THE SPARTAN TWINS

 By Lucy Fitch Perkins

 1918

CONTENTS

 LIST OF CHARACTERS I. COMPANY AT THE FARM II. THE STRANGER'S STORYIII. THE SHEPHERDS IV. SOWING AND REAPING V. THE TWINS GO TO ATHENS VI. THE FESTIVAL OF ATHENAVII. HOME AGAIN

THE SPARTAN TWINS

_The Characters in this Story are_:--

MELAS, a Spartan living on the Island of Salamis, just off the coast ofGreece. He is Overseer on the Farm of Pericles, Archon of Athens. 

LYDIA, Wife of Melas, and Mother of Dion and Daphne. 

DION and DAPHNE, Twin Son and Daughter of Melas and Lydia. 

CHLOE, a young slave girl, belonging to Melas and Lydia. She had beenabandoned by her parents when she was a baby, and left by the roadside todie of neglect or be picked up by some passer-by. She was found by Lydiaand brought up in her household as a slave. 

ANAXAGORAS, "the Stranger, " a Philosopher, --friend of Pericles. 

PERICLES, Chief Archon of Athens. 

LAMPON, a Priest. 

A Priest of the Erechtheum. 

DROMAS, LYCIAS, and Others, Slaves on the Farm of Pericles. 

Time: About the middle of the Fifth Century B. C. 

[Illustration: Plan of home of the Spartan Twins]

I

COMPANY AT THE FARM

One lovely spring morning long years ago in Hellas, Lydia, wife ofMelas the Spartan, sat upon a stool in the court of her house, with herwool-basket beside her, spinning. She was a tall, strong-looking youngwoman with golden hair and blue eyes, and as she twirled her distaff andtwisted the white wool between her fingers she sang a little song toherself that sounded like the humming of bees in a garden. 

The little court of the house where she sat was open to the sky, and theafternoon sun came pouring over the wall which surrounded it, and made abrilliant patch of light upon the earthen floor. The little stones whichwere embedded in the earth to form a sort of pavement glistened in thesun and seemed to play at hide and seek with the moving shadow of Lydia'sdistaff as she spun. On the thatch which covered the arcade aroundthree sides of the court pigeons crooned and preened their feathers, andfrom a room in the second story of the house, which opened upon a littlegallery enclosing the fourth side of the court, came the _clack clack_ ofa loom. 

As she spun, the shadow of Lydia's distaff grew longer and longer acrossthe floor until at last the sunlight disappeared behind the wall, leavingthe whole court in gray shadow. 

Under the gallery a large room opened into the court. The embers of afire glowed dully upon a stone hearth in the center of this room, andbeyond, through an open door, fowls could be seen wandering about thefarm-yard. Suddenly the quiet of the late afternoon was broken by amedley of sounds. There were the bleating of sheep, and the tinkle oftheir bells, the lowing of cattle and the barking of a dog, the softpatter of bare feet and the voices of children. 

Then there was a sudden squawking among the hens in the farm-yard, and through the back door, past the glowing hearth and into the court, rushed two children, followed by a huge shepherd dog. The children wereblue-eyed and golden-haired, like their Mother, and looked so big andstrong that they might easily have passed for twelve years of age, thoughthey really were but ten. They were so exactly alike that their Motherherself could hardly tell which was Dion and which was Daphne, and, asfor their Father, he didn't even try. He simply said whichever name camefirst to his lips, feeling quite sure that the children would always beable to tell themselves apart, at any rate. Daphne, to be sure, woreher chiton a little longer than Dion wore his, but when they were runningor playing games she often pulled it up shorter through her girdle, soeven that was not a sure sign. 

Lydia looked from one of them to the other as the children came boundinginto the court, with Argos, the dog, barking and leaping about them, andsmiled with pride. 

"Where have you been, you wild creatures?" she said to the twins, "Ihaven't seen you since noon, " and "Down, Argos, down, " she cried to thedog, who had put his great paws in her lap and was trying to kiss her onthe nose. 

"We've been down in the field by the spring with Father, " Dion shouted, "and Father is bringing a man home to supper!"

"Company!" gasped Lydia, throwing up her hands. "Whoever can it be atthis time of the day and in such an out of the way place as this? Andnothing but black broth ready for supper! I might have had a roastfowl at least if only I had known. Where are they now?"

