I have sometimes suspected that Master Chiron was not reallyvery different from other people, but that, being akind-hearted and merry old fellow, he was in the habit ofmaking believe that he was a horse, and scrambling about theschoolroom on all fours, and letting the little boys ride uponhis back. And so, when his scholars had grown up, and grownold, and were trotting their grandchildren on their knees, theytold them about the sports of their school days; and theseyoung folks took the idea that their grandfathers had beentaught their letters by a Centaur, half man and half horse.Little children, not quite understanding what is said to them,often get such absurd notions into their heads, you know.
Be that as it may, it has always been told for a fact (andalways will be told, as long as the world lasts), that Chiron,with the head of a schoolmaster, had the body and legs of ahorse. Just imagine the grave old gentleman clattering andstamping into the schoolroom on his four hoofs, perhapstreading on some little fellow's toes, flourishing his switchtail instead of a rod, and, now and then, trotting out of doorsto eat a mouthful of grass! I wonder what the blacksmithcharged him for a set of iron shoes?
So Jason dwelt in the cave, with this four-footed Chiron, fromthe time that he was an infant, only a few months old, until hehad grown to the full height of a man. He became a very goodharper, I suppose, and skilful in the use of weapons, andtolerably acquainted with herbs and other doctor's stuff, and,above all, an admirable horseman; for, in teaching young peopleto ride, the good Chiron must have been without a rival amongschoolmasters. At length, being now a tall and athletic youth,Jason resolved to seek his fortune in the world, without askingChiron's advice, or telling him anything about the matter. Thiswas very unwise, to be sure; and I hope none of you, my littlehearers, will ever follow Jason's example.
But, you are to understand, he had heard how that he himselfwas a prince royal, and how his father, King Jason, had beendeprived of the kingdom of Iolchos by a certain Pelias, whowould also have killed Jason, had he not been hidden in theCentaur's cave. And, being come to the strength of a man, Jasondetermined to set all this business to rights, and to punishthe wicked Pelias for wronging his dear father, and to cast himdown from the throne, and seat himself there instead.
With this intention, he took a spear in each hand, and threw aleopard's skin over his shoulders, to keep off the rain, andset forth on his travels, with his long yellow ringlets wavingin the wind. The part of his dress on which he most pridedhimself was a pair of sandals, that had been his father's. Theywere handsomely embroidered, and were tied upon his feet withstrings of gold. But his whole attire was such as people didnot very often see; and as he passed along, the women andchildren ran to the doors and windows, wondering whither thisbeautiful youth was journeying, with his leopard's skin and hisgolden-tied sandals, and what heroic deeds he meant to perform,with a spear in his right hand and another in his left.
I know not how far Jason had traveled, when he came to aturbulent river, which rushed right across his pathway, withspecks of white foam among its black eddies, hurryingtumultuously onward, and roaring angrily as it went. Though nota very broad river in the dry seasons of the year, it was nowswollen by heavy rains and by the melting of the snow on thesides of Mount Olympus; and it thundered so loudly, and lookedso wild and dangerous, that Jason, bold as he was, thought itprudent to pause upon the brink. The bed of the stream seemedto be strewn with sharp and rugged rocks, some of which thrustthemselves above the water. By and by, an uprooted tree, withshattered branches, came drifting along the current, and gotentangled among the rocks. Now and then, a drowned sheep, andonce the carcass of a cow, floated past.
In short, the swollen river had already done a great deal ofmischief. It was evidently too deep for Jason to wade, and tooboisterous for him to swim; he could see no bridge; and as fora boat, had there been any, the rocks would have broken it topieces in an instant.
"See the poor lad," said a cracked voice close to his side. "Hemust have had but a poor education, since he does not know howto cross a little stream like this. Or is he afraid of wettinghis fine golden-stringed sandals? It is a pity his four-footedschoolmaster is not here to carry him safely across on hisback!"
Jason looked round greatly surprised, for he did not know thatanybody was near. But beside him stood an old woman, with aragged mantle over her head, leaning on a staff, the top ofwhich was carved into the shape of a cuckoo. She looked veryaged, and wrinkled, and infirm; and yet her eyes, which were asbrown as those of an ox, were so extremely large and beautiful,that, when they were fixed on Jason's eyes, he could seenothing else but them. The old woman had a pomegranate in herhand, although the fruit was then quite out of season.
"Whither are you going, Jason?" she now asked.
She seemed to know his name, you will observe; and, indeed,those great brown eyes looked as if they had a knowledge ofeverything, whether past or to come. While Jason was gazing ather, a peacock strutted forward, and took his stand at the oldwoman's side.
"I am going to Iolchos," answered the young man, "to bid thewicked King Pelias come down from my father's throne, and letme reign in his stead."
"Ah, well, then," said the old woman, still with the samecracked voice, "if that is all your business, you need not bein a very great hurry. Just take me on your back, there's agood youth, and carry me across the river. I and my peacockhave something to do on the other side, as well as yourself."
"Good mother," replied Jason, "your business can hardly be soimportant as the pulling down a king from his throne. Besides,as you may see for yourself, the river is very boisterous; andif I should chance to stumble, it would sweep both of us awaymore easily than it has carried off yonder uprooted tree. Iwould gladly help you if I could; but I doubt whether I amstrong enough to carry you across."
"Then," said she, very scornfully, "neither are you strongenough to pull King Pelias off his throne. And, Jason, unlessyou will help an old woman at her need, you ought not to be aking. What are kings made for, save to succor the feeble anddistressed? But do as you please. Either take me on your back,or with my poor old limbs I shall try my best to struggleacross the stream."
Saying this, the old woman poked with her staff in the river,as if to find the safest place in its rocky bed where she mightmake the first step. But Jason, by this time, had grown ashamedof his reluctance to help her. He felt that he could neverforgive himself, if this poor feeble creature should come toany harm in attempting to wrestle against the headlong current.The good Chiron, whether half horse or no, had taught him thatthe noblest use of his strength was to assist the weak; andalso that he must treat every young woman as if she were hissister, and every old one like a mother. Remembering thesemaxims, the vigorous and beautiful young man knelt down, andrequested the good dame to mount upon his back.
"The passage seems to me not very safe," he remarked. "But asyour business is so urgent, I will try to carry you across. Ifthe river sweeps you away, it shall take me too."
"That, no doubt, will be a great comfort to both of us," quoththe old woman. "But never fear. We shall get safely across."
So she threw her arms around Jason's neck; and lifting her fromthe ground, he stepped boldly into the raging and foamingcurrent, and began to stagger away from the shore. As for thepeacock, it alighted on the old dame's shoulder. Jason's twospears, one in each hand, kept him from stumbling, and enabledhim to feel his way among the hidden rocks; although everyinstant, he expected that his companion and himself would godown the stream, together with the driftwood of shatteredtrees, and the carcasses of the sheep and cow. Down came thecold, snowy torrent from the steep side of Olympus, raging andthundering as if it had a real spite against Jason, or, at allevents, were determined to snatch off his living burden fromhis shoulders. When he was half way across, the uprooted tree(which I have already told you about) broke loose from amongthe rocks, and bore down upon him, with all its splinteredbranches sticking out like the hundred arms of the giantBriareus. It rushed past, however, without touching him. Butthe next moment his foot was caught in a crevice between tworocks, and stuck there so fast, that, in the effort to getfree, he lost one of his golden-stringed sandals.
At this accident Jason could not help uttering a cry ofvexation.
"What is the matter, Jason?" asked the old woman.
