Classic Myths | Page 5

now a little more, Hilda. Do you remember the colors of the robes that Frigga
wore?"
"You said she wore green or white robes, or sometimes scarlet and gold. Her dresses
must have been very beautiful."
"Look out of the window Hilda. What color is the lawn?"
"Why, the grass makes it green."
"What color will it be in winter?"
"Why, white with snow, of course."
"And in the fall, Hilda?"
"Oh, I know now what you mean by Frigga is the ground, isn't she?"

"Not the ground, but the earth. Woden, with his one all-seeing eye and his mantle of blue
and gray, is the sky, and Thor, with his streaming red beard and his crashing hammer, is
the thunder."
"Oh, mother, how strange it is that such a story should come just from the word
Wednesday! I am glad that I am a Norwegian."

JUPITER, GOD OF THE SOUTHERN SKY
Roman
"Why do they call the eagle Jupiter's bird, Miss Folsom?"
"Where did you ever hear it called that, Mary?"
"It was in a book from which our teacher was reading a story to-day. She let me take the
book and there was a fine picture of an eagle on the first page and it was marked 'Jupiter's
bird.' I never knew exactly who Jupiter was. Was he a real person, Miss Folsom?"
"He was one of the three great gods whom the Romans used to believe in, Mary. They
thought he ruled the sky and everything in it, and all living things on earth, both the gods
and the men. His bird was the eagle, which carried the lightning in its claws. At Jupiter's
command thunderbolts dashed against the hardest rocks and broke them into powder. No
one dared to disobey him but his wife, Juno, and sometimes even she had to suffer for
doing so.
"Jupiter's father was Saturn, who was kind and good in every way but one. He did not
love his children, and, at the end of each year, one went away never to return. Jupiter, in
some way, was stronger than the rest and refused to go when the order came. He even
fought with the messenger and made him beg for mercy.
[Illustration: JUPITER AND HIS EAGLE]
[Illustration: THE HEAD OF JUPITER. From a Greek Coin of about 280 B.C.]
Then Jupiter sent this messenger to Saturn, who agreed to bring back to life Jupiter's
brothers and sisters. They all rose up and sent Saturn away forever, and gave the kingdom
to the three bravest sons. Neptune took the ocean, Pluto the center of the earth, and
Jupiter the skies. They reigned until men had learned wisdom and had become too wise to
be ruled by so many gods.
"Now Jupiter is the name of the largest planet, and when you see a great beautiful star in
the sky, shining almost like the moon, you may be sure it is Jupiter. You can fancy he is
looking down to see if Neptune is holding his unruly winds and waves in check, or if
Pluto is still keeping guard over the watch-fires in the center of the earth.
"So Jupiter still reigns, but no one now is afraid of his power."

"How wicked of Saturn to put away his children! How could he?"
"Saturn is the same as old Father Time, Mary. Doesn't he put away one of his children
every twelve months?"
"Oh, is that what it means?"
"Year after year goes away, never to return."
"How could Saturn bring them back, then?"
"I don't know what that part of the story means. Maybe we will find out sometime. But
can you think of any day of the week that might be named after Saturn?"
"Why, Saturday! surely that is the one, isn't it?"
"Yes, and the weeks never return either, do they, Mary?"

DIANA, QUEEN OF THE MOON
Greek
"When we were at grandpa's last summer, we used to stay out so long, playing under the
trees in the dooryard, that nearly every night we saw the moon.
"Sometimes it was big and round, and sometimes it looked like grandpa's sickle, only it
had no handle.
"And you ought to have heard the queer stories aunt Hattie told about the moon. Some of
the stories were very funny, and some were very beautiful.
"Let's find a window where we can see the moon and then tell stories about it. Come,
boys," and little Jack led the way.
"Here is a grand place to sit, Charlie. Right here, all of us together on this sofa, and you
must tell us a story."
So Charlie began:
"This is one of the stories I like best; maybe you won't, though.
"Apollo, the god of the sun, had a twin sister named Diana. Apollo