Books: Classic Myths
R >>
Retold by Mary Catherine Judd >> Classic Myths
Pages:
1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7
To the children he looked like a friendly lad and they were glad
of his help.
Bil balanced the pail on the pole and together they started to carry the
water home.
The weight was so great on Hjuki's shoulder, for he tried to take the
heavier end, that he stumbled and down they both went.
Mani wanted the children's company and so picked them up and carried
them through the sky to the mountains of the moon. There you can see
them when the moon is full, wandering about, seeking to return, falling
and going out of sight, just as they did on earth.
They still carry the bucket and the pole, hoping yet dreading to meet
their parents. They fear that their parents think they ran away from
their task. But try as hard as they can, Mani keeps them from finding
the way back to earth.
THE MAN IN THE MOON
_German_
More than a thousand years ago, on a Sunday morning in the early fall,
an old German woodman told his wife, Gretchen, that he was going after
fagots. She begged him not to go, for it was Sunday and they did not
need the wood. The old man only laughed at her, and trudged away into
the forest where no one could see him.
[Illustration: THE MAN IN THE MOON. From an old painting.]
He cut his bundle of fagots, piled them together, tied them with a stout
band, and throwing them over his shoulder, started homeward. Then he
noticed that the wild creatures, that had never stirred as he entered
the woods before, were now afraid of him. The birds fluttered away with
a whirring noise, and an old mother hare, which he knew very well, made
wonderful leaps to get herself and family out of his sight. Even a bear
ran from him, instead of attacking him.
Soon he met a stranger with a sad, stern face, who stopped him.
"Don't you know that this is Sunday on earth, when all must rest
from work?"
"Whether it is Sunday on earth or Monday in heaven, it is all the same
to me," laughed the old man.
"Then carry your bundle forever, and as you do not care for Sunday on
earth, you shall have a long Monday in heaven, where you shall be a
warning to all Sabbath-breakers evermore."
Then the old man found himself swiftly rising in the air. Quick as a
thought he was landed in the moon, where his wife saw him as she stood
outside her door that night to watch for his coming. There he still
stands bearing his fagots, and as all days are Mondays in the moon, he
can never Break Sunday Again.
[Illustration: THE MAN IN THE MOON. From a seal dated 1335.
The legend says "I will teach thee, Walter, why I carry thorns in
the moon"]
A STORY OF AN EVENING STAR
_Greek_
"Every night, mother, I see a beautiful star in the sky so different
from the others. It comes first and shines so bright that it seems as if
it were the loveliest star in the whole sky. Won't you watch for it
to-night with me?"
The mother smiled, for she thought she knew which one of the stars Mamie
would point out. Sure enough, that night as they both sat in the hammock
watching the sunset, out came the very star she expected. In a moment
Mamie saw it and nearly fell out of the hammock as she screamed and
clapped her hands.
"There it is, mamma! There it is! I know it because it looks straight at
me. It knows me, I believe, for it never trembles a bit, like the other
stars! Did you ever see such a lovely one?"
Her mother smiled an odd little smile.
"What makes you laugh at me, mother? I know you are laughing, by the
corners of your mouth; they go up so queerly. Tell me."
"Why, Mamie, that is Venus you are watching. I have watched her every
year since I first found her long ago."
"Venus? Who is Venus, mother? And what makes you call a star _her_? I
didn't know a star could have a name. Who named her? Did you, mother?
What made you call her Venus?"
"Seems to me you ask a great many questions, little girl. Which one
shall I answer first?"
"Did you name my star yourself?"
"No, Mamie, it was named hundreds of years ago when many stars had names
given them. You know people have watched and studied the stars almost
since the world began."
"And was Venus a little girl or a woman? I know she must have been
lovely or they would never have given her name to my star."
"Your star, as you call it, Mamie, is at present the evening star.
By and by it will be the morning star. I will tell you where it
got its name.
"Venus was a lovely woman, but she never was a little girl. The old, old
story books say that one day as some people were walking by the sea they
saw a rose-tinted shell rise on the crest of the wave. This great shell
opened, and beautiful Venus, clothed in raiment like sea-foam when the
sun shines on it, stepped out upon the waters. The people watching were
not surprised when they saw a sunset cloud sail down and take her to the
edge of the western sky, where the ruby gates opened and she passed
through to the world of the gods. That was her home. Whenever she wished
to return to earth she came in a silver chariot drawn by snow-white
swans. Her head was always wreathed with roses and myrtles. White doves
carried her messages. Her dress is of the finest silk, the color of the
pink sea-shell."
