he took to be the reflection of a bird which seemed to be flying at a gre

"And how very large it looks, though it mu

! It is very beautiful, and yet I dare only look at its image in the water. Dear

ightly down out of the cloud, although still at a vast distance from the earth. Bellerophon caught the child in his arms, and shrank back with him, so that they were both hidden among the thick shrubbery which grew all around the fountain. Not that he was afraid of an

gs. At last, with so light a pressure as hardly to bend the grass about the fountain, or imprint a hoof tramp in the sand of its margin, he alighted, and, stooping his wild head, began to drink. He drew in the water, with long and pleasant sighs, and tranquil pauses of enjoyment; and then another draught, and another, and another. For, nowhere in the world,

k about, fluttering his great wings as lightly as ever did a linnet, and running little races, half on earth and half in air, and which I know not whether to call a flight or a gallop. When a creature is perfectly able to fly, he sometimes chooses to run, just for the pastime of the thing; and so did Pegasus, although it cost him

his head, and turning it on all sides, as if he partly suspected some mischief or o

as beautiful to see him, this one solitary creature, whose mate had never been created, but who needed no companion, and, living a great many hundred years, was as happy as the centuries were long. The more he did such things as mortal horses are accustomed to do, the less eart

ly, like any other horse, put out his fore legs, in order to rise from the ground; and Bellerophon, w

, on the back of

d horse snorted and trembled with terror and anger. Upward he went, up, up, up, until he plunged into the cold misty bosom of a cloud, at which, only a little while before, Bellerophon had been gazing, and fancying it a very pleasant spot. Then again, out of

ngs pointing right upward. At about two miles' height above the earth, he turned a somerset, so that Bellerophon's heels were where his head should have been, and he seemed to look down into the sky, instead of up. He twisted his head about, and, looking Bellerophon in the fac

aken food all his life out of Bellerophon's hand. To speak what I really feel, it was almost a sadness to see so wild a creature grow suddenly so tame. And Pegasus seemed to feel it so, likewise. He looked round to Bellerophon, with the tears in his beautiful eyes, instead of the

ch wild and solitary creatures. If you can catch and

he summit of which was the winged horse's abode. Thither (after looking gently into his rider's face, as if to ask leave) Pegasus now flew, and, alighting, waited patiently until Bellerophon should please to dismount. The young man, accordingly, leaped from his steed's bac

d the enchanted bridle off the head of

said he. "Either le

nd was bathed in the upper radiance of the sun. Ascending higher and higher, he looked like a bright speck, and, at last, could no longer be seen in the hollow waste of the sky. And Bellerophon was afraid that he should never behold him more. But, while he was lamenting his own folly,

the neck of Pegasus, not as a caution, but for kindness. And they awoke at

the winged horse, must have come down out of the sky. A thousand miles a day was no more than an easy space for the fleet Pegasus to pass over. Bellerophon was delighted with this kind of life, and would have liked nothing better than to live always in the same way, aloft in the clear atmosphere; for it was always sunny weather up there, however cheerless and rainy it

ced about a quarter of a mile aloft, and made a grand sweep around the mountain-top, by way of showing that he was wide awake, and ready for any kind of an excursion. During th

, fondly stroking the horse's neck. "And now, my fleet and beautiful fri

s neck, and preparing himself for battle. When everything was ready, the rider mounted, and (as was his custom, when going a long distance) ascended five miles perpendicularly, so as the better to see whither he was directing his course. He then turned the head of Pegasus toward the east, and set out for Lycia. In their flight they overtook an eagle, and came so nigh

a cloud, and peeping over its edge, Bellerophon had a pretty distinct view of the mountainous part of Lycia, and could look into all its shadowy vales at once. At first there appeared to be nothing remarkable. It was a wild, savage, and

mischief," thought Bellerophon.

cavern, and clambered sullenly into the atmosphere. Before reaching the mountain-top, these three black smoke wreaths mingled themselves into one. The cavern was almost directly beneath the winged horse and his rider, at the distance of about a thousand feet. The smoke, as it crept heavily u

inged horse understood, and sunk slowly through the air, until his hoofs were scarcely more than a man's height above the rocky bottom of the valley. In fro

. The lion and the goat were asleep; the snake was broad awake, and kept staring around him with a great pair of fiery eyes. But-and this was the most wonderful part of the matter-the three spires of smoke evidently issued from the nostrils of these three heads! So strange was the spectacle, that

nable claws, the remnant of an unfortunate lamb-or possibly (but I hate to think so) it was

time to consider what to do next, the monster flung itself out of the cavern and sprung straight toward him, with its immense claws extended, and its snaky tail twisting itself venomously behind. If Pegasus had not been as nimble as a bird, both he and his rider would have been overthrown by the Chim?ra's headlong rush,

alons pawing fiercely in the air, and its three heads sputtering fire at Pegasus and his rider. My stars, how it

ble monster; or else thou shalt fly back to thy solitary mountain peak without thy friend Bellerophon. For e

k. It was his way of telling him that, though he had wings and was an immortal horse, yet he wo

d Bellerophon. "Now, then, let

o the air. As he came within arm's length, Bellerophon made a cut at the monster, but was carried onward by his steed, before he could see whether the blow had been successful. Pegasus continued his course, but soon w

n all the fierceness of the dead one into themselves, and spit fla

rophon. "With another stroke like that, we

a had given the young man a deep scratch in his shoulder, and had slightly damaged the left wing of the flying steed with the other. On his part, Bellerophon had mortally wounded the lion's head of the monster, insomuch that it now hung downward, with its fire almost extinguished, and sending out gasps of thick black smo

or king; "the Chim?ra is cer

of a pure crystal flame darted out of his eyes. How unlike the lurid fire of the

n hurt than for the anguish of this glorious creature, that ought never to have t

ore, but straight at the monster's hideous front. So rapid was the onset that it se

pened its snake jaws to such an abominable width, that Pegasus might almost, I was going to say, have flown right down its throat, wings outspread, rider and all! At their approach it shot out a tremendous blast of its fiery breath, and

nothing to

into a knot! Up flew the a?rial steed, higher, higher, higher, above the mountain-peak, above the clouds, and almost out of sight of the solid earth. But still the earth-born monster kept its hold, and was borne upward, along with the creature of light and air. Bellerophon, meanwh

p to the hilt into its cruel heart. Immediately the snaky tail untied its knot. The monster let go its hold of Pegasus, and fell from that vast height downward; while the fire within its bosom, instead of being put out, burned fiercer than ever, and quickly began to consume the dead carcass. Thus it fell out of the sky, all a-flame, and (it being nightfall before it rea

ory, he bent forward and kissed Pegas

eed!" said he. "Back to

ountain in a very short time. And there he found the old man leaning on his staff,

winged horse once before, when I was quite a la

country fellow. "If this pony were mine, the fir

the luck to be afraid at the wrong time. So she ran

o used to keep me company, and never lost his faith

ellerophon!" said

ved Bellerophon descending through the clouds, mounted on the winged horse, he had shrunk back into the shrubbery. He was a

running to the knee of Bellerophon, who still sa

I should never have waited for Pegasus, and never have gone up above the clouds, and never have conquered th

hanted bridle from the he

ied he, with a shade of sadness in his

ellerophon's shoulder, and would

shalt be with me as long as thou wilt; and we will go together,

s, that child took higher flights upon the a?rial steed than ever did Bellerophon, and achieved more honourable