Rex and Zendah stood before the Gate of the Lion for
some time and
admired it, in fact they could never quite make up their
minds which was the
more beautiful, this or the Gate of the Balance.
It was formed of gold; some parts were dull, and some
parts were
polished until they glittered, and reflected every ray of
light. On each
side was a tall tower, the gate hung between them with a
portcullis over the
top. A
golden sun formed the gate, while the rays from it made
the bars. There was
a small door in each of the towers with a knocker in the
shape of a lion's head.
Rex went up to one of these and knocked; a small
wicket opened in the
top of the door and a face appeared and demanded: "Who
goes there?"
"Rex and Zendah," they replied.
"Give the Password."
"Faith," said both the children together.
A fanfare of trumpets sounded and the portcullis drew
up, the gate
opened, and they found themselves on the drawbridge
leading to another portal.
They went on toward this next door, which opened
slowly before them, but
there they stopped suddenly — for barring their way were
two very fierce
looking lions, one with a black mane and the other with a
brown one. The
worst of it was, the lions were not chained and appeared
to be able to jump
at them if they desired. They could not go back, for the
drawbridge behind
them was raised; they must go forward.
Zendah had an inspiration — the bread that Hermes had
given them in the
Land of the Virgin — she had just a few crumbs left, so
putting her hand in
her pocket, she took them out, and timidly offered them
to the lions.
You can imagine how great was her surprise when the
lions took the
bread, started to purr, and put their heads down to be
patted. To be sure
their purr was rather alarming for it was more like
distant thunder as
compared with the purr of their cat at home.
"They are quite tame, if you are brave, but they
would prevent any
cowards coming into this land," said a voice.
Looking up, they saw a knight dressed in golden
armour over which hung a
white linen cloak, and on this was sewn a red heart above
a red cross.
He took the children by the hand and cried:
"In the name of the King, open the gates."
The further door flew open, and they stood at the
beginning of a broad
highway lined with people, all dressed in beautiful robes
of gold, crimson
and purple.
Knights in armor, page boys with trumpets,
attendants with flags, and a
band composed of all kinds of musical instruments, formed
themselves in
ordered rows.
A magnificent coach drew up before them, and they
were invited to step
inside.
The drum major gave the signal to the crowd, the band
started to play,
and the whole procession went off down the road, with the
coach containing
Rex and Zendah in their midst.
On each side of the road as they passed, the people
cheered and waved flags.
Looking out of the coach windows as they rode along,
they noticed that
there were no small houses anywhere. Each one stood in a
park or large
garden of its own, and everywhere grew hundreds of
sunflowers and marigolds;
and celandines made a sheet of gold for one's feet.
Coming at last to the
palace itself, they saw that this park was circular, and
the boundary was a
wide walk lined with magnificent cedar trees. At equal
intervals were twelve
entrances, from which twelve drives went up to the
palace, each of which was
shaded with cedar trees. The shade was needed, as the Sun
shone very
fiercely down upon them for it was always summer in the
Land of the Lion!
Dismounting from the coach at one of the gates they
walked upon a fine
purple carpet to the main entrance, escorted by several
pages.
Two heralds met them there, and preceding them to the
throne room, blew
a fanfare on their trumpets; the curtains were flung
back — they stood and
looked round with astonishment, for the hall was circular
like the park and
all the walls were made of gold, while the floor was one
large red ruby.
Leading out of this great hall were five smaller
ones, also with walls
made of gold.
Hanging from the ceiling in front of the throne were
burning seven, red
lamps. At the side of the throne were braziers, scenting
the air with
perfumed smoke, like those in the land of the
Scorpion-Eagle.
The attendants and the great lords alike had hearts
embroidered on their
cloaks or tunics in red and gold.
A chime of bells struck twelve; immediately everyone
in the hall turned
toward the golden throne with its arms formed by two
lions. A sun was carved
on the back of the seat similar to that on the entrance
gate.
The scented clouds swirled and swayed until the
children imagined they
could see weird animals and mountains and giants — but
gradually shining
through them all, right up near the roof of the hall was
a brilliant star.
The mist of smoke cleared and they saw the star shining
on the forehead of
an Angel with golden wings; so tall was he that he
reached from the floor to
the ceiling.
Then the cloud of incense settled over the throne
itself and as it
slowly cleared, a bright light appeared, so bright that
Rex and Zendah
covered their eyes. Not every one can look at the Sun! A
kind, deep voice
bade them welcome, and looking up, they saw a beautiful
young man sitting on
the throne.
