MYTHOLOGY 



4048 



MYTHOLOGY 



Clymene smiled. "Come here. Phaethon." slu> 

 md let me whisper something in your ear." 

 he heard made the boy look, first, aston- 

 ished, then delighted ; and he rushed out-of-doors 

 and back to the place where he had left his com- 

 rades, radiant with joy. 



let's tell tales of the deeds of our 

 fathers !" he cried. 



the other boys looked at him in surprise. 



"But you have no father," one of them de- 

 replied Phaethon. no longer 



angered l-y tin- taunt which had so many times 

 stung him. "Vu see him every day when he 

 : ai-ict acn.ss the highest part of the 

 Apollo, the sun god." 



A burst of laughter greeted this proud state- 

 ment. 



"Oho!" cried one boy. "Why could you not 

 have made up that story some years ago and 

 saved yourself a great deal of embarrassment?" 



"Do you actually expect us to believe that?" 

 asked another, with a sneer. 



Disappointed, angry, Phaethon turned again 

 toward home. Having a father was as bad as not 

 having one, if you could not convince other people 

 of his existence. 



But his mother was ready to help him out of 

 this difficulty. Looking at him proudly, she said : 



"No father would be ashamed to acknowledge 

 you as his son. Tomorrow morning you may go 

 to Apollo, and ask him whether what I have told 

 you is not the truth." 



The impatient boy could scarcely wait for the 

 morning to come, and long before daybreak, 

 while the stars and moon were still to be seen 

 in the sky, he started off toward the East, travel- 

 ing as rapidly as he could. At last he came to 

 the gorgeous palace of the Sun and was admitted 

 within the doors to the very throne-room of his 

 father. There, on the diamond-studded throne, 

 sat the radiant god, wearing a purple robe and 

 bearing on his head the crown of beams. 



"Who are you," he asked, "who have come 

 here to my palace? It is almost time for me to 

 set out on m\ lay's journey and I have not long 

 to talk with you." 



Impulsively I'haethon poured out the story of 

 his wrongs, and ended with a plea that his father 

 would give him some sign by which he might 

 convince his skeptical comrades. Apollo laid 

 aside the beams from about his head, which were 

 so dazzling that the youth could not approach 

 closely, and called the boy to him. 



"To be sure you are my son," he declared, "a 

 son whom any father might be proud to own. I 

 am willing to give you any proof of the fact, and 

 I swear by the River Styx (and that is an oath 

 which even the strongest of the gods would not 

 dare to break) that I will grant you any wish 

 which you may ask of me." 



This was precisely what Phaethon had hoped 

 for, but had hardly dared to expect, and it did 

 not take him long to give his answer. 



"There is one thing," he declared, "which will 

 really be a proof. Let me drive for one day your 

 great chariot across the sky ; then no one who 

 sees me can doubt that I am your son." 



Now Apollo was very sorry for the rash promise 

 which he had made. 



"Choose something else, my son," he begged ; 

 "what you have asked for is not safe. You can 

 have no idea of the dangers of the path across the 

 heavens. The road at the beginning of the jour- 

 ney slopes upward so steeply that even my horses 

 can hardly climb it ; the middle of the road is so 

 high above the earth that even I. myself, become 

 dizzy when I look down ; and the last part of the 

 road slopes downward so rapidly that it is almost 

 impossible to hold in the horses. It" it is hard 

 for me. think what it would be for you." 



But Phaethon refused to think. He had set his 

 heart on this one thing and this one thing he 

 would have. He knew his father could not break 

 ih- oath which he had sworn hy the River Styx, 

 so he persisted in his demand. At last, attended by 

 the Seasons, the Days, the Months, the Years, and 

 the Hours, Apollo led the way to where the sun 

 chariot stood waiting. It was the most gorgeous 

 chariot that Phaethon had ever looked upon of 

 gold and silver and precious gems and his heart 

 beat proudly that he was actually to have the 

 guiding of the magnificent car for a whole day. 

 The horses were led forth and fastened to the 

 chariot, and Aurora, the goddess of dawn, threw 

 open the doors of the East, through which the sun 

 in its splendor was presently to rise. After a 

 final plea, which Phaethon stubbornly resisted, 

 Apollo anointed the boy's head with ointment so 

 that he might not be scorched by the brightness 

 of the beams, and then set the crown of rays on 

 the young head. 



"Remember, my son," he said, "do not drive too 

 high or too low ; a middle course is best. Above 

 all, do not attempt to use the whip, for the horses 

 are spirited ; and hold tight to the reins." 



Only half heeding his father's instructions, 

 Phaethon sprang into the chariot, grasped the 

 reins, and shaking them over his steeds, started 

 out through the open door. 



It did not take the horses long to feel that it 

 was an unpracticed hand that grasped the reins, 

 and, taking the bits in their teeth, they dashed 

 out of the traveled road and wildly up the 

 heavens. The courage with which Phaethon had 



PHAETHON'S RIDE 



"Up, up, up, went the horses, and then as sud- 

 denly downward, almost taking the breath from 

 Phaethon's body with their rapid plunge." 



started out did not last long. Below him a 

 dizzying, sickening distance below was the earth 

 and the sea. What if he should drop from this 

 awful height ! And there, when he looked about 

 him in the heavens, were even worse sights ; the 

 Big Bear and the Little Bear, the Scorpion and 

 the Lion, the huge Crab all of these seemed to 

 be reaching out toward him as he dashed among 

 them. Up, up, up, went the horses, and then as 