"Matter enough," said the young man. "I have lost a sandal hereamong the rocks. And what sort of a figure shall I cut, at thecourt of King Pelias, with a golden-stringed sandal on onefoot, and the other foot bare!"
"Do not take it to heart," answered his companion cheerily."You never met with better fortune than in losing that sandal.It satisfies me that you are the very person whom the SpeakingOak has been talking about."
There was no time, just then, to inquire what the Speaking Oakhad said. But the briskness of her tone encouraged the youngman; and, besides, he had never in his life felt so vigorousand mighty as since taking this old woman on his back. Insteadof being exhausted, he gathered strength as he went on; and,struggling up against the torrent, he at last gained theopposite shore, clambered up the bank, and set down the olddame and her peacock safely on the grass. As soon as this wasdone, however, he could not help looking rather despondently athis bare foot, with only a remnant of the golden string of thesandal clinging round his ankle.
"You will get a handsomer pair of sandals by and by," said theold woman, with a kindly look out of her beautiful brown eyes."Only let King Pelias get a glimpse of that bare foot, and youshall see him turn as pale as ashes, I promise you. There isyour path. Go along, my good Jason, and my blessing go withyou. And when you sit on your throne remember the old womanwhom you helped over the river."
With these words, she hobbled away, giving him a smile over hershoulder as she departed.
Whether the light of her beautiful brown eyes threw a gloryround about her, or whatever the cause might be, Jason fanciedthat there was something very noble and majestic in her figure,after all, and that, though her gait seemed to be a rheumatichobble, yet she moved with as much grace and dignity as anyqueen on earth. Her peacock, which had now fluttered down fromher shoulder, strutted behind her in a prodigious pomp, andspread out its magnificent tail on purpose for Jason to admireit.
When the old dame and her peacock were out of sight, Jason setforward on his journey. After traveling a pretty long distance,he came to a town situated at the foot of a mountain, and not agreat way from the shore of the sea. On the outside of the townthere was an immense crowd of people, not only men and women,but children too, all in their best clothes, and evidentlyenjoying a holiday. The crowd was thickest towards thesea-shore; and in that direction, over the people's heads,Jason saw a wreath of smoke curling upward to the blue sky. Heinquired of one of the multitude what town it was near by, andwhy so many persons were here assembled together.
"This is the kingdom of Iolchos," answered the man, "and we arethe subjects of King Pelias. Our monarch has summoned ustogether, that we may see him sacrifice a black bull toNeptune, who, they say, is his majesty's father. Yonder is theking, where you see the smoke going up from the altar."
While the man spoke he eyed Jason with great curiosity; for hisgarb was quite unlike that of the Iolchians, and it looked veryodd to see a youth with a leopard's skin over his shoulders,and each hand grasping a spear. Jason perceived, too, that theman stared particularly at his feet, one of which, youremember, was bare, while the other was decorated with hisfather's golden-stringed sandal.
"Look at him! only look at him!" said the man to his nextneighbor. "Do you see? He wears but one sandal!"
Upon this, first one person, and then another, began to stareat Jason, and everybody seemed to be greatly struck withsomething in his aspect; though they turned their eyes muchoftener towards his feet than to any other part of his figure.Besides, he could hear them whispering to one another.
"One sandal! One sandal!" they kept saying. "The man with onesandal! Here he is at last! Whence has he come? What does hemean to do? What will the king say to the one-sandaled man?"
Poor Jason was greatly abashed, and made up his mind that thepeople of Iolchos were exceedingly ill-bred, to take suchpublic notice of an accidental deficiency in his dress.Meanwhile, whether it were that they hustled him forward, orthat Jason, of his own accord, thrust a passage through thecrowd, it so happened that he soon found himself close to thesmoking altar, where King Pelias was sacrificing the blackbull. The murmur and hum of the multitude, in their surprise atthe spectacle of Jason with his one bare foot, grew so loudthat it disturbed the ceremonies; and the king, holding thegreat knife with which he was just going to cut the bull'sthroat, turned angrily about, and fixed his eyes on Jason. Thepeople had now withdrawn from around him, so that the youthstood in an open space, near the smoking altar, front to frontwith the angry King Pelias.
"Who are you?" cried the king, with a terrible frown. "And howdare you make this disturbance, while I am sacrificing a blackbull to my father Neptune?"
"It is no fault of mine," answered Jason. "Your majesty mustblame the rudeness of your subjects, who have raised all thistumult because one of my feet happens to be bare."
When Jason said this, the king gave a quick startled glancedown at his feet.
"Ha!" muttered he, "here is the one-sandaled fellow, sureenough! What can I do with him?"
And he clutched more closely the great knife in his hand, as ifhe were half a mind to slay Jason, instead of the black bull.The people round about caught up the king's words, indistinctlyas they were uttered; and first there was a murmur amongstthem, and then a loud shout.
"The one-sandaled man has come! The prophecy must befulfilled!"
For you are to know, that, many years before, King Pelias hadbeen told by the Speaking Oak of Dodona, that a man with onesandal should cast him down from his throne. On this account,he had given strict orders that nobody should ever come intohis presence, unless both sandals were securely tied upon hisfeet; and he kept an officer in his palace, whose sole businessit was to examine people's sandals, and to supply them with anew pair, at the expense of the royal treasury, as soon as theold ones began to wear out. In the whole course of the king'sreign, he had never been thrown into such a fright andagitation as by the spectacle of poor Jason's bare foot. But,as he was naturally a bold and hard-hearted man, he soon tookcourage, and began to consider in what way he might rid himselfof this terrible one-sandaled stranger.
"My good young man," said King Pelias, taking the softest toneimaginable, in order to throw Jason off his guard, "you areexcessively welcome to my kingdom. Judging by your dress, youmust have traveled a long distance, for it is not the fashionto wear leopard skins in this part of the world. Pray what mayI call your name? and where did you receive your education?"
"My name is Jason," answered the young stranger. "Ever since myinfancy, I have dwelt in the cave of Chiron the Centaur. He wasmy instructor, and taught me music, and horsemanship, and howto cure wounds, and likewise how to inflict wounds with myweapons!"
"I have heard of Chiron the schoolmaster," replied King Pelias,"and how that there is an immense deal of learning and wisdomin his head, although it happens to be set on a horse's body.It gives me great delight to see one of his scholars at mycourt. But to test how much you have profited under soexcellent a teacher, will you allow me to ask you a singlequestion?"
"I do not pretend to be very wise," said Jason. "But ask mewhat you please, and I will answer to the best of my ability."
Now King Pelias meant cunningly to entrap the young man, and tomake him say something that should be the cause of mischief anddistraction to himself. So, with a crafty and evil smile uponhis face, he spoke as follows:
"What would you do, brave Jason," asked he, "if there were aman in the world, by whom, as you had reason to believe, youwere doomed to be ruined and slain--what would you do, I say,if that man stood before you, and in your power?"
When Jason saw the malice and wickedness which King Peliascould not prevent from gleaming out of his eyes, he probablyguessed that the king had discovered what he came for, and thathe intended to turn his own words against himself. Still hescorned to tell a falsehood. Like an upright and honorableprince as he was, he determined to speak out the real truth.Since the king had chosen to ask him the question, and sinceJason had promised him an answer, there was no right way saveto tell him precisely what would be the most prudent thing todo, if he had his worst enemy in his power.
Therefore, after a moment's consideration, he spoke up, with afirm and manly voice.
"I would send such a man," said he, "in quest of the GoldenFleece!"