He was young, and yet he looked so wise and kind too.
His curly hair
reminded them of the Sun's rays. His dress was of shining
yellow, something
like chain armor, but made of little leaves of gold, and
he wore a massive
chain, from which hung a heart-shaped ruby. In one hand
he held a crystal
ball with a cross on the top, and in the other a golden
scepter.
As they were being escorted to seats near the throne,
they noticed
curtains at the far end of the hall gradually drawn on
one side, behind
which was a stage.
A hidden orchestra played an overture and this was
followed by a play
showing the adventures of a young man seeking for hidden
treasure.
Difficulties met him wherever he went; in gloomy
caverns the gnomes
opposed his passage; on the sea furious storms caused the
waves to delay
him, and many times he was nearly wrecked. The air
fairies blew mighty winds to
prevent his landing on the Golden Treasure Island, and
when he did land, he
must pass through a circle of fire before he could even
start to climb the
Treasure Mountain.
On his way up the mountain, fierce animals barred his
progress and
though he had to fight his way through, he did not come
to any harm so long
as he pressed on fearlessly.
Reaching the top, he discovered a dragon coiled
across the entrance to
the cave. After a fearful fight he conquered it and,
entering the secret
chamber, found the Ruby Heart, which is the treasure of
the Land of the Sun.
A burst of music and voices chorusing a song of rejoicing
greeted the
victor, the curtains closed, and the play was ended.
After this two pages conducted them into one of the
side halls where
they saw children studying maps of the worlds, and
drawing many plans. They
had to work very hard, so one of the pages told them, for
they were learning
to be rulers and kings, and they must know and understand
how everything was
done before they would be able to show others.
Rex thought that it was rather hard work learning to
be a king. He
thought so still more when he saw how these children
spent their play time
in learning to run and jump, and how to use all kinds of
weapons so that
they could protect their subjects if they were attacked,
though they never
fought unless they had to protect someone.
The pages escorted them back into the great hall, and
once again they
stood in front of the King.
From a cushion held by an attendant, he took a gold
chain from which
hung a ruby and placed it around Zendah's neck. This
chain resembled the one
he himself wore.
"You know the watchword of this land," he said, "keep
your heart kind to
all, and look for the best in everyone. So will your ruby
always shine
brightly."
Turning to Rex, he placed in his hand a golden rod
also tipped with a
ruby. "This will give you power to organize and rule
wherever you are
placed, but remember you must never order anyone to do
anything that you
cannot do
yourself. Now you must go and this being the land of the
Third Guardian of
the Winds, you will travel swiftly to the gates."
Everyone rose, and silence fell on the great
hall — they heard whispered
another strange word that they did not know. Voice after
voice joined in,
until there was a chord of beautiful music chanted by
hundreds of voices. As
each one joined in, a wind began to sweep round the hall,
becoming swifter
and swifter, as more and more voices were added to the
chorus.
Last of all the King rose and sang one Word in a
wonderful tone and then
the song of the others sank into a whisper.
The hall shook as it did in the Land of the
Scorpion-Eagle — and without
any more warning, they found themselves outside the gate.
Rex and Zendah sat down to recover their breaths
after their sudden
removal from the Land of the Lion.
Earthquakes rather take your breath away if you are
not used to them,
even if they do sometimes save time.
After a few minutes they got up, and turned round to
look for the Gate
of the Crab.
At first they both rubbed their eyes hard, for though
they could see
faintly where the gate stood, it was very misty. It was
like trying to see
their hill on a foggy morning.
As they looked, however, the mist cleared and a
shining silver gate was
seen. The tall pillars on either side were two silver
candles and the gate
between was a circle of silver; in the center of this was
a gigantic crab
holding between its claws a crescent moon, which shone as
the real Moon. On
its shell were two queer signs like notes of music, side
by side.
All round the outside of the gate were words,
difficult to read because
the whole gate revolved incessantly.
At one moment the crescent moon was at the top of the
gate, and very
soon after the crescent was at the bottom of the gate.
There were curious shaped pieces of silver, rather
like the claws of a
crab where the lock and hinges should have been — with a
groove between them,
in which the gate ran smoothly round and round. A keyhole
showed in the
center of each, so that the children felt puzzled, not
knowing which was
likely to unlock the gate. But first they had to find a
key.
Zendah was the first to see a little door in one of
the pillars engraved
with a crab; on touching this with her fingers, it
opened. Inside was a
silver key.
