THE HORSES OF SOL AND MAANE 21 



in which they had stored by a kind of magic all 

 the sparks that flew up out of the vast fiery region 

 of the South. Once they harnessed the horses 

 to the chariot and sent them out over the earth, 

 driverless and without a guide, to carry light 

 and heat to the nations of men. But the plan was 

 a failure. The horses, wandering whither they 

 pleased, did not serve all parts of the world alike. 

 Some lands were almost burned up with the in- 

 tense heat that was given out from the car; 

 others were not visited at all, and the people who 

 lived there perished in the cold and the darkness. 

 And so the Asas were upon the point of giving 

 up the scheme entirely; for, although under or- 

 dinary circumstances, as in the din of battle or 

 in the roar of the storm, they were the bravest 

 of the brave, yet none of them dared try to drive 

 the golden steeds and the burning chariot. Then 

 one of the wisest among them proposed a plan 

 by which they might kill two birds with one stone, 

 and at the same time bring great honor to them- 

 selves. 



" This fair maiden Sol and her pale-faced 

 brother Maane," said he, " are, as everybody 

 knows, skilled in the management of horses. 

 Now, let us put the girl into the burning chariot, 



2 