This enterprise, you will understand, was, of all others, themost difficult and dangerous in the world. In the first placeit would be necessary to make a long voyage through unknownseas. There was hardly a hope, or a possibility, that any youngman who should undertake this voyage would either succeed inobtaining the Golden Fleece, or would survive to return home,and tell of the perils he had run. The eyes of King Peliassparkled with joy, therefore, when he heard Jason's reply.
"Well said, wise man with the one sandal!" cried he. "Go, then,and at the peril of your life, bring me back the GoldenFleece."
"I go," answered Jason, composedly. "If I fail, you need notfear that I will ever come back to trouble you again. But if Ireturn to Iolchos with the prize, then, King Pelias, you musthasten down from your lofty throne, and give me your crown andsceptre."
"That I will," said the king, with a sneer. "Meantime, I willkeep them very safely for you."
The first thing that Jason thought of doing, after he left theking's presence, was to go to Dodona, and inquire of theTalking Oak what course it was best to pursue. This wonderfultree stood in the center of an ancient wood. Its stately trunkrose up a hundred feet into the air, and threw a broad anddense shadow over more than an acre of ground. Standing beneathit, Jason looked up among the knotted branches and greenleaves, and into the mysterious heart of the old tree, andspoke aloud, as if he were addressing some person who washidden in the depths of the foliage.
"What shall I do," said he, "in order to win the GoldenFleece?"
At first there was a deep silence, not only within the shadowof the Talking Oak, but all through the solitary wood. In amoment or two, however, the leaves of the oak began to stir andrustle, as if a gentle breeze were wandering amongst them,although the other trees of the wood were perfectly still. Thesound grew louder, and became like the roar of a high wind. Byand by, Jason imagined that he could distinguish words, butvery confusedly, because each separate leaf of the tree seemedto be a tongue, and the whole myriad of tongues were babblingat once. But the noise waxed broader and deeper, until itresembled a tornado sweeping through the oak, and making onegreat utterance out of the thousand and thousand of littlemurmurs which each leafy tongue had caused by its rustling. Andnow, though it still had the tone of a mighty wind roaringamong the branches, it was also like a deep bass voice,speaking as distinctly as a tree could be expected to speak,the following words:
"Go to Argus, the shipbuilder, and bid him build a galley withfifty oars."
Then the voice melted again into the indistinct murmur of therustling leaves, and died gradually away. When it was quitegone, Jason felt inclined to doubt whether he had actuallyheard the words, or whether his fancy had not shaped them outof the ordinary sound made by a breeze, while passing throughthe thick foliage of the tree.
But on inquiry among the people of Iolchos, he found that therewas really a man in the city, by the name of Argus, who was avery skilful builder of vessels. This showed some intelligencein the oak; else how should it have known that any such personexisted? At Jason's request, Argus readily consented to buildhim a galley so big that it should require fifty strong men torow it; although no vessel of such a size and burden hadheretofore been seen in the world. So the head carpenter andall his journeymen and apprentices began their work; and for agood while afterwards, there they were, busily employed, hewingout the timbers, and making a great clatter with their hammers;until the new ship, which was called the Argo, seemed to bequite ready for sea. And, as the Talking Oak had already givenhim such good advice, Jason thought that it would not be amissto ask for a little more. He visited it again, therefore, andstanding beside its huge, rough trunk, inquired what he shoulddo next.
This time, there was no such universal quivering of the leaves,throughout the whole tree, as there had been before. But aftera while, Jason observed that the foliage of a great branchwhich stretched above his head had begun to rustle, as if thewind were stirring that one bough, while all the other boughsof the oak were at rest.
"Cut me off!" said the branch, as soon as it could speakdistinctly; "cut me off! cut me off! and carve me into afigure-head for your galley."
Accordingly, Jason took the branch at its word, and lopped itoff the tree. A carver in the neighborhood engaged to make thefigurehead. He was a tolerably good workman, and had alreadycarved several figure-heads, in what he intended for feminineshapes, and looking pretty much like those which we seenowadays stuck up under a vessel's bowsprit, with great staringeyes, that never wink at the dash of the spray. But (what wasvery strange) the carver found that his hand was guided by someunseen power, and by a skill beyond his own, and that his toolsshaped out an image which he had never dreamed of. When thework was finished, it turned out to be the figure of abeautiful woman, with a helmet on her head, from beneath whichthe long ringlets fell down upon her shoulders. On the left armwas a shield, and in its center appeared a lifelikerepresentation of the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Theright arm was extended, as if pointing onward. The face of thiswonderful statue, though not angry or forbidding, was so graveand majestic, that perhaps you might call it severe; and as forthe mouth, it seemed just ready to unclose its lips, and utterwords of the deepest wisdom.
Jason was delighted with the oaken image, and gave the carverno rest until it was completed, and set up where a figure-headhas always stood, from that time to this, in the vessel's prow.
"And now," cried he, as he stood gazing at the calm, majesticface of the statue, "I must go to the Talking Oak and inquirewhat next to do."
"There is no need of that, Jason," said a voice which, thoughit was far lower, reminded him of the mighty tones of the greatoak. "When you desire good advice, you can seek it of me."
Jason had been looking straight into the face of the image whenthese words were spoken. But he could hardly believe either hisears or his eyes. The truth was, however, that the oaken lipshad moved, and, to all appearance, the voice had proceeded fromthe statue's mouth. Recovering a little from his surprise,Jason bethought himself that the image had been carved out ofthe wood of the Talking Oak, and that, therefore, it was reallyno great wonder, but on the contrary, the most natural thing inthe world, that it should possess the faculty of speech. Itwould have been very odd, indeed, if it had not. But certainlyit was a great piece of good fortune that he should be able tocarry so wise a block of wood along with him in his perilousvoyage.
"Tell me, wondrous image," exclaimed Jason, --"since youinherit the wisdom of the Speaking Oak of Dodona, whosedaughter you are,--tell me, where shall I find fifty boldyouths, who will take each of them an oar of my galley? Theymust have sturdy arms to row, and brave hearts to encounterperils, or we shall never win the Golden Fleece."
"Go," replied the oaken image, "go, summon all the heroes ofGreece."
And, in fact, considering what a great deed was to be done,could any advice be wiser than this which Jason received fromthe figure-head of his vessel? He lost no time in sendingmessengers to all the cities, and making known to the wholepeople of Greece, that Prince Jason, the son of King Jason, wasgoing in quest of the Fleece of Gold, and that he desired thehelp of forty-nine of the bravest and strongest young menalive, to row his vessel and share his dangers. And Jasonhimself would be the fiftieth.
At this news, the adventurous youths, all over the country,began to bestir themselves. Some of them had already foughtwith giants, and slain dragons; and the younger ones, who hadnot yet met with such good fortune, thought it a shame to havelived so long without getting astride of a flying serpent, orsticking their spears into a Chimaera, or, at least, thrustingtheir right arms down a monstrous lion's throat. There was afair prospect that they would meet with plenty of suchadventures before finding the Golden Fleece. As soon as theycould furbish up their helmets and shields, therefore, and girdon their trusty swords, they came thronging to Iolchos, andclambered on board the new galley. Shaking hands with Jason,they assured him that they did not care a pin for their lives,but would help row the vessel to the remotest edge of theworld, and as much farther as he might think it best to go.