Rex tried this in the right hand keyhole, and found
it fit, but though
he turned the key this way and that, and heard the lock
click, the gate did
not move. He found it would not fit the other keyhole,
which had the word "Try"
engraved over it.
Zendah suddenly cried out, "Why! that is one of the
words on the Gate of
the Sea-Goat!" and pulling out of her pocket the leaden
key she had found
there, she put it into the left-hand keyhold, and found
it fit.
In a moment the Crab stood still with the crescent
moon upward and
around the gate they saw the motto which they had been
unable to read while
it had been moving.
"East, West, Home is Best."
A soft voice spoke to them from a long, long way off:
"Dear children, do
you know the Password?"
They looked startled, for it sounded so much like
their mother's voice,
but they replied:
"Patience."
They were still more surprised when the Crab climbed
down from the gate
and waving his claws, showed them the way through the
hole he had left. When
they had jumped through, he climbed up into his usual
place, and cried in a
queer, grating voice:
"Revolve again, oh circle of the night Moon!"
Wondering how it worked, they stood for a short time
and watched the
dance of the Crab and the Moon recommence.
At the entrance of this land, not a soul could they
see. It was night,
and very, very misty, but as they were wondering which
way to go, they heard
whispering.
"Yes, it is." "No, it isn't." "No, you go first and
see." "There is no
hurry," until they wondered what it was all about, and
who really was there.
Slowly their eyes became accustomed to the mist and
they saw in front of
them a path winding through a forest of large trees;
little streams of water
gurgled over mossy stones, or fell with a splash over
rocks in miniature
waterfalls.
A large yellow Moon rose slowly behind the trees, and
finally they could
see everything as well as if it were daylight.
The voices grew nearer and nearer, and at last Zendah
turned to Rex and
said in a quiet, little voice, "I am sure I saw some
children hiding behind
the trees."
Yes, there they were, first one face peeped round a
tree trunk and
disappeared again, and then another peeped and vanished.
Rex became
impatient. "Oh do come out and make friends," he cried.
"Don't be so shy, we
shall not hurt you!"
In a moment or two they were surrounded by a number
of children, some
dressed in shining silvery dresses and some in violet or
green. They were
most of them very pale, with hair that was almost white,
and they all moved
rather slowly.
The leader, a girl, said to Zendah, "I am sorry we
were so slow, but we
don't have many visitors here, and we were not sure who
you were. We are all
so shy, until we know people very well."
Taking their hands, they led them down the path to
where there were two
great stones with a third one on the top, so large that
Rex wondered who
ever had been strong enough to place them like that.
They all danced around the stones, singing a queer
little song, that
seemed to be something about the sacred hearth fire, so
far as Rex and
Zendah could catch the words.
So busy were they trying to find out what they were
singing about, that
they did not notice a tall figure come up to the circle,
and stand smiling
and watching from the outskirts of the ring. Suddenly
they looked up, broke
through the ring, and throwing their arms around the
lady's neck, exclaimed,
"Mother, mother, how did you come here? We never expected
to see you in the
stars."
How the other children did stare! "Is she your own
mother?" asked one.
"Why Lady Mary comes to see us nearly every night and
tells us tales."
Mother nodded. "Yes, this is my land, as the Land of
the Archer is
yours, Zendah. But you must now be very quiet, for this
is the special
night, Midsummer Eve, when all the fairies collect for
their revels, and
they start just before the Moon is full."
Very, very quietly, they all tip-toed to a bank of
willow trees that
overlooked a smooth patch of grass, and sat down behind
some bushes.
A faint, clear note was heard — a fairy horn, and then
four large bats
flew across the Moon, each with a tiny fairy on its back.
Circling round and
round, they were soon near enough for the fairies to jump
to the ground,
while the bats hung themselves up by their hooked wings
on to the trees
near by.
From a wild rose bush a little brown bird burst into
a wonderful song of
trills and runs. To its music the four fairies danced
round and round the
green patch, waving wands of water iris, and where they
trod hundreds of
mushrooms and toadstools sprang up. Again the fairy horn
sounded, the trunks
of trees around the circle opened, and the green and the
brown nymphs of the
forest came out and took their places on the grass under
the trees.
Then in the distance, ever drawing nearer and nearer,
could be seen
hundreds of fairies headed by Queen Titania and King
Oberon, preceded by a
queer procession of crabs and crayfish, all walking on
their back claws.