"Why, mamma, you say _is_! Do you mean Venus is still alive?"
[Illustration: VENUS. From the statue in the Louvre, Paris]
"No, dear, she never was alive. It is only one of the many beautiful
myths that people used to believe two thousand years ago. But artists
love to paint pictures as beautiful as Venus was thought to be, and
there are many lovely statues of her. Sometimes it almost seems as if
she must have been alive. When we go to the art gallery, see if you can
find a Venus.
"But say good-night to your star, for it is late. Some time you will
miss her and find another in her place. Tell me, dear, when the new
star comes."
"Oh, I am going to watch every night, mamma. Will the new one
have a name?"
"Yes, but I'm not going to tell you its name or its story till it
comes."
THE GIANT WITH A BELT OF STARS
_Greek_
It is an easy matter for any one to find the three great stars in the
sky that are arranged in a row, like three great diamonds sparkling on
the front of a mammoth crown. They shine out, clear and bright, whenever
Diana takes her silver bow, which we call the moon, and goes to hunt in
her secret fields or forests. These three stars have been called Orion's
Belt for thousands of years, and for ages children and grown people have
watched for their coming after the sun has gone below the horizon.
The story told of Orion by the ancient Greeks has been repeated by some
of our poets, and Henry W. Longfellow has written in his own beautiful
way of this same famous Greek hunter who never knew fear. Perhaps you
will be more interested in his poem after you have read this short
account of the mighty giant whose belt of stars is longer than other
giants were tall.
Orion was the son of Neptune, the god of the sea. His father gave him
power to walk upon the water or to wade in the deepest ocean without
drowning. You know that if he had the power of walking in such places,
he did not need to swim, and his steps were so long that he could walk
much faster than his swiftest enemy could run.
[Illustration: ORION WITH HIS CLUB]
Orion was very fond of hunting, and wore, as his mantle or robe, the
tawny skin of a huge lion he had slain. His club and his sword were his
only weapons, and he needed no others, for his long arms helped him to
strike before he himself could be hurt. Once he was made blind, but as
he wandered by the seashore the music of the singing waves which were
his father's home gave him comfort and led him to a friend who guided
him to Apollo. One bright sunbeam from Apollo's crown touched Orion's
eyes and they saw more clearly than ever before. Nearly everything was
Orion's friend, for with his great strength he was always ready to help
those who could not help themselves. But he was so huge that many who
did not know him were afraid, and one day the Pleiads, daughters of
Atlas, saw him coming and they fled away so fast that they were changed
into doves. You can find the place where they alighted in the sky, just
ahead of Orion. He still follows them, and his dog Sirius, who carries
the famous dog star, is close at his side; but the Pleiads never allow
Orion to overtake them in their long journey through the regions of the
sky. The Pleiads are so beautiful that you must learn to find them, and
this cluster of six twinkling stars, "a swarm of fireflies tangled in a
silver braid," will guide you in finding the belt of the mighty hunter
Orion, the giant of the heavens. Four other very brilliant stars mark
his shoulders and his knees.
THE GREAT BEAR IN THE SKY
_Greek_
"Oh mother, what do you think? Last night that English boy, Charlie
Thornton, asked me if I knew where Charles' Wain was, and when I said I
didn't know, what do you suppose he showed me? Why, nothing but the Big
Dipper up there among the stars. I told him he was mistaken and that
nobody ever called it the odd name he had for it. But he said his mother
called it that, and he wouldn't give it up. Wasn't that queer?"
"Why, no, Ralph, I don't think it was strange that he called it as his
mother had taught him. That is exactly what you do. Many English people
call it Charles' Wain. Wain means wagon, and it does look a little like
a cart or wagon."
"I don't think it does, not the least bit. It looks just like a big
dipper, and like nothing else."
"Why, you silly boy! What would you think if I should tell you that ever
so many people call it the Great Bear?"
"Why, that is queerer yet. Can you see a bear up there in the sky? Maybe
when it thunders it is the Great Bear growling!" and Ralph jumped off
the porch and rolled on the grass, laughing at his discovery.