Many of these brave fellows had been educated by Chiron, thefour-footed pedagogue, and were therefore old schoolmates ofJason, and knew him to be a lad of spirit. The mighty Hercules,whose shoulders afterwards upheld the sky, was one of them. Andthere were Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers, who were neveraccused of being chicken-hearted, although they had beenhatched out of an egg; and Theseus, who was so renowned forkilling the Minotaur, and Lynceus, with his wonderfully sharpeyes, which could see through a millstone, or look right downinto the depths of the earth, and discover the treasures thatwere there; and Orpheus, the very best of harpers, who sang andplayed upon his lyre so sweetly, that the brute beasts stoodupon their hind legs, and capered merrily to the music. Yes,and at some of his more moving tunes, the rocks bestirred theirmoss-grown bulk out of the ground, and a grove of forest treesuprooted themselves, and, nodding their tops to one another,performed a country dance.
One of the rowers was a beautiful young woman, named Atalanta.who had been nursed among the mountains by a bear. So light offoot was this fair damsel, that she could step from one foamycrest of a wave to the foamy crest of another, without wettingmore than the sole of her sandal. She had grown up in a verywild way, and talked much about the rights of women, and lovedhunting and war far better than her needle. But in my opinion,the most remarkable of this famous company were two sons of theNorth Wind (airy youngsters, and of rather a blusteringdisposition) who had wings on their shoulders, and, in case ofa calm, could puff out their cheeks, and blow almost as fresh abreeze as their father. I ought not to forget the prophets andconjurors, of whom there were several in the crew, and whocould foretell what would happen to-morrow or the next day, ora hundred years hence, but were generally quite unconscious ofwhat was passing at the moment.
Jason appointed Tiphys to be helmsman because he was astar-gazer, and knew the points of the compass. Lynceus, onaccount of his sharp sight, was stationed as a look-out in theprow, where he saw a whole day's sail ahead, but was rather aptto overlook things that lay directly under his nose. If the seaonly happened to be deep enough, however, Lynceus could tellyou exactly what kind of rocks or sands were at the bottom ofit; and he often cried out to his companions, that they weresailing over heaps of sunken treasure, which yet he was nonethe richer for beholding. To confess the truth, few peoplebelieved him when he said it.
Well! But when the Argonauts, as these fifty brave adventurerswere called, had prepared everything for the voyage, anunforeseen difficulty threatened to end it before it was begun.The vessel, you must understand, was so long, and broad, andponderous, that the united force of all the fifty wasinsufficient to shove her into the water. Hercules, I suppose,had not grown to his full strength, else he might have set herafloat as easily as a little boy launches his boat upon apuddle. But here were these fifty heroes, pushing, andstraining, and growing red in the face, without making the Argostart an inch. At last, quite wearied out, they sat themselvesdown on the shore exceedingly disconsolate, and thinking thatthe vessel must be left to rot and fall in pieces, and thatthey must either swim across the sea or lose the Golden Fleece.
All at once, Jason bethought himself of the galley's miraculousfigure-head.
"O, daughter of the Talking Oak," cried he, "how shall we setto work to get our vessel into the water?"
"Seat yourselves," answered the image (for it had known whathad ought to be done from the very first, and was only waitingfor the question to be put),--" seat yourselves, and handleyour oars, and let Orpheus play upon his harp."
Immediately the fifty heroes got on board, and seizing theiroars, held them perpendicularly in the air, while Orpheus (wholiked such a task far better than rowing) swept his fingersacross the harp. At the first ringing note of the music, theyfelt the vessel stir. Orpheus thrummed away briskly, and thegalley slid at once into the sea, dipping her prow so deeplythat the figure-head drank the wave with its marvelous lips,and rising again as buoyant as a swan. The rowers plied theirfifty oars; the white foam boiled up before the prow; the watergurgled and bubbled in their wake; while Orpheus continued toplay so lively a strain of music, that the vessel seemed todance over the billows by way of keeping time to it. Thustriumphantly did the Argo sail out of the harbor, amidst thehuzzas and good wishes of everybody except the wicked oldPelias, who stood on a promontory, scowling at her, and wishingthat he could blow out of his lungs the tempest of wrath thatwas in his heart, and so sink the galley with all on board.When they had sailed above fifty miles over the sea, Lynceushappened to cast his sharp eyes behind, and said that there wasthis bad-hearted king, still perched upon the promontory, andscowling so gloomily that it looked like a black thunder-cloudin that quarter of the horizon.
In order to make the time pass away more pleasantly during thevoyage, the heroes talked about the Golden Fleece. Itoriginally belonged, it appears, to a Boeotian ram, who hadtaken on his back two children, when in danger of their lives,and fled with them over land and sea as far as Colchis. One ofthe children, whose name was Helle, fell into the sea and wasdrowned. But the other (a little boy, named Phrixus) wasbrought safe ashore by the faithful ram, who, however, was soexhausted that he immediately lay down and died. In memory ofthis good deed, and as a token of his true heart, the fleece ofthe poor dead ram was miraculously changed to gold, and becameone of the most beautiful objects ever seen on earth. It washung upon a tree in a sacred grove, where it had now been keptI know not how many years, and was the envy of mighty kings,who had nothing so magnificent in any of their palaces.
If I were to tell you all the adventures of the Argonauts, itwould take me till nightfall, and perhaps a great deal longer.There was no lack of wonderful events, as you may judge fromwhat you have already heard. At a certain island, they werehospitably received by King Cyzicus, its sovereign, who made afeast for them, and treated them like brothers. But theArgonauts saw that this good king looked downcast and very muchtroubled, and they therefore inquired of him what was thematter. King Cyzicus hereupon informed them that he and hissubjects were greatly abused and incommoded by the inhabitantsof a neighboring mountain, who made war upon them, and killedmany people, and ravaged the country. And while they weretalking about it, Cyzicus pointed to the mountain, and askedJason and his companions what they saw there.
"I see some very tall objects," answered Jason; "but they areat such a distance that I cannot distinctly make out what theyare. To tell your majesty the truth, they look so verystrangely that I am inclined to think them clouds, which havechanced to take something like human shapes."
"I see them very plainly," remarked Lynceus, whose eyes, youknow, were as far-sighted as a telescope. "They are a band ofenormous giants, all of whom have six arms apiece, and a club,a sword, or some other weapon in each of their hands."
"You have excellent eyes," said King Cyzicus. "Yes; they aresix-armed giants, as you say, and these are the enemies whom Iand my subjects have to contend with."
The next day, when the Argonauts were about setting sail, downcame these terrible giants, stepping a hundred yards at astride, brandishing their six arms apiece, and lookingformidable, so far aloft in the air. Each of these monsters wasable to carry on a whole war by himself, for with one arm hecould fling immense stones, and wield a club with another, anda sword with a third, while the fourth was poking a long spearat the enemy, and the fifth and sixth were shooting him with abow and arrow. But, luckily, though the giants were so huge,and had so many arms, they had each but one heart, and that nobigger nor braver than the heart of an ordinary man. Besides,if they had been like the hundred-armed Briareus, the braveArgonauts would have given them their hands full of fight.Jason and his friends went boldly to meet them, slew a greatmany, and made the rest take to their heels, so that if thegiants had had six legs apiece instead of six arms, it wouldhave served them better to run away with.