When all were inside the ring, they took seats on the
toadstools while the
four smallest fairies went into the center, and played on
strange musical
instruments made of shells with strings of cobwebs.
Rex and Zendah were quite certain they had heard this
music before, when
they had been in the woods at home, but they had not
known that it was fairy
music.
They had to watch the fairies very carefully as they
danced to the
music, for they did not look the same two minutes
together; sometimes they
were large, sometimes very small, sometimes they looked
like flowers, and
sometimes like crabs.
At the far end of the glade was a bank of very fine
moss, and on each
side there grew bushes of white roses and hundreds of
moon daisies. In front
of the bank was a small pool in which were growing water
violets and white
water lilies.
Early in the evening, the Moon shone behind the
willow trees on the left
side of the pool, but it gradually rose until it stood
exactly overhead, and
reflected itself in the middle of the pool. The moment
this happened, rays
seemed to come shooting down from the Moon to the
reflection and up again
from it, and then back and forth, weaving a gigantic web
of moonbeams
showing all the colors of the rainbow after a shower,
only much paler than
you ever see in the daytime.
When this was complete, there appeared an oval of
thicker mist in the
center that gradually became bigger and bigger until the
form of a beautiful
woman with a crown of silver stood on the surface of the
pond. She had hair
the colour of a primrose and pale blue eyes.
All the fairies turned toward her and bowed, and as
she stepped on to
the bank, they sang a quaint little song of greeting:
"Hail unto our Lady Moon!
Hail unto the Queen of Night!
If Moon and Crab together loom
Then fairies greet your sight!"
In a voice that sounded like the summer breeze murmuring
through the trees,
the spirit of the Moon spoke:
"Hail, children of the woods and trees and streams!
Has all gone well
since our last meeting? And have you any requests to
make?"
"All is well, great Queen," replied many tiny voices.
She continued: "Come forth, human children, you have
seen my land, now
come and receive the gifts of remembrance that we have to
give to those who
love it."
Quite astonished, for they did not know they had been
seen, Rex and
Zendah stepped out into the moonlight, holding their
mother's hand.
"I need not remind you, for you have a good teacher
at home," said the
Moon, smiling, "what this land means to all who love
home, but you must
remember kindness and patience make it beautiful; so I
give to you, Rex, a
silver shield to protect all those weaker than yourself;
and remember the
sweetest kernel is found within the hardest shell.
"To you, Zendah, I give the silver bracelet set with
many moonstones.
Once every year you will be able to come and watch the
fairies play, and
learn what they and the Moon can teach you."
Waving her silver wand, a large, greeny-purple crab
bowed in front of
them and showed them a tiny chariot drawn by white cats,
just large enough
for the two of them.
Their mother kissed them, and whispered, "I shall see
you presently,"
and off they went back to the entrance. Again the gate
stopped its spinning
and the silver crab descended from the crescent Moon to
let them through.
They were just preparing to jump over, when a jolly
laugh greeted them,
and King Jupiter came in.
"So you have finished your visit to the Land of the
Crab," he said. "I
am just a little late, but I shall see the last of the
revels." And he stood
to one side and waved his hand to them as they went
through the gate.
The crab resumed his post of holding up the crescent
Moon, and the gate
started to spin once more.
"Whoever would have thought of seeing mother in the
Land of the Crab?"
said Zendah. "I wonder if she will remember when we get
home?"
"I suspect she will," replied Rex, "she always seems
to remember
everything."
The gate of the Twins was so delicate and airy,
almost as thin as a
cobweb, that it seemed as if you could walk through it,
but it barred
your way just the same. The most bewildering thing about
it was that it
moved slightly all the time, so that you did not know at
which part you were
looking.
Right in the middle of the gate was a winged —
—surrounded by butterflies, whose wings were so
wonderfully enameled, that
they almost looked like real ones, yet they were only
metal. The pillars of
this gate were odd, one was dark and capped with the head
of a frowning
child, and the other was golden, capped with the head of
a child with a
smll1ng face.
Rex and Zendah peeped through the gate, as well as
they could because of
its constant movement, and wondered how this was to be
entered. They were
very anxious to get in, for it seemed, even from the
outside, such a merry land.
"I cannot see anything to use here," said Rex, "so we
had better look at
the book of Hermes again."
They opened the scroll, and by the symbol of the Land
of the Twins they
found written: "Look on the right-hand side of the gate
and you will find a
silver pipe; on the left-hand side you will find a golden
bowl full of a
liquid. Rex must blow a perfect bubble, and Zendah must
waft it with her
breath to a point just above the question mark on the
gate; then the Wardens
will see the sign and demand the password."