"They are coming down the road, " said Dion. "They stopped to see thesheep and cattle driven into the farm-yard. They'll be here soon. "

Lydia thrust her distaff into the wool-basket by her side and rosehastily from her stool. "There's no time to lose, " she said. "TheStranger will not wish to linger here if he expects to reach Ambelacato-night. It is a good two miles to the village, and he'll not find aboat crossing to the mainland after dark. I am sure of that, unlessperhaps he has one waiting for him there. "

As she spoke, Lydia drew her skirt shorter through her girdle and startedfor the hearth-fire in the room beyond. "Shoo, " she cried to the hens, which had followed the children into the house and were searchinghopefully for something to eat among the ashes, "you'll burn your toes aslike as not! Begone, unless you want to be put at once into the pot! Gofor them, Argos! Dion, you feed them. They'll be under foot until they'vehad their supper, and it's time they were on the roost this minute!Daphne, your face is dirty; go wash it, while I get the fire started andsee if I can't find something to eat more fitting to set before a guest. "

While the children ran to carry out their Mother's orders, Lydia herselfseized the bellows and blew upon the embers of the fire. "By all theGods!" she cried, "there's not a stick of wood in the house. " She droppedthe bellows and ran into the court. From the room above still came the_clack clack_ of the loom. Lydia looked up at the gallery of the secondstory and clapped her hands. 

"Chloe, Chloe, " she called. The clacking suddenly stopped, and a younggirl with black hair and eyes and red cheeks came out of the upper roomand leaned over the balcony rail. 

"Did you want me?" she asked. 

"Indeed I want you!" answered her mistress. "Company is coming to supperand there is nothing in the house fit to set before him! Hurry and bringsome wood. There's not even a fire!"

There was a sound of hasty footsteps on the stair, and Chloe disappearedinto the farm-yard. In a moment she was back again with a basket of wood, which she placed beside the hearth. Lydia knelt on the floor and laid thewood upon the coals. Then she blew upon them energetically with thebellows. Chloe knelt beside her and blew too, but not with bellows. Theashes flew in every direction. 

"Mercy!" cried Lydia, "you've a breath like the blasts of winter! Youwill blow the sparks clear across the court and set fire to the thatch ifyou keep on! Come! Get out the oven and start a charcoal fire! We canbake barley-cakes, at least, and there are sausages in the store-room. See if there is fresh water in the water-jar. "

"There isn't a drop, I know, " said Daphne. "I took the last to wash myface. "

"Was there ever anything like it?" cried Lydia. "Fresh water first ofall! Run at once to the spring, Chloe. I '11 get the oven myself. Daphne, you take the small water-jar and go with Chloe. "

As Chloe and Daphne, with their water-jars on their shoulders, startedout of the back door for the spring, the door at the front of the courtopened, and Melas entered with a tall, bearded man wearing a long cloak. 

The moment she heard the door move on its hinges, Lydia stood up straightand tall beside her hearth-fire, and, at a sign from her husband, cameforward to greet the Stranger. 

"You are welcome, " she said, "to such entertainment as our plain houseaffords. I could wish it were better for your sake. "

"I shall be honored by your hospitality, " said the Stranger politely, "and what is good enough for a farmer is surely good enough for aphilosopher, if I may call myself one. "

"Though you are a philosopher, you are also, no doubt, an Athenian, "replied Lydia, "and it is known to all the world that the feast of theSpartan is but common fare for those who live delicately as the Atheniansdo. "

"I bring an appetite that would make a feast of bread alone, " answeredthe Stranger. 

Melas, a tall brown-faced man with a brown beard, now spoke for the firsttime. 

"There is no haste, wife, " he said. "The Stranger will spend the nightunder our roof. It is not yet late. While you get supper, we will restbeneath the olive trees and watch the sun go down behind the hills. "

"Until I can better serve you, then, " Lydia replied; and the two men wentout again through the open door, and sat down upon a wooden bench whichcommanded a view of the little valley and the hills beyond. 

Meanwhile, within doors, Lydia dropped the stately dignity of her companymanners and became once more the busy housewife. When Chloe and Daphnereturned from the spring, she had barley-cakes baking in the oven, andsausages were roasting before the hearth-fire. A kettle of broth steamedbeside it. 