[Illustration: THE GREAT BEAR IN THE SKY]
In a moment a thought seemed to come to him, and springing up, he ran to
his mother's chair on the porch and said: "Mother, is there any story
about the Great Bear? How did it get up there among the stars? Is the
North Star the Bear's eye? Does his nose always point to the North Star,
the same as the two pointers in the Big Dipper?"
"Now, my boy, you will be surprised again when I tell you that there are
two bears in the sky, the Great Bear and the Little Bear. The wonderful
North Star is in the tip of the tail of the Little Bear."
"Now, I know there is a story about them, just as there was about those
three beautiful ones you showed me in Orion's belt. You told me about
Orion, now you will tell me about the two bears, won't you?"
"It is a sad story, Ralph, and you know you don't like sad stories. But
I will tell it to you, and sometime, in the years to come, you may read
it in a language that is as old as the story.
"Near a beautiful city on the other side of the world was a large
forest. The trees in this forest were very tall, and their branches so
thick that they made a roof over the ground below. One could wander for
miles and miles in the shade of this forest and never find a house, or
any living creatures but the birds and wild animals.
"Once on a time some hunters came back, after having been gone many
days, and said that away in the heart of the forest they had had a
glimpse of a beautiful snow-white bear. Not one of them had been able
to get a shot at it with his arrows, and some thought it was only a
dream. The story spread throughout the city, and all the boys and young
hunters were anxious for a chance to win so fine a prize as the
snow-white skin. Not for himself, oh, no, for whoever brought it home
must hang it in the temple.
"One brave young hunter said, 'I am going into the heart of the forest.
I will take only the bravest with me, and I will never return without
the prize.'
"This young man was dearly loved by everyone. His mother had left him
when he was only a few years old, and gone, no one knew where. He was
cared for by his uncle, and grew up, hoping each year his mother would
return. He took long journeys trying to learn if she were still alive,
but no one could ever tell him a word about her. These journeys had made
him very bold and brave, and there was no cave so dark, nor mountain so
high, but that he would search it in the hope of finding his mother.
"He found six young hunters ready to go with him into the heart of the
forest. They looked very fine in their bright, shining hunting-suits,
with their bows and arrows, and every one wished them success.
"They wasted no time in the pleasant fields outside, but started for the
dark, sunless forest. It was slow work picking their way through the
tangled bushes growing under the trees, and it took many days to reach
the place described by the hunters who had told them the story of the
strange white bear.
"'Whoever sees it first must call to the others. It may be that this is
enchanted ground, and something dreadful will happen to the one who is
alone,' said the leader of the hunting party.
"'It is well said,' they all agreed. In the heart of this wild forest
they wandered, shooting the strange birds they saw there, and saving the
long feathers and wings, to bring home after the hunt was over.
"One day the leader of the hunt chased a wonderful bird for hours from
tree to tree, riding beneath the branches, trying to get a shot.
"At last, just as he had his arrow in his bow, ready to aim, his horse
reared and nearly threw him backward to the ground. There, beside him,
stood the snow-white bear.
"Its two fore paws were stretched out to meet him, and its eyes seemed
full of the love he used to see in his mother's eyes. It was a beautiful
sight, and the arrow meant for the bird shot upward into the sky,
harming no one, but bearing the next words of the hunter as a message to
the great Jupiter.
"'O, my mother, let me live forever with you!' exclaimed the hunter, as
his strong arms were clasped about the white bear's neck.
"'My mother is found!' he shouted, and Echo repeated over and over,
'Found! Found!' until the six fellow hunters came to where the mother
and her son were standing, gazing with loving eyes toward Mount Olympus,
the home of their gods.
"The winged arrow had taken its flight to Jupiter and the son's prayer
was answered.
[Illustration: THE GREAT BEAR AND THE LITTLE BEAR. From an old wood cut.]
"Jupiter's lightnings flashed and the six hunters saw their strong
leader change into the Great Bear, and gently guide his mother, the
Little Bear, to her home in the sky. He took his place near her, at
Jupiter's command, and now follows wherever she leads. He points forever
to her and to the North Star which she keeps. Those who watch this
unchanging beacon among the stars sometimes remember that the people of
long ago thought that it was placed there to tell them of the unchanging
love of mothers."
"Oh, I knew there was a story. It came out all right at last, and that
takes the sad part away."
Then Ralph whispered, "We know it was only a myth, don't we?"