"What fun!" exclaimed Rex. "We have to blow bubbles,
that is easy."
"I don't expect it is quite as easy as it sounds,
replied Zendah,
shaking her head.
They soon found the silver pipe and the golden bowl,
and Rex sat down on
the ground near the gate, while Zendah stood near to try
and blow the bubble
in the right direction as soon as Rex was ready. It was
not easy. At first
none of the bubbles was perfect and then when Rex did get
one, it ran along
the ground and they could not get it to rise into the air
before it burst.
Time after time they tried, and at last a beauty flew
swiftly up; but it
only rose to the left side of the gate. A second perfect
one wafted suddenly
to the right side of the gate, but it was not until the
third one that
Zendah managed to blow straight in the right direction.
Up and up it went,
shining with all the colors of the rainbow, both
children watching
anxiously until it reached the point above the question
mark where it burst
with a bang-bang.
Immediately a laugh was heard and two voices cried:
"Tell us the names of this gate."
"Joy and Swiftness," replied the children.
"Enter Zendah with Joy and Rex with swiftness," cried
the voices.
The gate divided in the middle and flew open with a
sudden swing. A
crowd of boys and girls rushed at them and pulled them
inside, all talking
at once.
"Come with me." "Where have you come from?" "What are
your names?" "Let
me show you our school." "No, let me take them to ours,"
said another child.
And they were pulled first one way and then another until
they really did
not know which way to go. Certainly none of these
children was shy!
At last a tall, thin youth with a merry twinkle in
his eye pushed the
others on one side, and taking Rex and Zendah by the
hands, cried, "For
shame, children, you will bewilder our visitors and give
them the impression
that we do not know our own minds at all. Though it is
true that anyone in
this land does have some difficulty in making up his
mind!"
Turning to Rex and Zendah he said, "Have you your
wings yet?" They shook
their heads, "Which wings?"
"Oh I expect then you will have to wait until you see
Hermes," replied
the youth, "but meantime I will get the butterflies to
lend you some until
you do see him."
He held in his hand a hazel twig, and this he waved
twice round his
head, and at once hundreds of yellow and blue butterflies
and dragonflies
surrounded them. The largest of them all, as big as a
bird, held in its
mouth two spare pairs of dragonflies wings. The youth
took these and
fastened them somehow on to their feet. "Now you will be
able to travel in
the Land of the Twins and as fast backward as forward.
What do you wish to
know first?" he asked, for he could see that they both
were greatly desiring
to ask questions.
"Why, there do not seem to be any old people here!"
said Rex.
The boy laughed. "For one reason we do not worry, and
are all so merry
that we always remain young, but also because everyone
who comes to live
here, even for a short time, bathes in the pool of the
waters of youth. Come
and see."
Swiftly through the air they went, passing beautiful
forests where
bluebells and cowslips grew, and over them all hovered
thousands of
butterflies of all colors. At last they came to a
thicket of hazel trees,
within which was a pool of some liquid that shone like
silver. It was moving
slowly backward and forward in heavy ripples, though
there was no breeze
here. The air was perfectly still within the hazel
thicket yet everywhere
else there had been a wind all the time.
The guide motioned them to sit down and watch.
Presently two children flew up with an old woman, who
had no wings on
her feet, and put her gently down at the side of the
pool, and held her
hands as she stepped in. Then, to their great surprise,
the further she went
in the
younger she became, until when she reached the other side
she was old no
longer, and wings had grown on her feet. When she
realized what had
happened, she rose in the air with a cry of joy, and
joined the other young
people who
were waiting for her on the farther side of the pool.
"There are no really old people here," said their
guide as he arose and
they started forward on their travels. "All inhabitants
pass through the
pool of youth, and so long as they live here, they are
always young. Only
they often forget when they go to live in other lands."
From the forest they flew to the City of Hermes,
where they saw the
inhabitants occupied in different ways, always busy with
their brains or
their hands. As in the Land of the Water Carrier, they
found some who were
clever sculptors; many were painting pictures or playing
with skill on
musical instruments. There were others writing, or
illuminating manuscripts,
or engraving on copper. But whichever thing they were
doing, they all seemed
able to leave their own work to go and do someone else's
work as well as
their own.
Everywhere different work was being done.