Another strange adventure happened when the voyagers came toThrace, where they found a poor blind king, named Phineus,deserted by his subjects, and living in a very sorrowful way,all by himself: On Jason's inquiring whether they could do himany service, the king answered that he was terribly tormentedby three great winged creatures, called Harpies, which had thefaces of women, and the wings, bodies, and claws of vultures.These ugly wretches were in the habit of snatching away hisdinner, and allowed him no peace of his life. Upon hearingthis, the Argonauts spread a plentiful feast on the sea-shore,well knowing, from what the blind king said of theirgreediness, that the Harpies would snuff up the scent of thevictuals, and quickly come to steal them away. And so it turnedout; for, hardly was the table set, before the three hideousvulture women came flapping their wings, seized the food intheir talons, and flew off as fast as they could. But the twosons of the North Wind drew their swords, spread their pinions,and set off through the air in pursuit of the thieves, whomthey at last overtook among some islands, after a chase ofhundreds of miles. The two winged youths blustered terribly atthe Harpies (for they had the rough temper of their father),and so frightened them with their drawn swords, that theysolemnly promised never to trouble King Phineus again.
Then the Argonauts sailed onward and met with many othermarvelous incidents, any one of which would make a story byitself. At one time they landed on an island, and were reposingon the grass, when they suddenly found themselves assailed bywhat seemed a shower of steel-headed arrows. Some of them stuckin the ground, while others hit against their shields, andseveral penetrated their flesh. The fifty heroes started up,and looked about them for the hidden enemy, but could findnone, nor see any spot, on the whole island, where even asingle archer could lie concealed. Still, however, thesteel-headed arrows came whizzing among them; and, at last,happening to look upward, they beheld a large flock of birds,hovering and wheeling aloft, and shooting their feathers downupon the Argonauts. These feathers were the steel-headed arrowsthat had so tormented them. There was no possibility of makingany resistance; and the fifty heroic Argonauts might all havebeen killed or wounded by a flock of troublesome birds, withoutever setting eyes on the Golden Fleece, if Jason had notthought of asking the advice of the oaken image.
So he ran to the galley as fast as his legs would carry him.
"O, daughter of the Speaking Oak," cried he, all out of breath,"we need your wisdom more than ever before! We are in greatperil from a flock of birds, who are shooting us with theirsteel-pointed feathers. What can we do to drive them away?"
"Make a clatter on your shields," said the image.
On receiving this excellent counsel, Jason hurried back to hiscompanions (who were far more dismayed than when they foughtwith the six-armed giants), and bade them strike with theirswords upon their brazen shields. Forthwith the fifty heroesset heartily to work, banging with might and main, and raisedsuch a terrible clatter, that the birds made what haste theycould to get away; and though they had shot half the feathersout of their wings, they were soon seen skimming among theclouds, a long distance off, and looking like a flock of wildgeese. Orpheus celebrated this victory by playing a triumphantanthem on his harp, and sang so melodiously that Jason beggedhim to desist, lest, as the steel-feathered birds had beendriven away by an ugly sound, they might be enticed back againby a sweet one.
While the Argonauts remained on this island, they saw a smallvessel approaching the shore, in which were two young men ofprincely demeanor, and exceedingly handsome, as young princesgenerally were, in those days. Now, who do you imagine thesetwo voyagers turned out to be? Why, if you will believe me,they were the sons of that very Phrixus, who, in his childhood,had been carried to Colchis on the back of the golden-fleecedram. Since that time, Phrixus had married the king's daughter;and the two young princes had been born and brought up atColchis, and had spent their play-days in the outskirts of thegrove, in the center of which the Golden Fleece was hangingupon a tree. They were now on their way to Greece, in hopes ofgetting back a kingdom that had been wrongfully taken fromtheir father.
When the princes understood whither the Argonauts were going,they offered to turn back, and guide them to Colchis. At thesame time, however, they spoke as if it were very doubtfulwhether Jason would succeed in getting the Golden Fleece.According to their account, the tree on which it hung wasguarded by a terrible dragon, who never failed to devour, atone mouthful, every person who might venture within his reach.
"There are other difficulties in the way," continued the youngprinces. "But is not this enough? Ah, brave Jason, turn backbefore it is too late. It would grieve us to the heart, if youand your nine and forty brave companions should be eaten up, atfifty mouthfuls, by this execrable dragon."
"My young friends," quietly replied Jason, "I do not wonderthat you think the dragon very terrible. You have grown up frominfancy in the fear of this monster, and therefore still regardhim with the awe that children feel for the bugbears andhobgoblins which their nurses have talked to them about. But,in my view of the matter, the dragon is merely a pretty largeserpent, who is not half so likely to snap me up at onemouthful as I am to cut off his ugly head, and strip the skinfrom his body. At all events, turn back who may, I will neversee Greece again, unless I carry with me the Golden Fleece."
"We will none of us turn back!" cried his nine and forty bravecomrades. "Let us get on board the galley this instant; and ifthe dragon is to make a breakfast of us, much good may it dohim."
And Orpheus (whose custom it was to set everything to music)began to harp and sing most gloriously, and made every mother'sson of them feel as if nothing in this world were so delectableas to fight dragons, and nothing so truly honorable as to beeaten up at one mouthful, in case of the worst.
After this (being now under the guidance of the two princes,who were well acquainted with the way), they quickly sailed toColchis. When the king of the country, whose name was Aetes,heard of their arrival, he instantly summoned Jason to court.The king was a stern and cruel looking potentate; and though heput on as polite and hospitable an expression as he could,Jason did not like his face a whit better than that of thewicked King Pelias, who dethroned his father. "You are welcome,brave Jason," said King Aetes. "Pray, are you on a pleasurevoyage?--Or do you meditate the discovery of unknownislands?--or what other cause has procured me the happiness ofseeing you at my court?"
"Great sir," replied Jason, with an obeisance--for Chiron hadtaught him how to behave with propriety, whether to kings orbeggars--"I have come hither with a purpose which I now begyour majesty's permission to execute. King Pelias, who sits onmy father's throne (to which he has no more right than to theone on which your excellent majesty is now seated), has engagedto come down from it, and to give me his crown and sceptre,provided I bring him the Golden Fleece. This, as your majestyis aware, is now hanging on a tree here at Colchis; and Ihumbly solicit your gracious leave to take it away." In spiteof himself, the king's face twisted itself into an angry frown;for, above all things else in the world, he prized the GoldenFleece, and was even suspected of having done a very wickedact, in order to get it into his own possession. It put himinto the worst possible humor, therefore, to hear that thegallant Prince Jason, and forty-nine of the bravest youngwarriors of Greece, had come to Colchis with the sole purposeof taking away his chief treasure.
"Do you know," asked King Aetes, eyeing Jason very sternly,"what are the conditions which you must fulfill before gettingpossession of the Golden Fleece?"
"I have heard," rejoined the youth, "that a dragon lies beneaththe tree on which the prize hangs, and that whoever approacheshim runs the risk of being devoured at a mouthful."
"True," said the king, with a smile that did not lookparticularly good-natured. "Very true, young man. But there areother things as hard, or perhaps a little harder, to be donebefore you can even have the privilege of being devoured by thedragon. For example, you must first tame my two brazen-footedand brazen-lunged bulls, which Vulcan, the wonderfulblacksmith, made for me. There is a furnace in each of theirstomachs; and they breathe such hot fire out of their mouthsand nostrils, that nobody has hitherto gone nigh them withoutbeing instantly burned to a small, black cinder. What do youthink of this, my brave Jason?"
"I must encounter the peril," answered Jason, composedly,"since it stands in the way of my purpose."
