THE STORY OF BUCEPHALUS 57 



you are thrown off? " the king inquired, not 

 troubling to conceal his anger. 



To which young Alexander retorted with much 

 spirit : 



" The price of the horse, by Zeus ! " 



It is hardly likely that Alexander, rash though 

 he undoubtedly was, would have said this if the 

 price at which Bucephalus was valued amounted 

 to a sum in talents equivalent to thousands of 

 pounds, for King Philip though a just ruler was 

 a stern father, and Alexander must have known 

 that his father would extort the forfeit should he 

 fail to ride the horse. 



The lad's reply, we are told, was received with 

 shouts of laughter. This public expression of 

 ridicule it may have been that set the boy upon 

 his mettle, for without further parley he ran out 

 into the arena, ordered his father's attendants 

 aside, and then, grasping the reins, began to pat 

 the horse's neck and " soothe him with soft 

 words." 



For the boy had observed what apparently 

 nobody else had noticed — namely, that the horse 

 grew restive at the sight of its own shadow. 

 Without waiting, therefore, he turned the horse 

 to face the sun, then at once "sprang up and 

 bestrode him unharmed." Next, gradually and 

 very gently, and using neither whip nor spur, he 

 made Bucephalus move round and round in a 

 circle until the animal no longer feared its shadow 



