STORY FOUR, CHAPTER 1.
THE CHIMAERA, BY N. HAWTHORNE.
Once in the old, old times (for all the strange things which I tell youabout happened long before anybody can remember), a fountain gushed outof a hill-side in the marvellous land of Greece; and, for aught I know,after so many thousand years, it is still gushing out of the veryself-same spot. At any rate, there was the pleasant fountain wellingfreshly forth and sparkling adown the hillside, in the golden sunset,when a handsome young man named Bellerophon drew near its margin. Inhis hand he held a bridle, studded with brilliant gems, and adorned witha golden bit. Seeing an old man, and another of middle age, and alittle boy, near the fountain, and like wise a maiden, who was dippingup some of the water in a pitcher, he paused, and begged that he mightrefresh himself with a draught.
"This is very delicious water," he said to the maiden, as he rinsed andfilled her pitcher, after drinking out of it. "Will you be kind enoughto tell me whether the fountain has any name?"
"Yes; it is called the Fountain of Pirene," answered the maiden; andthen she added, "My grandmother has told me that this clear fountain wasonce a beautiful woman, and when her son was killed by the arrows of thehuntress Diana, she melted all away into tears. And so the water, whichyou find so cool and sweet, is the sorrow of that poor mother's heart!"
"I should not have dreamed," observed the young stranger, "that so cleara well-spring, with its gush and gurgle, and its cheery dance out of theshade into the sunlight, had so much as one tear-drop in its bosom! Andthis, then, is Pirene? I thank you, pretty maiden, for telling me itsname. I have come from a far-away country to find this very spot."
A middle-aged country fellow (he had driven his cow to drink out of thespring) stared hard at young Bellerophon, and at the handsome bridlewhich he carried in his hand.
"The water-courses must be getting low, friend, in your part of theworld," remarked he, "if you come so far only to find the Fountain ofPirene. But, pray, have you lost a horse? I see you carry the bridlein your hand; and a very pretty one it is, with that double row ofbright stones upon it. If the horse was as fine as the bridle, you aremuch to be pitied for losing him."
"I have lost no horse," said Bellerophon, with a smile. "But I happento be seeking a very famous one, which, as wise people have informed me,must be found hereabouts, if anywhere. Do you know whether the wingedhorse Pegasus still haunts the Fountain of Pirene, as he used to do, inyour forefathers' days?"
But then the country fellow laughed.
Some of you, my little friends, have probably heard that this Pegasuswas a snow-white steed, with beautiful silvery wings, who spent most ofhis time on the summit of Mount Helicon. He was as wild, and as swift,and as buoyant, in his flight through the air, as any eagle that eversoared into the clouds. There was nothing else like him in the world.He had no mate; he had never been backed or bridled by a master; and,for many a long year, he led a solitary and a happy life.
Oh, how fine a thing it is to be a winged horse! Sleeping at night, ashe did, on a lofty mountain-top, and passing the greater part of the dayin the air, Pegasus seemed hardly to be a creature of the earth.Whenever he was seen, up very high above people's heads, with thesunshine on his silvery wings, you would have thought that he belongedto the sky, and that, skimming a little too low, he had got astray amongour mists and vapours, and was seeking his way back again. It was verypretty to behold him plunge into the fleecy bosom of a bright cloud, andbe lost in it for a moment or two, and then break forth from the otherside; or, in a sullen rain-storm, when there was a grey pavement ofclouds over the whole sky, it would sometimes happen that the wingedhorse descended right through it, and the glad light of the upper regionwould gleam after him. In another instant, it is true, both Pegasus andthe pleasant light would be gone away together. But any one that wasfortunate enough to see this wondrous spectacle felt cheerful the wholeday afterwards, and as much longer as the storm lasted.
In the summer time, and in the beautifullest of weather, Pegasus oftenalighted on the solid earth, and, closing his silvery wings, wouldgallop over hill and dale for pastime, as fleetly as the wind. Oftenerthan in any other place, he had been seen near the Fountain of Pirene,drinking the delicious water, or rolling himself upon the soft grass ofthe margin. Sometimes, too (but Pegasus was very dainty in his food),he would crop a few of the clover-blossoms that happened to be thesweetest.
To the Fountain of Pirene, therefore, people's great-grandfathers hadbeen in the habit of going (as long as they were youthful, and retainedtheir faith in winged horses), in hopes of getting a glimpse at thebeautiful Pegasus. But, of late years, he had been very seldom seen.Indeed, there were many of the country folks, dwelling within half anhour's walk of the fountain, who had never beheld Pegasus, and did notbelieve that there was any such creature in existence. The countryfellow to whom Bellerophon was speaking chanced to be one of thoseincredulous persons.