"After taming the fiery bulls," continued King Aetes, who wasdetermined to scare Jason if possible, "you must yoke them to aplow, and must plow the sacred earth in the Grove of Mars, andsow some of the same dragon's teeth from which Cadmus raised acrop of armed men. They are an unruly set of reprobates, thosesons of the dragon's teeth; and unless you treat them suitably,they will fall upon you sword in hand. You and your nine andforty Argonauts, my bold Jason, are hardly numerous or strongenough to fight with such a host as will spring up."
"My master Chiron," replied Jason, "taught me, long ago, thestory of Cadmus. Perhaps I can manage the quarrelsome sons ofthe dragon's teeth as well as Cadmus did."
"I wish the dragon had him," muttered King Aetes to himself,"and the four-footed pedant, his schoolmaster, into thebargain. Why, what a foolhardy, self-conceited coxcomb he is!We'll see what my fire-breathing bulls will do for him. Well,Prince Jason," he continued, aloud, and as complaisantly as hecould, "make yourself comfortable for to-day, and to-morrowmorning, since you insist upon it, you shall try your skill atthe plow."
While the king talked with Jason, a beautiful young woman wasstanding behind the throne. She fixed her eyes earnestly uponthe youthful stranger, and listened attentively to every wordthat was spoken; and when Jason withdrew from the king'spresence, this young woman followed him out of the room.
"I am the king's daughter," she said to him, "and my name isMedea. I know a great deal of which other young princesses areignorant, and can do many things which they would be afraid somuch as to dream of. If you will trust to me, I can instructyou how to tame the fiery bulls, and sow the dragon's teeth,and get the Golden Fleece."
"Indeed, beautiful princess," answered Jason, "if you will dome this service, I promise to be grateful to you my whole lifelong."' Gazing at Medea, he beheld a wonderful intelligence inher face. She was one of those persons whose eyes are full ofmystery; so that, while looking into them, you seem to see avery great way, as into a deep well, yet can never be certainwhether you see into the farthest depths, or whether there benot something else hidden at the bottom. If Jason had beencapable of fearing anything, he would have been afraid ofmaking this young princess his enemy; for, beautiful as she nowlooked, she might, the very next instant, become as terrible asthe dragon that kept watch over the Golden Fleece.
"Princess," he exclaimed, "you seem indeed very wise and verypowerful. But how can you help me to do the things of which youspeak? Are you an enchantress?"
"Yes, Prince Jason," answered Medea, with a smile, "you havehit upon the truth. I am an enchantress. Circe, my father'ssister, taught me to be one, and I could tell you, if Ipleased, who was the old woman with the peacock, thepomegranate, and the cuckoo staff, whom you carried over theriver; and, likewise, who it is that speaks through the lips ofthe oaken image, that stands in the prow of your galley. I amacquainted with some of your secrets, you perceive. It is wellfor you that I am favorably inclined; for, otherwise, you wouldhardly escape being snapped up by the dragon."
"I should not so much care for the dragon," replied Jason, "ifI only knew how to manage the brazen-footed and fiery-lungedbulls."
"If you are as brave as I think you, and as you have need tobe," said Medea, "your own bold heart will teach you that thereis but one way of dealing with a mad bull. What it is I leaveyou to find out in the moment of peril. As for the fiery breathof these animals, I have a charmed ointment here, which willprevent you from being burned up, and cure you if you chance tobe a little scorched."
So she put a golden box into his hand, and directed him how toapply the perfumed unguent which it contained, and where tomeet her at midnight.
"Only be brave," added she, "and before daybreak the brazenbulls shall be tamed."
The young man assured her that his heart would not fail him. Hethen rejoined his comrades, and told them what had passedbetween the princess and himself, and warned them to be inreadiness in case there might be need of their help. At theappointed hour he met the beautiful Medea on the marble stepsof the king's palace. She gave him a basket, in which were thedragon's teeth, just as they had been pulled out of themonster's jaws by Cadmus, long ago. Medea then led Jason downthe palace steps, and through the silent streets of the city,and into the royal pasture ground, where the two brazen-footedbulls were kept. It was a starry night, with a bright gleamalong the eastern edge of the sky, where the moon was soongoing to show herself. After entering the pasture, the princesspaused and looked around.
"There they are," said she, "reposing them. selves and chewingtheir fiery cuds in that farthest corner of the field. It willbe excellent sport, I assure you, when they catch a glimpse ofyour figure. My father and all his court delight in nothing somuch as to see a stranger trying to yoke them, in order to comeat the Golden Fleece. It makes a holiday in Colchis wheneversuch a thing happens. For my part, I enjoy it immensely. Youcannot imagine in what a mere twinkling of an eye their hotbreath shrivels a young man into a black cinder."
"Are you sure, beautiful Medea," asked Jason, "quite sure, thatthe unguent in the gold box will prove a remedy against thoseterrible burns?"
"If you doubt, if you are in the least afraid," said theprincess, looking him in the face by the dim starlight, "youhad better never have been born than to go a step nigher to thebulls."
But Jason had set his heart steadfastly on getting the GoldenFleece; and I positively doubt whether he would have gone backwithout it, even had he been certain of finding himself turnedinto a red-hot cinder, or a handful of white ashes, the instanthe made a step farther. He therefore let go Medea's hand, andwalked boldly forward in the direction whither she had pointed.At some distance before him he perceived four streams of fieryvapor, regularly appearing and again vanishing, after dimlylighting up the surrounding obscurity. These, you willunderstand, were caused by the breath of the brazen bulls,which was quietly stealing out of their four nostrils, as theylay chewing their cuds.
At the first two or three steps which Jason made, the fourfiery streams appeared to gush out somewhat more plentifully;for the two brazen bulls had heard his foot tramp, and werelifting up their hot noses to snuff the air. He went a littlefarther, and by the way in which the red vapor now spoutedforth, he judged that the creatures had got upon their feet.Now he could see glowing sparks, and vivid jets of flame. Atthe next step, each of the bulls made the pasture echo with aterrible roar, while the burning breath, which they thusbelched forth, lit up the whole field with a momentary flash.One other stride did bold Jason make; and, suddenly as a streakof lightning, on came these fiery animals, roaring likethunder, and sending out sheets of white flame, which sokindled up the scene that the young man could discern everyobject more distinctly than by daylight. Most distinctly of allhe saw the two horrible creatures galloping right down uponhim, their brazen hoofs rattling and ringing over the ground,and their tails sticking up stiffly into the air, as has alwaysbeen the fashion with angry bulls. Their breath scorched theherbage before them. So intensely hot it was, indeed, that itcaught a dry tree under which Jason was now standing, and setit all in a light blaze. But as for Jason himself (thanks toMedea's enchanted ointment), the white flame curled around hisbody, without injuring him a jot more than if he had been madeof asbestos.
Greatly encouraged at finding himself not yet turned into acinder, the young man awaited the attack of the bulls. Just asthe brazen brutes fancied themselves sure of tossing him intothe air, he caught one of them by the horn, and the other byhis screwed-up tail, and held them in a gripe like that of aniron vice, one with his right hand, the other with his left.Well, he must have been wonderfully strong in his arms, to besure. But the secret of the matter was, that the brazen bullswere enchanted creatures, and that Jason had broken the spellof their fiery fierceness by his bold way of handling them.And, ever since that time, it has been the favorite method ofbrave men, when danger assails them, to do what they call "taking the bull by the horns"; and to gripe him by the tail ispretty much the same thing--that is, to throw aside fear, andovercome the peril by despising it. It was now easy to yoke thebulls, and to harness them to the plow, which had lain rustingon the ground for a great many years gone by; so long was itbefore anybody could be found capable of plowing that piece ofland. Jason, I suppose, had been taught how to draw a furrow bythe good old Chiron, who, perhaps, used to allow himself to beharnessed to the plow. At any rate, our hero succeededperfectly well in breaking up the greensward; and, by the timethat the moon was a quarter of her journey up the sky, theplowed field lay before him, a large tract of black earth,ready to be sown with the dragon's teeth. So Jason scatteredthem broadcast, and harrowed them into the soil with abrush-harrow, and took his stand on the edge of the field,anxious to see what would happen next.