CASTOR AND POLLUX, THE STARRY TWINS
_Greek_
Among the star pictures in the sky may be found one called Gemini, or
the Twins. The ancient Greeks used to believe that twin brothers named
Castor and Pollux had been really placed in the sky. They once lived in
Sparta; their mother was the lovely Leda, and one of their sisters was
the beautiful Helen, whose capture caused the famous Trojan war.
These brothers were as devoted to each other as twins are said to be,
and one was never seen without the other being near. Their love for
their sisters was very great, and once when Helen was captured by two
noted warriors, these twin brothers of hers found her and brought her
safely back to their mother's house.
[Illustration: CASTOR AND POLLUX]
Castor was very fond of horses. He could tame the wildest one that was
ever caught, and lead it about like a pet dog as soon as his magic touch
had taught its fiery spirit that he was its master. He could ride better
than any one in the kingdom, for no horse had ever thrown him.
Pollux was just as famous in boxing and wrestling. He taught young men
many tricks with the hand and foot, and was the leader in all games.
The two brothers were proud to be allowed to go with the other heroes in
quest of the golden fleece. When the sweet music of Orpheus stilled the
wild storm that arose on the sea and threatened to wreck the Argo, stars
appeared upon the heads of Castor and Pollux, for their great love for
each other was known to the Olympian gods who had sent the storm.
When the curious flames, that sometimes during storms play about the
masts and sails of a ship, were seen on other ships after this voyage
of the Argo, the sailors would always cry out, "See the stars of Castor
and Pollux!"
Their love for each other made them more famous than anything else. When
at last Castor was slain in a great battle, Pollux prayed Jupiter to let
them be again united. The prayer was granted. Not long after this, the
poets tell us, the star picture of the Twins was discovered in the sky,
and there the two loving brothers stay forever watching the earth to see
if they may help others to be faithful to the end.
THE MILKY WAY
_Russian_
Soon after the world was made, God created a beautiful maiden and gave
her charge of all the birds beneath the heavens. Her name was Lindu. Her
father's name was Uko. She knew all the birds of passage, and where they
should go in autumn, and she sent each flock on its way.
Lindu cared for the birds tenderly, like a mother for her children, and
gave them help whenever it was possible. She sent the stormy wind to
blow dust into the eyes of the fierce hunters when they were seeking to
slay her pets. It was not surprising that all the world loved her, and
those who dwelt in the sky most of all.
The North Star wished to make her his wife. He drove up to Uko's palace
with a dusky coach drawn by six black horses, and in the coach were ten
fine presents. But Lindu did not love him.
"You always stay in one place, and cannot stir from it," said she. "Go
back to your watch-tower."
Then came the Moon drawn in a silver coach by ten gray horses, and the
Moon brought twenty presents. But Lindu did not love the Moon.
"You change your face too often and not your path, and that will never
suit me," she said.
So the Moon drove away wearing his saddest face. Scarcely had the Moon
gone before the Sun drove up. He rode in a golden coach drawn by twenty
gold-red horses, and he brought thirty presents with him. But all his
grandeur went for nothing with Lindu, for she said:
"I do not love you. You follow the same track day by day, just like
the Moon. I love the changing seasons, the changing winds, anything
that changes."
At that the gold-red horses leaped away and Lindu was alone with
her birds.
At length the Northern Light came from his home in the midnight land in
a diamond coach drawn by a thousand white horses. He was so grand that
Lindu went to the door to meet him. His servants carried a whole
coach-load of gold and silver, pearls and jewels into her house. She
loved this bright suitor at once.
"You do not travel the same path all the time like the others. You set
out when you wish and rest when it pleases you. Each time you wear a new
robe, and each time you ride in a new coach with new horses. You shall
be my bridegroom."
And Lindu's choice was made.
The news was sent throughout the world, and guests came from the four
sides of the sky and of the earth to greet Lindu and the Northern Light.
It was agreed that the wedding should be when the birds flew south. Back
to his home in the midnight land went the Northern Light, knowing that
Lindu loved him best.
The torrent which fell half a thousand feet over the mountain side sent
Lindu her bridal veil. The Frost King sent her laces so fine that a
breath of summer air would have destroyed them, and they were stored
away in a block of ice for safe keeping. The birds brought her robes of
butterfly wings softer than silk and more beautiful than velvet. Her
sandals were from the wings of the honey bee, stronger than reindeer
skin, and fleeter than a chamois' foot.
