Classic Myths Part 3

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 f.a.gots. 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE MAN IN THE MOON. From an old painting.]

He cut his bundle of f.a.gots, 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 f.a.gots, and as all days are Mondays in the moon, he can never Break Sunday Again.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 sh.e.l.l rise on the crest of the wave. This great sh.e.l.l 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 pa.s.sed through to the world of the G.o.ds. 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-sh.e.l.l."

"Why, mamma, you say _is_! Do you mean Venus is still alive?"

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 G.o.d 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 seash.o.r.e 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 cl.u.s.ter 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.