"Must we wait long for harvest time?" he inquired of Medea, whowas now standing by his side.
"Whether sooner or later, it will be sure to come," answeredthe princess. "A crop of armed men never fails to spring up,when the dragon's teeth have been sown."
The moon was now high aloft in the heavens, and threw itsbright beams over the plowed field, where as yet there wasnothing to be seen. Any farmer, on viewing it, would have saidthat Jason must wait weeks before the green blades would peepfrom among the clods, and whole months before the yellow grainwould be ripened for the sickle. But by and by, all over thefield, there was something that glistened in the moonbeams,like sparkling drops of dew. These bright objects sproutedhigher, and proved to be the steel heads of spears. Then therewas a dazzling gleam from a vast number of polished brasshelmets, beneath which, as they grew farther out of the soil,appeared the dark and bearded visages of warriors, strugglingto free themselves from the imprisoning earth. The first lookthat they gave at the upper world was a glare of wrath anddefiance. Next were seen their bright breastplates; in everyright hand there was a sword or a spear, and on each left arm ashield; and when this strange crop of warriors had but halfgrown out of the earth, they struggled--such was theirimpatience of restraint--and, as it were, tore themselves up bythe roots. Wherever a dragon's tooth had fallen, there stood aman armed for battle. They made a clangor with their swordsagainst their shields, and eyed one another fiercely; for theyhad come into this beautiful world, and into the peacefulmoonlight, full of rage and stormy passions, and ready to takethe life of every human brother, in recompense of the boon oftheir own existence.
There have been many other armies in the world that seemed topossess the same fierce nature with the one which had nowsprouted from the dragon's teeth; but these, in the moonlitfield, were the more excusable, because they never had womenfor their mothers. And how it would have rejoiced any greatcaptain, who was bent on conquering the world, like Alexanderor Napoleon, to raise a crop of armed soldiers as easily asJason did! For a while, the warriors stood flourishing theirweapons, clashing their swords against their shields, andboiling over with the red-hot thirst for battle. Then theybegan to shout--"Show us the enemy! Lead us to the charge!Death or victory!" "Come on, brave comrades! Conquer or die!"and a hundred other outcries, such as men always bellow forthon a battle field, and which these dragon people seemed to haveat their tongues' ends. At last, the front rank caught sight ofJason, who, beholding the flash of so many weapons in themoonlight, had thought it best to draw his sword. In a momentall the sons of the dragon's teeth appeared to take Jason foran enemy; and crying with one voice, "Guard the Golden Fleece!"they ran at him with uplifted swords and protruded spears.Jason knew that it would be impossible to withstand thisblood-thirsty battalion with his single arm, but determined,since there was nothing better to be done, to die as valiantlyas if he himself had sprung from a dragon's tooth.
Medea, however, bade him snatch up a stone from the ground.
"Throw it among them quickly!" cried she. "It is the only wayto save yourself."
The armed men were now so nigh that Jason could discern thefire flashing out of their enraged eyes, when he let fly thestone, and saw it strike the helmet of a tall warrior, who wasrushing upon him with his blade aloft. The stone glanced fromthis man's helmet to the shield of his nearest comrade, andthence flew right into the angry face of another, hitting himsmartly between the eyes. Each of the three who had been struckby the stone took it for granted that his next neighbor hadgiven him a blow; and instead of running any farther towardsJason, they began to fight among themselves. The confusionspread through the host, so that it seemed scarcely a momentbefore they were all hacking, hewing, and stabbing at oneanother, lopping off arms, heads, and legs and doing suchmemorable deeds that Jason was filled with immense admiration;although, at the same time, he could not help laughing tobehold these mighty men punishing each other for an offensewhich he himself had committed. In an incredibly short space oftime (almost as short, indeed, as it had taken them to growup), all but one of the heroes of the dragon's teeth werestretched lifeless on the field. The last survivor, the bravestand strongest of the whole, had just force enough to wave hiscrimson sword over his head and give a shout of exultation,crying, "Victory! Victory! Immortal fame!" when he himself felldown, and lay quietly among his slain brethren.
And there was the end of the army that had sprouted from thedragon's teeth. That fierce and feverish fight was the onlyenjoyment which they had tasted on this beautiful earth.
"Let them sleep in the bed of honor," said the Princess Medea,with a sly smile at Jason. "The world will always havesimpletons enough, just like them, fighting and dying for theyknow not what, and fancying that posterity will take thetrouble to put laurel wreaths on their rusty and batteredhelmets. Could you help smiling, Prince Jason, to see theself-conceit of that last fellow, just as he tumbled down?"
"It made me very sad," answered Jason, gravely. "And, to tellyou the truth, princess, the Golden Fleece does not appear sowell worth the winning, after what I have here beheld!"
"You will think differently in the morning," said Medea. "True,the Golden Fleece may not be so valuable as you have thoughtit; but then there is nothing better in the world; and one mustneeds have an object, you know. Come! Your night's work hasbeen well performed; and to-morrow you can inform King Aetesthat the first part of your allotted task is fulfilled."
Agreeably to Medea's advice, Jason went betimes in the morningto the palace of King Aetes. Entering the presence chamber, hestood at the foot of the throne, and made a low obeisance.
"Your eyes look heavy, Prince Jason," observed the king; "youappear to have spent a sleepless night. I hope you have beenconsidering the matter a little more wisely, and have concludednot to get yourself scorched to a cinder, in attempting to tamemy brazen-lunged bulls."
"That is already accomplished, may it please your majesty,"replied Jason. "The bulls have been tamed and yoked; the fieldhas been plowed; the dragon's teeth have been sown broadcast,and harrowed into the soil; the crop of armed warriors havesprung up, and they have slain one another, to the last man.And now I solicit your majesty's permission to encounter thedragon, that I may take down the Golden Fleece from the tree,and depart, with my nine and forty comrades."
King Aetes scowled, and looked very angry and excessivelydisturbed; for he knew that, in accordance with his kinglypromise, he ought now to permit Jason to win the Fleece, if hiscourage and skill should enable him to do so. But, since theyoung man had met with such good luck in the matter of thebrazen bulls and the dragon's teeth, the king feared that hewould be equally successful in slaying the dragon. Andtherefore, though he would gladly have seen Jason snapped up ata mouthful, he was resolved (and it was a very wrong thing ofthis wicked potentate) not to run any further risk of losinghis beloved Fleece.
"You never would have succeeded in this business, young man,"said he, "if my undutiful daughter Medea had not helped youwith her enchantments. Had you acted fairly, you would havebeen, at this instant, a black cinder, or a handful of whiteashes. I forbid you, on pain of death, to make any moreattempts to get the Golden Fleece. To speak my mind plainly,you shall never set eyes on so much as one of its glisteninglocks."