Spring passed away. Summer came and went. The birds flew south, and
Lindu waited for the Northern Light's return. Snow sparkled on the
earth, but no hoof-beat of his thousand white horses broke the stillness
of the midnight air. Spring came, but never the Northern Light.
Then Lindu began to weep, and from her tears sprang the little brooks in
the valleys of Earth. The birds flew about her head and rested on her
shoulders. They tried to caress her in a hundred ways, but Lindu did not
heed them. Then they flew away and wandered in strange places, building
nests where no nests were ever seen before. Many an egg was lost and
many a nestling stolen because Lindu was not near to help her birds.
At last Uko heard their sad songs and then saw his daughter's grief.
Uko's heart was always merry and his hands so full of work that he had
not noticed Lindu's trouble. He ordered the Four Winds to lift her
gently and bring her to him in his sky palace.
She dressed herself in her bridal veil, her frosted laces, and robes of
butterfly wings, and the four strong Winds lifted her from the ground.
The song-birds of Earth gathered about her and sang their sweetest
songs. With her white bridal veil streaming far out on the air and a
happy smile on her lips, Lindu sailed across the sky to Uko's palace.
There she lives now, happy as her father Uko. Her white veil spreads
from one end of the heavens to the other, and whoever lifts his eyes to
the Milky Way beholds the maiden in her bridal robes.
From there she directs her birds. From there she waves her white hand in
greeting to the Northern Light as his thousand horses leap through the
sky. She has forgotten his unkindness and her sorrow. The Northern Light
still loves her, but is so changeful that he can never keep a promise.
Uko has given Lindu her station in the heavens and her work. Forever
beautiful and forever young, never changing, she forever smiles at the
changeful Northern Light.
HOW FIRE CAME TO EARTH
_Greek_
Once the earth was but a ball of dead, cold rock and barren sand. Once
the waters were nothing but a mass of icy waves.
Two great giants, Titans the Greeks called them, were given the task of
making the earth what it had been planned to be.
Epimetheus and Prometheus were the names of these giants. Epimetheus
took upon himself the task of making the lower animals and man.
Prometheus overlooked the work and gave hints if he saw that anything
was lacking.
Epimetheus made the fishes. He set them afloat in the water, and taught
them to swim. He made the lion and gave it courage. He gave wings to the
bird and showed it how to fly swiftly through the air. He covered the
crab with its shell and taught it how to creep.
Man came last. Epimetheus had nothing to give him. Claws, wings, shelly
covering, fur, everything had been bestowed on the creatures which he
had made first. Epimetheus saw how weak man was with all the fierce
animals around him. He went to Prometheus for help, and said:
"I have clothed this last creature which I have made with robes from the
garments the immortals have cast aside. The thorns cannot tear him, but
the wild beast can take his life in a moment. Help me to make him
conqueror of everything in earth and sea and sky."
[Illustration: MINERVA]
Prometheus sought Minerva for wisdom. She gave him a golden torch, whose
wood was cut from the pines that grew nearest heaven on the earth's
highest peak, and said:
"Follow what this branch of pine is seeking. It will take and hold the
gift reserved for man."
When Prometheus grasped the torch, it leaped upward through the sky past
the pale, cold moon; past flashing stars; upward, till the torch and its
bearer stood in the high heavens by the burning chariot of the sun.
The pine kissed the leaping flames and a fire was kindled in its own
heart. Prometheus sprang backward from the sun chariot, and, bearing
the flaming torch in his hands, brought down to man, from the sun, the
gift of fire.
No creature but man can possess or use this gift. Man would not part
with it for all the treasures below the earth's surface, nor for all the
gifts that birds, beasts, and fishes can boast.
With fire, weapons are made that can subdue the strongest beast that
ever fought for its life. Tools with which man tills the earth and
blasts the rock are made with the aid of fire. With fire man warms his
dwelling. While the wild creatures shiver in the ice and snow man makes
summer within the four walls of his home.
Man walks the earth a conqueror, but should the gift of fire be taken
from him, how would he then teach the lower animals that he is their
master? Having this gift he excels all other creatures. Without it he
would be poor indeed.
Go where you will, the gift Prometheus brought is known to the race to
whom it was given. There is no savage so ignorant but that he has the
art of making fire.
Fire gleams from the eyeballs of the beasts when they are in anger, but
this fire is cold compared with the burning blaze of wood and coal.
Pages:
1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7