[Illustration] Tanglewood Tales _by_ NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE _Illustrated by_ _Virginia Frances Sterrett_ The Penn Publishing Company Philadelphia Copyright 1921 by The Penn Publishing Company CONTENTS PAGE The Minotaur .................... 1 The Pygmies...................... 43 The Dragon's Teeth............... 73 Circe's Palace................... 117 The Pomegranate Seeds............ 161 The Golden Fleece................ 209 ILLUSTRATIONS Cadmus beheld a female figure, wonderfully beautiful He tugged and toiled amain She whipped up the snakes and ascended high over the city "Thou hast slain the monster", cried Ariadne, clasping her hands He concluded that his dear son had been eaten by the Minotaur This giant and these pygmies were all brethren The giant gave them his brotherly kindness They were constantly at war with the cranes "Alas! my dear children", answered poor Queen Telephassa "Sacred Oracle of Delphi, wither shall I go"? This pitiless reptile had killed his poor companions At a distance he beheld stately towers The voyagers examined the web of cloth "Wretch"! cried Circe They brought along with them a great many beautiful shells So she peeped into the entrance of the cave They arrived at the sunniest spot in the world "I shall not touch it I assure you", said she "What shall I do"? said he "I am the king's daughter" At the appointed hour he met the beautiful Medea "What is it"? asked Jason [Illustration] THE MINOTAUR In the old city of Trœzene, at the foot of a lofty mountain, there lived, a very long time ago, a little boy named Theseus. His grandfather, King Pittheus, was the sovereign of that country, and was reckoned a very wise man; so that Theseus, being brought up in the royal palace, and being naturally a bright lad, could hardly fail of profiting by the old king's instructions. His mother's name was Æthra. As for his father, the boy had never seen him. But, from his earliest remembrance, Æthra used to go with little Theseus into a wood, and sit down upon a moss-grown rock, which was deeply sunken into the earth. Here she often talked with her son about his father, and said that he was called Ægeus, and that he was a great king, and ruled over Attica, and dwelt at Athens, which was as famous a city as any in the world. Theseus was very fond of hearing about King Ægeus, and often asked his good mother Æthra why he did not come and live with them at Trœzene. "Ah, my dear son," answered Æthra, with a sigh, "a monarch has his people to take care of. The men and women over whom he rules are in the place of children to him; and he can seldom spare time to love his own children as other parents do. Your father will never be able to leave his kingdom for the sake of seeing his little boy."