Jason left the king's presence in great sorrow and anger. Hecould think of nothing better to be done than to summontogether his forty-nine brave Argonauts, march at once to theGrove of Mars, slay the dragon, take possession of the GoldenFleece, get on board the Argo, and spread all sail for Iolchos.The success of this scheme depended, it is true, on thedoubtful point whether all the fifty heroes might not besnapped up, at so many mouthfuls, by the dragon. But, as Jasonwas hastening down the palace steps, the Princess Medea calledafter him, and beckoned him to return. Her black eyes shoneupon him with such a keen intelligence, that he felt as ifthere were a serpent peeping out of them; and, although she haddone him so much service only the night before, he was by nomeans very certain that she would not do him an equally greatmischief before sunset. These enchantresses, you must know, arenever to be depended upon.
"What says King Aetes, my royal and upright father?" inquiredMedea, slightly smiling. "Will he give you the Golden Fleece,without any further risk or trouble?"
"On the contrary," answered Jason, "he is very angry with mefor taming the brazen bulls and sowing the dragon's teeth. Andhe forbids me to make any more attempts, and positively refusesto give up the Golden Fleece, whether I slay the dragon or no."
"Yes, Jason," said the princess, "and I can tell you more.Unless you set sail from Colchis before to-morrow's sunrise,the king means to burn your fifty-oared galley, and putyourself and your forty-nine brave comrades to the sword. Butbe of good courage. The Golden Fleece you shall have, if itlies within the power of my enchantments to get it for you.Wait for me here an hour before midnight."
At the appointed hour you might again have seen Prince Jasonand the Princess Medea, side by side, stealing through thestreets of Colchis, on their way to the sacred grove, in thecenter of which the Golden Fleece was suspended to a tree.While they were crossing the pasture ground, the brazen bullscame towards Jason, lowing, nodding their heads, and thrustingforth their snouts, which, as other cattle do, they loved tohave rubbed and caressed by a friendly hand. Their fiercenature was thoroughly tamed; and, with their fierceness, thetwo furnaces in their stomachs had likewise been extinguished,insomuch that they probably enjoyed far more comfort in grazingand chewing their cuds than ever before. Indeed, it hadheretofore been a great inconvenience to these poor animals,that, whenever they wished to eat a mouthful of grass, the fireout of their nostrils had shriveled it up, before they couldmanage to crop it. How they contrived to keep themselves aliveis more than I can imagine. But now, instead of emitting jetsof flame and streams of sulphurous vapor, they breathed thevery sweetest of cow breath.
After kindly patting the bulls, Jason followed Medea's guidanceinto the Grove of Mars, where the great oak trees, that hadbeen growing for centuries, threw so thick a shade that themoonbeams struggled vainly to find their way through it. Onlyhere and there a glimmer fell upon the leaf-strewn earth, ornow and then a breeze stirred the boughs aside, and gave Jasona glimpse of the sky, lest, in that deep obscurity, he mightforget that there was one, overhead. At length, when they hadgone farther and farther into the heart of the duskiness, Medeasqueezed Jason's hand.
"Look yonder," she whispered. "Do you see it?"
Gleaming among the venerable oaks, there was a radiance, notlike the moonbeams, but rather resembling the golden glory ofthe setting sun. It proceeded from an object, which appeared tobe suspended at about a man's height from the ground, a littlefarther within the wood.
"What is it?" asked Jason.
"Have you come so far to seek it," exclaimed Medea, "and do younot recognize the meed of all your toils and perils, when itglitters before your eyes? It is the Golden Fleece."
Jason went onward a few steps farther, and then stopped togaze. O, how beautiful it looked, shining with a marvelouslight of its own, that inestimable prize which so many heroeshad longed to behold, but had perished in the quest of it,either by the perils of their voyage, or by the fiery breath ofthe brazen- lunged bulls.
"How gloriously it shines!" cried Jason, in a rapture. "It hassurely been dipped in the richest gold of sunset. Let me hastenonward, and take it to my bosom."
"Stay," said Medea, holding him back. "Have you forgotten whatguards it?"
To say the truth, in the joy of beholding the object of hisdesires, the terrible dragon had quite slipped out of Jason'smemory. Soon, however, something came to pass, that remindedhim what perils were still to be encountered. An antelope, thatprobably mistook the yellow radiance for sunrise, came boundingfleetly through the grove. He was rushing straight towards theGolden Fleece, when suddenly there was a frightful hiss, andthe immense head and half the scaly body of the dragon wasthrust forth (for he was twisted round the trunk of the tree onwhich the Fleece hung), and seizing the poor antelope,swallowed him with one snap of his jaws.
After this feat, the dragon seemed sensible that some otherliving creature was within reach, on which he felt inclined tofinish his meal. In various directions he kept poking his uglysnout among the trees, stretching out his neck a terrible longway, now here, now there, and now close to the spot where Jasonand the princess were hiding behind an oak. Upon my word, asthe head came waving and undulating through the air, andreaching almost within arm's length of Prince Jason, it was avery hideous and uncomfortable sight. The gape of his enormousjaws was nearly as wide as the gateway of the king's palace.
"Well, Jason," whispered Medea (for she was ill natured, as allenchantresses are, and wanted to make the bold youth tremble),"what do you think now of your prospect of winning the GoldenFleece?"
Jason answered only by drawing his sword, and making a stepforward.
"Stay, foolish youth," said Medea, grasping his arm. "Do notyou see you are lost, without me as your good angel? In thisgold box I have a magic potion, which will do the dragon'sbusiness far more effectually than your sword."
The dragon had probably heard the voices; for swift aslightning, his black head and forked tongue came hissing amongthe trees again, darting full forty feet at a stretch. As itapproached, Medea tossed the contents of the gold box rightdown the monster's wide-open throat. Immediately, with anoutrageous hiss and a tremendous wriggle--flinging his tail upto the tip-top of the tallest tree, and shattering all itsbranches as it crashed heavily down again--the dragon fell atfull length upon the ground, and lay quite motionless.
"It is only a sleeping potion," said the enchantress to PrinceJason. "One always finds a use for these mischievous creatures,sooner or later; so I did not wish to kill him outright. Quick!Snatch the prize, and let us begone. You have won the GoldenFleece."
Jason caught the fleece from the tree, and hurried through thegrove, the deep shadows of which were illuminated as he passedby the golden glory of the precious object that he bore along.A little way before him, he beheld the old woman whom he hadhelped over the stream, with her peacock beside her. Sheclapped her hands for joy, and beckoning him to make haste,disappeared among the duskiness of the trees. Espying the twowinged sons of the North Wind (who were disporting themselvesin the moonlight, a few hundred feet aloft), Jason bade themtell the rest of the Argonauts to embark as speedily aspossible. But Lynceus, with his sharp eyes, had already caughta glimpse of him, bringing the Golden Fleece, although severalstone walls, a hill, and the black shadows of the Grove ofMars, intervened between. By his advice, the heroes had seatedthemselves on the benches of the galley, with their oars heldperpendicularly, ready to let fall into the water.
As Jason drew near, he heard the Talking Image calling to himwith more than ordinary eagerness, in its grave, sweet voice:
"Make haste, Prince Jason! For your life, make haste!"
With one bound, he leaped aboard. At sight of the gloriousradiance of the Golden Fleece, the nine and forty heroes gave amighty shout, and Orpheus, striking his harp, sang a song oftriumph, to the cadence of which the galley flew over thewater, homeward bound, as if careering along with wings!
zpostcode
Recruit
weather
mreligion
Yellowpages
sport
constellation
shopping
name
game
directory
literature
Word
tour
furnish
Lottery
tftnews
lyrics
News
digital
car
dir
Edu
Finance
