The Junior Classics, Volume 3: Tales from Greece and Rome
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 3: Tales from Greece and Rome
Children's literature; Mythology, Classical -- Juvenile literature
Then they rowed away, the songs say, along the Mysian shore, and past the
mouth of Rhindacus, till they found a pleasant bay, sheltered by the long
ridges of Arganthus, and by high walls of basalt rock. There they ran the
ship ashore upon the yellow sand, and furled the sail, and took the mast
down, and lashed it in its crutch. And next they let down the ladder, and
went ashore to sport and rest.
There Hercules went away into the woods, bow in hand, to hunt wild deer;
and Hylas the fair boy slipped away after him, and followed him by
stealth, until he lost himself among the glens, and sat down weary to
rest himself by the side of a lake; and there the water nymphs came up
to look at him, and loved him, and carried him down under the lake to be
their playfellow, forever happy and young. And Hercules sought for him
in vain, shouting his name till all the mountains rang; but Hylas never
heard him, far down under the sparkling lake. So while Hercules wandered
searching for him, a fair breeze sprang up, and Hercules was nowhere to
be found; and the _Argo_ sailed away, and Hercules was left behind, and
never saw the noble Phasian stream.
Then the Minuai came to a doleful land, where Amycus the giant ruled, and
cared nothing for the laws of Jupiter, but challenged all strangers to
box with him, and those whom he conquered he slew. But Pollux the boxer
struck him a harder blow than he ever felt before, and slew him; and the
Minuai went on up the Bosphorus, till they came to the city of Phineus,
the fierce Bithynian king; for Zetes and Calais bade Jason land there,
because they had a work to do.
They went up from the shore toward the city, through forests white with
snow; and Phineus came out to meet them with a lean and woeful face, and
said, “Welcome, gallant heroes, to the land of bitter blasts, the land of
cold and misery; yet I will feast you as best I can.” And he led them in,
and set meat before them; but before they could put their hands to their
mouths, down came two fearful monsters, the like of whom man never saw;
for they had the faces and the hair of fair maidens, but the wings and
claws of hawks; and they snatched the meat from off the table, and flew
shrieking out above the roofs.
Then Phineus beat his breast and cried, “These are the Harpies, whose
names are the Whirlwind and the Swift, the daughters of Wonder and of
the Amber-nymph, and they rob us night and day. They carried off the
daughters of Pandareus, whom all the gods had blessed; for Venus fed them
on Olympus with honey and milk and wine; and Juno gave them beauty and
wisdom, and Minerva skill in all the arts; but when they came to their
wedding, the Harpies snatched them both away, and gave them to be slaves
to the Fates and live in horror all their days. And now they haunt me,
and my people, and the Bosphorus, with fearful storms and sweep away our
food from off our tables, so that we starve in spite of all our wealth.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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