Classic Myths | Page 9

THE SKY
Greek
"Oh mother, what do you think? Last night that English boy, Charlie Thornton, asked me
if I knew where Charles' Wain was, and when I said I didn't know, what do you suppose

he showed me? Why, nothing but the Big Dipper up there among the stars. I told him he
was mistaken and that nobody ever called it the odd name he had for it. But he said his
mother called it that, and he wouldn't give it up. Wasn't that queer?"
"Why, no, Ralph, I don't think it was strange that he called it as his mother had taught
him. That is exactly what you do. Many English people call it Charles' Wain. Wain
means wagon, and it does look a little like a cart or wagon."
"I don't think it does, not the least bit. It looks just like a big dipper, and like nothing
else."
"Why, you silly boy! What would you think if I should tell you that ever so many people
call it the Great Bear?"
"Why, that is queerer yet. Can you see a bear up there in the sky? Maybe when it
thunders it is the Great Bear growling!" and Ralph jumped off the porch and rolled on the
grass, laughing at his discovery.
[Illustration: THE GREAT BEAR IN THE SKY]
In a moment a thought seemed to come to him, and springing up, he ran to his mother's
chair on the porch and said: "Mother, is there any story about the Great Bear? How did it
get up there among the stars? Is the North Star the Bear's eye? Does his nose always point
to the North Star, the same as the two pointers in the Big Dipper?"
"Now, my boy, you will be surprised again when I tell you that there are two bears in the
sky, the Great Bear and the Little Bear. The wonderful North Star is in the tip of the tail
of the Little Bear."
"Now, I know there is a story about them, just as there was about those three beautiful
ones you showed me in Orion's belt. You told me about Orion, now you will tell me
about the two bears, won't you?"
"It is a sad story, Ralph, and you know you don't like sad stories. But I will tell it to you,
and sometime, in the years to come, you may read it in a language that is as old as the
story.
"Near a beautiful city on the other side of the world was a large forest. The trees in this
forest were very tall, and their branches so thick that they made a roof over the ground
below. One could wander for miles and miles in the shade of this forest and never find a
house, or any living creatures but the birds and wild animals.
"Once on a time some hunters came back, after having been gone many days, and said
that away in the heart of the forest they had had a glimpse of a beautiful snow-white bear.
Not one of them had been able to get a shot at it with his arrows, and some thought it was
only a dream. The story spread throughout the city, and all the boys and young hunters
were anxious for a chance to win so fine a prize as the snow-white skin. Not for himself,
oh, no, for whoever brought it home must hang it in the temple.

"One brave young hunter said, 'I am going into the heart of the forest. I will take only the
bravest with me, and I will never return without the prize.'
"This young man was dearly loved by everyone. His mother had left him when he was
only a few years old, and gone, no one knew where. He was cared for by his uncle, and
grew up, hoping each year his mother would return. He took long journeys trying to learn
if she were still alive, but no one could ever tell him a word about her. These journeys
had made him very bold and brave, and there was no cave so dark, nor mountain so high,
but that he would search it in the hope of finding his mother.
"He found six young hunters ready to go with him into the heart of the forest. They
looked very fine in their bright, shining hunting-suits, with their bows and arrows, and
every one wished them success.
"They wasted no time in the pleasant fields outside, but started for the dark, sunless forest.
It was slow work picking their way through the tangled bushes growing under the trees,
and it took many days to reach the place described by the hunters who had told them the
story of the strange white bear.