And that was the reason why he laughed.
"Pegasus, indeed!" cried he, turning up his nose as high as such a flatnose could be turned up, "Pegasus, indeed! A winged horse, truly! Why,friend, are you in your senses? Of what use would wings be to a horse?Could he drag the plough so well, think you? To be sure, there might bea little saving in the expense of shoes; but then, how would a man liketo see his horse flying out of the stable window?--yes; or whisking himup above the clouds, when he only wanted to ride to mill! No, no! Idon't believe in Pegasus. There never was such a ridiculous kind of ahorse-fowl made!"
"I have some reason to think otherwise," said Bellerophon, quietly.
And then he turned to an old, grey man who was leaning on a staff, andlistening very attentively, with his head stretched forward, and onehand at his ear, because for the last twenty years he had been gettingrather deaf.
"And what say you, venerable sir?" inquired he. "In your younger days,I should imagine you must frequently have seen the winged steed!"
"Ah, young stranger, my memory is very poor!" said the aged man. "WhenI was a lad, if I remember rightly, I used to believe there was such ahorse, and so did everybody else. But, now-a-days, I hardly know whatto think, and very seldom think about the winged horse at all. If Iever saw the creature, it was a long, long while ago; and, to tell youthe truth, I doubt whether I ever did see him. One day, to be sure,when I was quite a youth, I remember seeing some hoof-tramps round aboutthe brink of the fountain. Pegasus might have made those hoof-marks;and so might some other horse."
"And have you never seen him, my fair maiden?" asked Bellerophon of thegirl, who stood with the pitcher on her head, while this talk went on."You certainly could see Pegasus if anybody can, for your eyes are verybright."
"Once I thought I saw him," replied the maiden, with a smile and ablush. "It was either Pegasus, or a large white bird, a very great wayup in the air. And one other time, as I was coming to the fountain withmy pitcher, I heard a neigh. Oh, such a brisk and melodious neigh asthat was! My very heart leaped with delight at the sound. But itstartled me, nevertheless; so that I ran home without filling mypitcher."
"That was truly a pity!" said Bellerophon.
And he turned to the child, whom I mentioned at the beginning of thestory, and who was gazing at him, as children are apt to gaze atstrangers, with his rosy mouth wide open.
"Well, my little fellow," cried Bellerophon, playfully pulling one ofhis curls, "I suppose you have often seen the winged horse."
"That I have," answered the child very readily. "I saw him yesterday,and many times before."
"You are a fine little man!" said Bellerophon, drawing the child closerto him. "Come, tell me all about it."
"Why," replied the child, "I often come here to sail little boats in thefountain, and to gather pretty pebbles out of its basin. And sometimeswhen I look down into the water, I see the image of the winged horse, inthe picture of the sky that is there. I wish he would come down andtake me on his back, and let me ride him up to the moon! But, if I som
uch as stir to look at him, he flies far away out of sight."
And Bellerophon put his faith in the child, who had seen the image ofPegasus in the water, and in the maiden, who had heard him neigh somelodiously, rather than in the middle-aged clown, who believed only incart-horses, or in the old man, who had forgotten the beautiful thingsof his youth.
Therefore he haunted about the Fountain of Pirene for a great many daysafterwards. He kept continually on the watch, looking upward at thesky, or else down into the water, hoping for ever that he should seeeither the reflected image of the winged horse, or the marvellousreality. He held the bridle, with its bright gems and golden bit,always ready in his hand. The rustic people, who dwelt in theneighbourhood, and drove their cattle to the fountain to drink, wouldoften laugh at poor Bellerophon, and sometimes take him pretty severelyto task. They told him that an able-bodied young man, like himself,ought to have better business than to be wasting his time in such anidle pursuit. They offered to sell him a horse, if he wanted one; andwhen Bellerophon declined the purchase they tried to drive a bargainwith him for his fine bridle.
Even the country boys thought him so very foolish, that they used tohave a great deal of sport about him; and were rude enough not to care afig, although Bellerophon saw and heard it. One little urchin, forexample, would play Pegasus, and cut the oddest imaginable capers, byway of flying, while one of his schoolfellows would scamper after him,holding forth a twist of bulrushes, which was intended to representBellerophon's ornamented bridle. But the gentle child, who had seen thepicture of Pegasus in the water, comforted the young stranger more thanall the naughty boys could torment him. The dear little fellow, in hisplay-hours, often sat down beside him, and, without speaking a word,would look down into the fountain and up towards the sky, with soinnocent a faith that Bellerophon could not help feeling encouraged.
