HELIOS S FOUR-IN-HAND I 7 



Madly they careered above the mountain tops, 

 turning hither and thither in their course, and 

 spurning the control of their driver ; for well they 

 knew that it was not their old master who stood 

 in the chariot behind them. Then the proud 

 heart of Phaethon began to fail within him. He 

 quaked with fear, and the yellow reins dropped 

 from his hands. 



" O my father ! " he cried, " how I wish that 

 I had heeded your warning ! " 



And the fiery steeds leaped upward and soared 

 in the heavens until they reached a point higher 

 than any eagle had ever attained; then, as sud- 

 denly, they plunged downward, dragging the 

 burning car behind them; then, for a long time, 

 they skimmed close to the tree-tops, and dan- 

 gerously near to the dwellings of men. From the 

 valley of the Nile westward, across the continent 

 of Africa, they passed in their unmanageable 

 flight, and the region that had once been so green 

 and fertile was scorched into a barren desert. 

 The rivers were dried up, and the fishes in them 

 died. The growing grain, the grass, the herbs, 

 the trees — all were withered by the intense heat. 

 The mountains smoked, the earth quaked, and 

 the sky was lurid with flame. The fair people 