In one hall a young man was speaking about his
travels all over the
stars. The children were told this was a land of many
lecturers and everyone
wanted to be able to speak well, though people from the
other lands sometimes
said they talked too much.
Everywhere they went they noticed hundreds of tiny
bubbles floating
about in the air. In the lecture hall they saw coloured
lights and queer
shaped forms, some, triangles, some, cubes, and their
guide explained that these
were thoughts and that they were easier to see here than
in other places
because everything here was so swift, and the air so
clear.
At last they came to the palace of Hermes. It was
indeed well that they
had some special wings on their feet, for otherwise they
could never have
reached it. It consisted of two circular towers, very
tall and narrow,
joined by a wonderful span-bridge which swayed with every
breeze that blew.
In the middle of the bridge was built the main hall.
The whole castle was poised on a sea of quicksilver,
and was moving
about this sea incessantly. Only at exactly midday and
exactly midnight was
it where one would expect it to be — in the middle, and
that was the only time
you could fly up to the entrance. Never could you walk
there.
"Now," said their guide, "watch carefully, and follow
me the moment the
castle is in the center, otherwise you will not be able
to see Hermes while
you are in this land."
A peal was heard from bells that hung in the top of
the left-hand
tower — to be answered at its finish by two deep notes
from the bells in the
right-hand tower; and the moment had arrived.
They had to fly to the entrance with the quickness of
thought, and were
quite out of breath as they reached the steps. The castle
had started moving
again; but from where they stood on the steps, it seemed
as if the country
was moving and not the castle.
On the porch two pages drew back the curtains — a boy
and a girl, so much
alike that the children exclaimed, "Why you must be
twins" They looked at
each other and smiled.
"Only twins are employed in the Quicksilver Palace."
Everything was in pairs, even the walls were hung
with mirrors so that
if you stood still for a moment, you saw two of yourself.
Passing over the swaying bridge and climbing to the
top of one of the
towers, they entered the throne room, which was hung with
yellow curtains
attached to rods high up on the walls. The pages told
them that these
curtains were constantly changed, and had a different
design for each day,
for who in this land would want to see the same thing all
the time? In
between, there were mirrors, as in the corridors, and
statues of running or
flying men. Above, hung rows and rows of silvery bells.
At the end of the hall were two raised platforms and
a throne on each, a
yellow and a purple one.
Hermes was seated on the yellow one. He smiled and
greeted them.
"You wonder, I suppose, why I have two thrones. When
everyone in this
land does the right thing, I use this yellow throne, but
when I have to find
fault which I must sometimes do, then I use the purple
throne.
"Ring the joy bells of welcome," he cried, raising
his wand in the air,
and the bells above rang a merry tune.
"Everything here is youth, activity, and pleasure,
but there is a lesson
to be learned too."
He took them into a small room at the side of the
hall, where they saw a
basket on a table surrounded by curious instruments. On
the walls themselves
were painted the words
"Speak no slander, no, nor listen to it."
"The casket is Pandora's. Long ago the gods gave a
casket to men, which
they told them would bring luck so long as it never was
opened. But Pandora
was too curious and opened it, when out came all the
troubles and illnesses
that the gods had shut up in the box, and only hope was
left behind.
"So when my children get too restless, or too
curious, or too talkative,
as they do sometimes, they come here to be reminded of
the old story. See
these instruments? Men made these on Earth to cover up
people's mouths when
they talked too much. We keep copies here also, as a
warning against too
much talking."
Back again in the hall, pages were constantly coming
to Hermes with
letters and messages, so it was difficult to understand
how he ever managed
to attend to them all.
At last a page brought two beautiful pairs of wings
such as Hermes
himself wore on his feet, and he gave these to the
children instead of the
wings of the dragonflies that they were wearing.
"Now, you have the shoes of swiftness. They will
answer many purposes as
you will find out, but always use them in the service of
other people. The
butterflies' wings would be of no use for hard work,
though many of my
children think they are enough, and then they find they
cannot fly far.
"The jewel I give to you is the chalcedony; and this
and the password
will remind you to be true messengers of the gods and
take hope and joy
everywhere you go. At the last gate I shall meet you and
take you home, but
now I cannot wait any longer, for our Lord the Sun has
sent for me."
Over the swinging bridge, by way of the quicksilver
lake, they returned
to the entrance, and past the City of Hermes, where some
of the children
were on their way to what seemed to be their schools.
Through the butterfly
woods, past the pool of youth, and so to the entrance
gate, the same group
of children saw them off, shouting to them as the gates
closed:
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