Now you will, perhaps, wish to be told why it was that Bellerophon hadundertaken to catch the winged horse. And we shall find no betteropportunity to speak about this matter than while he is waiting forPegasus to appear.
If I were to relate the whole of Bellerophon's previous adventures, theymight easily grow into a very long story. It will be quite enough tosay, that, in a certain country of Asia, a terrible monster, called aChimaera, had made its appearance, and was doing more mischief thancould be talked about between now and sunset. According to the bestaccounts which I have been able to obtain, this Chimaera was nearly, ifnot quite, the ugliest and most poisonous creature, and the strangestand unaccountablest, and the hardest to fight with, and the mostdifficult to run away from, that ever came out of the earth's inside.It had a tail like a boa-constrictor; its body was like I do not carewhat; and it had three separate heads, one of which was a lion's, thesecond a goat's, and the third an abominably great snake's. And a hotblast of fire came flaming out of each of its three mouths! Being anearthly monster, I doubt whether it had any wings; but, wings or no, itran like a goat and a lion, and wriggled along like a serpent, and thuscontrived to make about as much speed as all three together.
Oh, the mischief, and mischief, and mischief, that this naughty creaturedid! With its flaming breath, it could set a forest on fire, or burn upa field of grain, or, for that matter, a village, with all its fencesand houses. It laid waste the whole country round about, and used toeat up people and animals alive, and cook them afterwards in the burningoven of its stomach. Mercy on us, little children, I hope neither younor I will ever happen to meet a Chimaera!
While the hateful beast (if a beast we can anywise call it) was doingall these horrible things, it so chanced that Bellerophon came to thatpart of the world, on a visit to the king. The king's name was Iobates,and Lycia was the country which he ruled over. Bellerophon was one ofthe bravest youths in the world, and desired nothing so much as to dosome valiant and beneficent deed, such as would make all mankind admireand love him. In those days, the only way for a young man todistinguish himself was by fighting battles, either with the enemies ofhis country, or with wicked giants, or with troublesome dragons, or withwild beasts, when he could find nothing more dangerous to encounter.King Iobates, perceiving the courage of his youthful visitor, proposedto him to go and fight the Chimaera, which everybody else was afraid of,and which, unless it should be soon killed, was likely to convert Lyciainto a desert. Bellerophon hesitated not a moment, but assured the kingthat he would either slay this dreaded Chimaera, or perish in theattempt.
But, in the first place, as the monster was so prodigiously swift, hebethought himself that he should never win the victory by fighting onfoot. The wisest thing he could do, therefore, was to get the very bestand fleetest horse that could anywhere be found. And what other horse,in all the world, was half so fleet as the marvellous horse Pegasus, whohad wings as well as legs, and was even more active in the air than onthe earth? To be sure, a great many people denied that there was anysuch horse with wings, and said that the stories about him were allpoetry and nonsense. But, wonderful as it appeared, Bellerophonbelieved that Pegasus was a real steed, and hoped that he himself mightbe fortunate enough to find him; and, once fairly mounted on his back,he would be able to fight the Chimaera at better advantage.
And this was the purpose with which he had travelled from Lycia toGreece, and had brought the beautifully ornamented bridle in his hand.It was an enchanted bridle. If he could only succeed in putting thegolden bit into the mouth of Pegasus, the winged horse would besubmissive, and would own Bellerophon for his master, and flywhithersoever he might choose to turn the rein.
But, indeed, it was a weary and anxious time, while Bellerophon waitedand waited for Pegasus, in hopes that he would come and drink at theFountain of Pirene. He was afraid lest King Iobates should imagine thathe had fled from the Chimaera. It pained him, too, to think how muchmischief the monster was doing, while he himself, instead of fightingwith it, was compelled to sit idly poring over the bright waters ofPirene, as they gushed out of the sparkling sand. And as Pegasus hadcome thither so seldom, in these latter days, and scarcely alightedthere more than once in a lifetime, Bellerophon feared that he mightgrow an old man, and have no strength left in his arms nor courage inhis heart, before the winged horse would appear. Oh, how heavily passesthe time while an adventurous youth is yearning to do his part in life,and to gather in the harvest of his renown! How hard a lesson it is towait! Our life is brief, and how much of it is spent in teaching usonly this!
Well was it for Bellerophon that the gentle child had grown so fond ofhim, and was never weary of keeping him company. Every morning thechild gave him a new hope to put in his bosom, instead of yesterday'swithered one.
"Dear Bellerophon," he would cry, looking up hopefully into his face, "Ithink we shall see Pegasus to-day!"
And, at length, if it had not been for the little boy's unwaveringfaith, Bellerophon would have given up all hope, and would have goneback to Lycia, and have done his best to slay the Chimaera without thehelp of his winged horse. And in that case poor Bellerophon would atleast have been terribly scorched by the creature's breath, and wouldmost probably have been killed and devoured. Nobody should ever try tofight an earth-born Chimaera, unless he can first get upon the back ofan aerial steed.
One morning the child spoke to Bellerophon even more hopefully thanusual.
"Dear, dear Bellerophon," cried he, "I know not why it is, but I feel asif we should certainly see Pegasus to-day!"
And all that day he would not stir a step from Bellerophon's side; sothey ate a crust of bread together, and drank some of the water of thefountain. In the afternoon, there they sat, and Bellerophon had thrownhis arm around the child, who likewise had put one of his little handsinto Bellerophon's. The latter was lost in his own thoughts, and wasfixing his eyes vacantly on the trunks of the trees that overshadowedthe fountain, and on the grape vines that clambered up among theirbranches. But the gentle child was gazing down into the water. He wasgrieved, for Bellerophon's sake, that the hope of another day should bedeceive
d like so many before it; and two or three quiet tear-drops fellfrom his eyes, and mingled with what were said to be the many tears ofPirene, when she wept for her slain children.
But, when he least thought of it, Bellerophon felt the pressure of thechild's little hand, and heard a soft, almost breathless whisper.
"See there, dear Bellerophon! There is an image in the water!"
The young man looked down into the dimpling mirror of the fountain, andsaw what he took to be the reflection of the bird, which seemed to beflying at a great height in the air, with a gleam of sunshine on itssnowy or silvery wings.
"What a splendid bird it must be!" said he. "And how very large itlooks, though it must really be flying higher than the clouds!"
"It makes me tremble!" whispered the child. "I am afraid to look upinto the air! It is very beautiful, and yet I dare only look at itsimage in the water. Dear Bellerophon, do you not see that it is nobird? It is the winged horse Pegasus!"
Bellerophon's heart began to throb! He gazed keenly upward, but couldnot see the winged creature, whether bird or horse, because, just then,it had plunged into the fleecy depths of a summer cloud. It was but amoment, however, before the object re-appeared, sinking lightly down outof the cloud, although still at a vast distance from the earth.Bellerophon caught the child in his arms, and shrunk back with him, sothat they were both hidden among the thick shrubbery which grew allaround the fountain. Not that he was afraid of any harm, but he dreadedlest, if Pegasus caught a glimpse of them, he would fly far away, andalight in some inaccessible mountain-top. For it was really the wingedhorse. After they had expected him so long, he was coming to quench histhirst with the water of Pirene.
Nearer and nearer came the aerial wonder, flying in great circles, asyou may have seen a dove when about to alight. Downward came Pegasus,in those wide, sweeping circles, which grew narrower and narrower still,as he gradually approached the earth.
At length--not that he was weary, but only idle and luxurious--Pegasusfolded his wings, and lay down on the soft green turf. But, being toofull of aerial life to remain quiet for many moments together, he soonrolled over on his back, with his four slender legs in the air. It wasbeautiful to see him, this one solitary creature, whose mate had neverbeen created, but who needed no companion, and, living a great manyhundred years, was as happy as the centuries were long. The more he didsuch things as mortal horses are accustomed to do, the less earthly andthe more wonderful he seemed. Bellerophon and the child almost heldtheir breath, partly from a delightful awe, but still more because theydreaded lest the slightest stir or murmur should send him up, with thespeed of an arrow-flight, into the furthest blue of the sky.
Finally, when he had had enough of rolling over and over, Pegasus turnedhimself about, and, indolently, like any other horse, put out hisfore-legs, in order to rise from the ground; and Bellerophon, who hadguessed that he would do so, darted suddenly from the thicket, andleaped astride on his back.
Yes, there he sat, on the back of the winged horse!
But what a bound did Pegasus make, when, for the first time, he felt theweight of a mortal man upon his loins! A bound, indeed! Before he hadtime to draw a breath, Bellerophon found himself five hundred feetaloft, and still shooting upward, while the winged horse snorted andtrembled with terror and anger. Upward he went, up, up, up, until heplunged into the cold, misty bosom of a cloud, at which only a littlewhile before Bellerophon had been gazing and fancying it a very pleasantspot. Then again, out of the heart of the cloud, Pegasus shot down likea thunder-bolt, as if he meant to dash both himself and his riderheadlong against a rock. Then he went through about a thousand of thewildest caprioles that had ever been performed either by a bird or ahorse.
I cannot tell you half that he did. He skimmed straightforward, andsideways, and backward. He reared himself erect, with his fore-legs ona wreath of mist, and his hind-legs on nothing at all. He flung out hisheels behind, and put down his head between his legs, with his wingspointing right upward. At about two miles' height above the earth, heturned a somersault, so that Bellerophon's heels were where his headshould have been, and he seemed to look down into the sky, instead ofup. He twisted his head about, and, looking Bellerophon in the face,with fire flashing from his eyes, made a terrible attempt to bite him.He fluttered his pinions so wildly that one of the silver feathers wasshaken out, and floating earthward, was picked up by the child, who keptit as long as he lived, in memory of Pegasus and Bellerophon.
But the latter (who, as you may judge, was as good a horseman as evergalloped) had been watching his opportunity, and at last clapped thegolden bit of the enchanted bridle between the winged steed's jaws. Nosooner was this done, than Pegasus became as manageable as if he hadtaken food, all his life, out of Bellerophon's hand. To speak what Ireally feel, it was almost a sadness to see so wild a creature growsuddenly so tame. And Pegasus seemed to feel it so likewise. He lookedround to Bellerophon, with the tears in his beautiful eyes, instead ofthe fire that so recently flashed from them. But when Bellerophonpatted his head, and spoke a few authoritative, yet kind and soothingwords, another look came into the eyes of Pegasus; for he was glad atheart, after so many lonely centuries, to have found a companion and amaster.
Thus it always is with winged horses, and with all such wild andsolitary creatures. If you can catch and overcome them, it is thesurest way to win their love.
While Pegasus had been doing his utmost to shake Bellerophon off hisback, he had flown a very long distance, and they had come within sightof a lofty mountain by the time the bit was in his mouth. Bellerophonhad seen this mountain before, and knew it to be Helicon, on the summitof which was the winged horse's abode. Thither (after looking gentlyinto his rider's face, as if to ask leave) Pegasus now flew, and,alighting, waited patiently until Bellerophon should please to dismount.The young man accordingly leaped from his steed's back, but still heldhim fast by the bridle. Meeting his eyes, however, he was so affectedby the gentleness of his aspect, and by his beauty, and by the thoughtof the free life which Pegasus had heretofore lived, that he could notbear to keep him a prisoner, if he really desired his liberty.
Obeying this generous impulse, he slipped the enchanted bridle off thehead of Pegasus, and took the bit from his mouth.
"Leave me, Pegasus!" said he. "Either leave me, or love me."
In an instant the winged horse shot almost out of sight, soaringstraight upward from the summit of Mount Helicon. Being long aftersunset, it was now twilight on the mountain-top, and dusky evening overall the country round about. But Pegasus flew so high that he overtookthe departed day, and was bathed in the upper radiance of the sun.Ascending higher and higher, he looked like a bright speck, and at lastcould no longer be seen in the hollow waste of the sky. And Bellerophonwas afraid that he should never behold him more; but, while he waslamenting his own folly, the bright speck re-appeared, and drew nearerand nearer, until it descended lower than the sunshine; and, behold,Pegasus had come back! After this trial, there was no more fear of thewinged horse's making his escape. He and Bellerophon were friends, andput loving faith in one another.
That night they lay down and slept together, with Bellerophon's armabout the neck of Pegasus, not as a caution, but for kindness; and theyawoke at peep of day, and bade one another good-morning, each in his ownlanguage.
In this manner, Bellerophon and the wondrous steed spent several days,and grew better acquainted and fonder of each other all the time. Theywent on long aerial journeys, and sometimes ascended so high that theearth looked hardly bigger than--the moon. They visited distantcountries and amazed the inhabitants, who thought that the beautifulyoung man, on the back of the winged horse, must have come down out ofthe sky. A thousand miles a day was no more than an easy space for thefleet Pegasus to pass over. Bellerophon was delighted with this kind oflife, and would have liked nothing better than to live always in thesame way, aloft in the clear atmosphere; for it was always sunny weatherup there, however che
erless and rainy it might be in the lower region.But he could not forget the horrible Chimaera which he had promised KingIobates to slay. So at last, when he had become well accustomed tofeats of horsemanship in the air, could manage Pegasus with the leastmotion of his hand, and had taught him to obey his voice, he determinedto attempt the performance of this perilous adventure.
At daybreak, therefore, as soon as he unclosed his eyes, he gentlypinched the winged horse's ear, in order to arouse him. Pegasusimmediately started from the ground, and pranced about a quarter of amile aloft, and made a grand sweep around the mountain-top, by way ofshowing that he was wide awake, and ready for any kind of an excursion.During the whole of this little flight he uttered a loud, brisk, andmelodious neigh, and finally came down at Bellerophon's side as lightlyas ever you saw a sparrow hop upon a twig.
"Well done, dear Pegasus; well done, my sky-skimmer," cried Bellerophon,fondly stroking the horse's neck. "And now, my fleet and beautifulfriend, we must break our fast. To-day we are to fight the terribleChimaera."
As soon as they had eaten their morning meal, and drank some sparklingwater from a spring called Hippocrene, Pegasus held out his head, of hisown accord, so that his master might put on the bridle. Then, with agreat many playful leaps and airy caperings, he showed his impatience tobe gone; while Bellerophon was girding on his sword, and hanging hisshield about his neck, and preparing himself for battle. Wheneverything was ready, the rider mounted, and (as was his custom whengoing a long distance) ascended five miles perpendicularly, so as thebetter to see whither he was directing his course. He then turned thehead of Pegasus towards the east, and set out for Lycia. In theirflight they overtook an eagle, and came so nigh him, before he could getout of their way, that Bellerophon might easily have caught him by theleg. Hastening onward at this rate, it was still early in the forenoonwhen they beheld the lofty mountains of Lycia, with their deep andshaggy valleys. If Bellerophon had been told truly, it was in one ofthose dismal valleys that the hideous Chimaera had taken up its abode.
Being now so near their journey's end, the winged horse graduallydescended with his rider; and they took advantage of some clouds thatwere floating over the mountain-tops, in order to conceal themselves.Hovering on the upper surface of a cloud, and peeping over its edge,Bellerophon had a pretty distinct view of the mountainous part of Lycia,and could look into all its shadowy vales at once. At first thereappeared to be nothing remarkable. It was a wild, savage, and rockytract of high and precipitous hills. In the more level part of thecountry, there were the ruins of houses that had been burnt, and, hereand there, the carcases of dead cattle strewn about the pastures wherethey had been feeding.
"The Chimaera must have done this mischief," thought Bellerophon. "Butwhere can the monster be?"
As I have already said, there was nothing remarkable to be detected, atfirst sight, in any of the valleys and dells that lay among theprecipitous heights of the mountains. Nothing at all; unless, indeed,it were three spires of black smoke, which issued from what seemed to bethe mouth of a cavern, and clambered suddenly into the atmosphere.Before reaching the mountain-top, these three black smoke-wreathsmingled themselves into one. The cavern was almost directly beneath thewinged horse and his rider, at the distance of about a thousand feet.The smoke, as it, crept heavily upward, had an ugly, sulphurous,stifling scent, which caused Pegasus to snort and Bellerophon to sneeze.So disagreeable was it to the marvellous steed (who was accustomed tobreathe only the purest air), that he waved his wings, and shot half amile out of the range of this offensive vapour.
But, on looking behind him, Bellerophon saw something that induced himfirst to draw the bridle, and then to turn Pegasus about. He made asign which the winged horse understood, and sunk slowly through the air,until his hoofs were scarcely more than a man's height above the rockybottom of the valley. In front, as far off as you could throw a stone,was the cavern's mouth, with the three smoke-wreaths oozing out of it.And what else did Bellerophon behold there?
There seemed to be a heap of strange and terrible creatures curled upwithin the cavern. Their bodies lay so close together, that Bellerophoncould not distinguish them apart: but judging by their heads, one ofthese creatures was a huge snake, the second a fierce lion, and thethird an ugly goat. The lion and the goat were asleep; the snake wasbroad awake, and kept staring around him with a great pair of fieryeyes. But--and this was the most wonderful part of the matter, thethree spires of smoke evidently issued from the nostrils of these threeheads! So strange was the spectacle, that, though Bellerophon had beenall along expecting it, the truth did not immediately occur to him, thathere was the terrible three-headed Chimaera. He had found out theChimaera's cavern. The snake, the lion, a and the goat, as he supposedthem to be, were not three separate creatures, but one monster!
The wicked, hateful thing! Slumbering as two-thirds of it were, itstill held, in its abominable claws, the remnant of an unfortunatelamb--or possibly (but I hate to think so) it was a dear little boy--which its three mouths had been gnawing before two of them fell asleep!
All at once, Bellerophon started as from a dream, and knew it to be theChimaera. Pegasus seemed to know it at the same instant, and sent fortha neigh, that sounded like the call of a trumpet to battle. At thissound the three heads reared themselves erect, and belched out greatflashes of flame. Before Bellerophon had time to consider what to donext, the monster flung itself out of the cavern and sprung straighttowards him, with its immense claws extended and its snaky tail twistingitself venomously behind. If Pegasus had not been as nimble as a bird,both he and his rider would have been overthrown by the Chimaera'sheadlong rush, and thus the battle have been ended before it was wellbegun. But the winged horse was not to be caught so. In the twinklingof an eye he was up aloft, half-way to the clouds, snorting with anger.He shuddered, too, not with affright, but with utter disgust at theloathsomeness of this poisonous thing with three heads.
The Chimaera, on the other hand, raised itself up so as to standabsolutely on the tip-end of its tail, with its talons pawing fiercelyin the air, and its three heads spluttering fire at Pegasus and hisrider. My stars, how it roared, and hissed, and bellowed! Bellerophon,meanwhile, was fitting his shield on his arm, and drawing his sword.
"Now, my beloved Pegasus," he whispered in the winged horse's ear, "thoumust help me to slay this insufferable monster; or else thou shalt flyback to thy solitary mountain peak without thy friend Bellerophon. Foreither the Chimaera dies, or its three mouths shall gnaw this head ofmine, which has slumbered upon thy neck!"
Pegasus whinnied, and, turning back his head, rubbed his nose tenderlyagainst his rider's cheek. It was his way of telling him that, thoughhe had wings and was an immortal horse, yet he would perish, if it werepossible for immortality to perish, rather than leave Bellerophonbehind.
"I thank you, Pegasus," answered Bellerophon. "Now, then, let us make adash at the monster!"
Uttering these words, he shook the bridle; and Pegasus darted downaslant, as swift as the flight of an arrow, right towards the Chimaera'sthreefold head, which, all this time, was poking itself as high as itcould into the air. As he came within arm's length, Bellerophon made acut at the monster, but was carried onward by his steed, before he couldsee whether the blow had been successful. Pegasus continued his course,but soon wheeled round, at about the same distance from the Chimaera asbefore. Bellerophon then perceived that he had cut the goat's head ofthe monster almost off, so that it dangled downward by the skin, andseemed quite dead.
But to make amends, the snake's head and the lion's head had taken allthe fierceness of the dead one into themselves, and spit flame, andhissed, and roared, with a vast deal more fury than before.
"Never mind, my brave Pegasus!" cried Bellerophon. "With another strokelike that we will stop either its hissing or its roaring."
And again he shook the bridle. Dashing aslant-wise, as before, thewinged horse made another arrow-flight towards the Chimaera, andBelleropho
n aimed another downright stroke at one of the two remainingheads, as he shot by. But, this time, neither he nor Pegasus escaped sowell as at first. With one of its claws, the Chimaera had given theyoung man a deep scratch in his shoulder, and had slightly damaged theleft wing of the flying steed with the other. On his part, Bellerophonhad mortally wounded the lion's head of the monster, insomuch that itnow hung downward, with its fire almost extinguished, and sending outgasps of thick black smoke. The snake's head, however (which was theonly one now left), was twice as fierce and venomous as ever before. Itbelched forth shoots of fire five hundred yards long, and emitted hissesso loud, so harsh, and so ear-piercing, that King Iobates heard them,fifty miles off, and trembled till the throne shook under him.
"Well-a-day!" thought the poor king; "the Chimaera is certainly comingto devour me!"
Meanwhile, Pegasus had again paused in the air, and neighed angrily,while sparkles of a pure crystal flame darted out of his eyes. Howunlike the lurid fire of the Chimaera! The aerial steed's spirit wasall aroused, and so was that of Bellerophon.
"Dost thou bleed, my immortal horse?" cried the young man, caring lessfor his own hurt than for the anguish of this glorious creature, thatought never to have tasted pain. "The execrable Chimaera shall pay forthis mischief, with his last head!"
Then he shook the bridle, shouted loudly, and guided Pegasus, notaslant-wise as before, but straight at the monster's hideous front. Sorapid was the onset, that it seemed but a dazzle and a flash, beforeBellerophon was at close gripes with the enemy.
The Chimaera, by this time, after losing its second head, had got into ared-hot passion of pain and rampant rage. It so flounced about, half onearth and partly in the air, that it was impossible to say which elementit rested upon. It opened its snake-jaws to such an abominable width,that Pegasus might almost, I was going to say, have flown right down itsthroat, wings outspread, rider and all? At their approach it shot out atremendous blast of its fiery breath, and enveloped Bellerophon and hisstead in a perfect atmosphere of flame, singeing the wings of Pegasus,scorching off one whole side of the young man's golden ringlets, andmaking them both far hotter than was comfortable, from head to foot.