"How good it smells!" cried Dion, when he came in with Argos from thefarm-yard. "I could eat a whole pig myself. Do cook a lot of sausages, Mother. I am as hungry as a wolf. "

"And you a Spartan boy!" said his Mother reprovingly. "You should thinkless of what you put in your stomach! Plain fare makes the strongest men. It is only polite to give a guest the best you have, but that's no excusefor being greedy and wanting to stuff yourself every day. "

"Well, then, " said Dion, "I wish Hermes, if he is the god who guidestravelers, would bring them this way oftener. I'd like to be a strongman, but I like good things to eat, too, and when we have company, wehave a feast. "

His Mother did not answer him; she was too busy. 

She sent Chloe to the closet for a jar of wine, and some goat's-milkcheese, and she herself went upstairs to get some dried figs from thestore-room. Daphne followed Chloe to the closet, and for a moment therewas no one beside the hearth-fire but Dion and Argos, and the sausagessmelled very good indeed. 

"I wonder if she counted them, " thought Dion to himself, as he lookedlongingly at them. And then almost before he knew it himself he hadsnatched one of the sausages from the fire and had bitten a piece off theend! It was so very hot that it burned both his fingers and his tonguelike everything, and when he tried to lick his fingers, he let go of thesausage, and Argos snapped it up and swallowed it whole. It burned allthe way down to his stomach, and Argos gave a dreadful howl of pain anddashed through the door out into the farm-yard. Dion heard his Mother'sfootsteps coming down the stair. He thought perhaps he'd better joinArgos. 

When Lydia reached the hearth-fire once more, only Daphne was in theroom. She set down the basket of figs and knelt to turn the sausages. Shehad counted them and she saw at once that one was missing. She wasshocked and surprised, but she guessed what had become of it. Mothersare just like that. She rose from her knees and looked around for theculprit. She saw Daphne. 

"You naughty boy!" she said sternly to Daphne. "What have you done withthat sausage?"

"I didn't do anything with it; I never even saw it, " cried poor Daphne. "And, besides that, I'm not a naughty boy. I'm not a boy at all! I'mDaphne!"

"Where's Dion, then?" demanded Lydia. 

"I don't know where he is, " said Daphne. "I didn't see him either, but Iheard Argos howl as if some one had stepped on his tail. Maybe he tookthe sausage. "

Lydia went to the door and looked out into the farm-yard. Away off in thefarthest corner by the sheep-pen she saw two dark shadows. 

"Come here at once, " she called. 

Dion and Argos both obeyed, but they came very slowly, and Argos had histail between his legs. Lydia pointed to the fire. 

"Where is the other sausage?" she inquired, with stern emphasis. 

"Argos ate it, " said Dion. 

"Open your mouth, " said his Mother. She looked at Dion's tongue. It wasall red where it was burned. 

"I suppose Argos took it off the fire and made you bite it when it washot, " said Lydia grimly. "Very well, he is a bad dog and cannot have anysausage with his supper. And a boy that hasn't any more manners than adog can't have any either. And neither one can be trusted in the kitchenwhere things are cooking. Go sit on the wood-pile until I call you. "

She put both Dion and Argos out of doors and turned to her cooking again. 

"Supper is nearly ready, " she called at last to Chloe. "You and Daphnemay bring out the couch and get the table ready. "

Under the arcade in the court there was a small wooden table. Chloe andDaphne lifted it and brought it near the fire. Then they brought a plainwooden bench that also stood under the thatch and placed it beside thetable. They arranged cushions of lamb's wool upon the bench, and near thefoot set a low stool. Daphne brought the dishes, and when everything wasready, Lydia sent Chloe to call her husband and the Stranger, while sheherself went out to the farm-yard. She found Dion and Argos sitting sideby side on the wood-pile in dejected silence. 

"Come in and wash your hands, " she said to Dion. "If you get yourselfclean, wrists and all, you may have your supper with us, but remember, nosausage. You have had your fingers with your food. " This is what mothersused to say to their children in those days, because there were no knivesor forks, and often not even spoons, to eat with. 

Lydia didn't invite Argos in, but he came anyway, and lay down beside thefire with his nose on his paws, just where people would be most likely tostumble over him. 

When Melas and the Stranger came in, they sat down side by side on thecouch. Chloe knelt before them, took off their sandals, and bathed theirfeet. Then the Stranger loosened his long, cloak-like garment, and he andMelas reclined side by side upon the couch, their left elbows restingon the lamb's-wool cushions. