Nature Myths and Stories for Little Children

by Flora J. Cooke

  South Wind brought the people green grass and flowers and birds.

  The zephyrs showed them how to laugh and cry and sing and dance.

  But the people were stupid.

  They lived like ants in dark caves.

  Prometheus saw that there was only one thing which would help them.

  That was _fire_.

  Fire was the most precious thing Zeus had, and he kept it ever burningaround his throne.

  When Prometheus asked for fire Zeus was angry.

  "I have already given too much to your people," he said. "Let them nowhelp themselves."

  Prometheus was sad, indeed.

  He loved his people more than he did himself.

  At last he said: "They shall have the fire. I will pay for it with mylife."

  He went straight to Zeus' throne and filled a ferule with it, andcarried it to his people.

  Then the people began to be wise.

  He taught them to cook, and to build houses, and to sail their shipsupon the ocean.

  He showed them how to get rich ores from the mountains and prepare themfor use.

  They learned how to plow and to reap and to store up their food for thewinter.

  Zeus was angry with Prometheus.

  He chained him to a rock on the top of a high mountain.

  He sent a great bird each day to torment him.

  Zeus said that he must stay there until he repented and returned thefire to heaven.

  There Prometheus stayed and suffered for many burning summers and long,cold winters.

  Sometimes he grew faint-hearted and wished to be free.

  Then he looked down and saw how the fire was helping the people and howhappy they were, and he grew strong again.

  After many, many years, a Greek hero who was sailing over the mountainin a golden cup, saw Prometheus.

  It was Hercules. He shot the bird with a golden arrow, unbound thechains and set the wise Prometheus free.

  HERMES.

  AEolus was the father of all the winds, great and small.

  Long ago, they all lived happily together in a dark cave near the sea.

  On holidays, North Wind, South Wind, East Wind and West Wind and theirfaithful sisters, came home and told of their travels.

  The whirlwinds performed their most wonderful feats, and the zephyrssang their sweetest songs.

  These holidays, however, did not come often.

  There were no idle children in the family of AEolus.

  They swept and dusted the whole world. They carried water over all theearth. They helped push the great ships across the ocean.

  The smaller winds scattered the seeds and sprinkled the flowers, and didmany other things which you may find out for yourselves.

  Indeed, they were so busy that AEolus was often left alone in his darkhome for several days at a time.

  He was glad when one summer morning a baby came to the cave.

  The baby's name was Hermes, but AEolus called him "Little Mischief,"because he was so little and so full of tricks.

  Zeus was Hermes' father and his mother was the beautiful Queen Maia. Shewas often called "Star of Spring," because people thought that wherevershe stepped flowers sprang from under the snow.

  AEolus loved Hermes dearly. He taught him many secrets which only thewinds know.

  Hermes was a wise baby and understood all that AEolus told him.

  When he was only two days old he could run and whistle as well as NorthWind.

  One day while he was very young he climbed out of his cradle and randown to the seashore.

  There he found an old tortoise shell. He picked it up and put a row ofholes along each edge of the shell.

  Through these holes he wove some reeds which he found upon the seashore.Then he blew softly upon the reeds.

  The birds heard such wonderful music that they stopped to listen. Theleaves on the trees began to dance, and nodded to the flowers to keepstill.

  The waves on the shore caught the tune and have been singing it eversince.

  Hermes had invented the lyre and brought a new kind of music into theworld. He soon tired of his lyre and went back to his cradle in thecave.

  As he lay there he could see a beautiful blue meadow with many whitecows upon it.

  Hermes knew that the cows belonged to his brother, King Apollo.

  "What fun," thought he, "I will go and make the cows run."

  Off he ran after them until he was tired and out of breath.

  Then he drove them all backward into a cave, and fastened them in.

  King Apollo soon missed the cows and searched all the meadow for them.

  He traced them to the cave, but when he came closer to it, he found thatall the tracks led from the opening, not into it.

  Near the cave he saw an old man who told him that he had seen the cows.

  He said that with them he had seen a baby with wings on his cap andheels.

  Apollo knew at once that the baby was his brother, Hermes.

  He went straight to the cave of AEolus. There was Hermes in his cradleplaying with the shell just like any other baby.

  Apollo was angry and commanded him to stop laughing and crowing and tellhim where the white cows were.

  Hermes only picked up the shell and breathed softly upon it.

  Apollo forgot his anger and everything but the beautiful music. He tookHermes in his arms and kissed him and begged him to teach him hissecret.

  Hermes was glad to be so easily forgiven. He gave Apollo the lyre andtaught him many ways to play upon it. Apollo was soon able to make evensweeter music than Hermes, and he afterwards became the god of music.

  He was so thankful to Hermes for his gift that he gave him a wonderfulrod called the caduceus.

  Whatever Hermes touched with the rod became wise, loving and unselfish.One time he saw two hissing serpents about to spring at each other infury.

  He touched them with the caduceus. Instantly they twined themselveslovingly around the rod and never again left it.

  Apollo also gave Hermes charge over all the cows in the blue meadow.Hermes loved the cows and often took them with him on his journeys.

  He was a wild youth and a great traveler, and so it happens that innearly all the countries of the world Hermes and his white cows havebeen seen.

  IRIS' BRIDGE.

  In the sky where the amber tints are seen on the clouds, Iris was born.

  She loved her home and all the beautiful things around her.

  Perhaps she sailed in the moon's silver boat and knew why the stars kepttwinkling.

  Perhaps she feasted on sunshine and dew, and slept on the soft whiteclouds.

  More than anything in her sky-home, Iris loved her grandfather, thestern old ocean.

  When he was merry, and drove his white horses over the water, she washappy.

  When he was troubled, and the sky grew dark and sad, she quietly slippedher hand into his.

  Instantly he smiled, and became gentle again.

  He longed always to keep her with him, but the Sun said:

  "No, Iris belongs to both ocean and sky.

  "Let her be the messenger between heaven and earth."

  They placed golden wings upon her shoulders and made her a bridge ofbeautiful colors.

  One end of the bridge they rested in the sky, but the other Iris couldfasten to the earth with a pot of gold.

  This was the way Iris' path was made:

  The earth gave the tints of her fairest flowers, the sea brought greatribbons of silvery mist, the wind was the shuttle, the sky was the loomand the Sun himself was the weaver.

  It is no wonder that the most beautiful thing in all the world is Iris'bridge, the rainbow.

 
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