But this was nothing to what followed.
When the airy rush of the winged horse had brought him within thedistance of a hundred yards, the Chimaera gave a spring, and flung itshuge, awkward, venomous, and utterly detestable carcase a right uponpoor Pegasus, clung round him with might and main, and tied up its snakytail into a knot! Up flew the aerial steed, higher, higher, higher,above the mountain peaks, above the clouds, and almost out of sight ofthe solid earth. But still the earth-born monster kept its hold, andwas borne upward, along with the creature of light and air.Bellerophon, meanwhile turning about, found himself face to face withthe ugly grimness of the Chimaera's visage, and could only avoid beingscorched to death, or bitten right in twain, by holding up his shield.Over the upper edge of the shield, he looked sternly into the savageeyes of the monster.
But the Chimaera was so mad and wild with pain, that it did not guarditself so well as might else have been the case. Perhaps, after all,the best way to fight a Chimaera is by getting as close to it as youcan. In its efforts to stick its horrible iron claws into its enemy,the creature left its own breast quite exposed; and perceiving this,Bellerophon thrust his sword up to the hilt into its cruel heart.Immediately the snaky tail untied its knot. The monster let go its holdof Pegasus, and fell from that vast height downward; while the firewithin its bosom, instead of being put out, burned fiercer than ever,and quickly began to consume the dead carcase. Thus it fell out of thesky, all a-flame, and (it being nightfall before it reached the earth)was mistaken for a shooting star or a comet. But at early sunrise, somecottager's were going to their day's labour, and saw, to theirastonishment, that several acres of ground were strewn with black ashes.In the middle of a field there was a heap of whitened bones, a greatdeal higher than a haystack. Nothing else was ever seen of the dreadfulChimaera!
And when Bellerophon had won the victory, he bent forward and kissedPegasus, while the tears stood in his eyes.
"Back now, my beloved steed!" said he. "Back to the Fountain ofPirene!"
Pegasus skimmed through the air, quicker than ever he did before, andreached the fountain in a very short time. And there he found the oldman leaning on his staff, and the country fellow watering his cow, andthe pretty maiden filling her pitcher.
"I remember now," quoth the old man, "I saw this winged horse oncebefore, when I was quite a lad. But he was ten times handsomer in thosedays."
"I own a cart-horse worth three of him!" said the country fellow. "Ifthis pony were mine, the first thing I should do would be to clip hiswings!"
But the poor maiden said nothing, for she had always the luck to beafraid at the wrong time. So she ran away, and let her pitcher tumbledown, and broke it.
"Where is the gentle child," asked Bellerophon, "who used to keep mecompany, and never lost his faith, and never was weary of gazing intothe fountain?"
"Here am I, dear Bellerophon!" said the child, softly.
For the little boy had spent day after day, on the margin of Pirene,waiting for his friend to come back; but when he perceived Bellerophondescending through the clouds, mounted on the winged horse, he hadshrunk back into the shrubbery. He was a delicate and tender child, anddreaded lest the old man and the country fellow should see the tearsgushing from his eyes.
"Thou hast won the victory," said he, joyfully, running to the knee ofBellerophon, who still sat on the back of Pegasus. "I knew thouwouldst."
"Yes, dear child!" replied Bellerophon, alighting from the winged horse."But if thy faith had not helped me, I should never have waited forPegasus, and never have gone up above the clouds, and never haveconquered the terrible Chimaera. Thou, my beloved little friend, hastdone it all. And now let us give Pegasus his liberty."
So he slipped off the enchanted bridle from the head of the marvelloussteed.
"Be free, for evermore, my Pegasus!" cried he with a shade of sadness inhis tone. "Be as free as thou art fleet!"
But Pegasus rested his head on Bellerophon's shoulder, and would not bepersuaded to take flight.
"Well, then," said Bellerophon, caressing the airy horse, "thou shalt bewith me as long as thou wilt; and we will go together forthwith, andtell King Iobates that the Chimaera is destroyed."
Then Bellerophon embraced the gentle child, and promised to come to himagain, and departed. But, in after years, that child took higherflights upon the aerial steed than ever did Bellerophon, and achievedmore honourable deeds than his friend's victory over the Chimaera. For,gentle and tender as he was, he grew to be a mighty poet!
My First Cruise, and Other stories Page 11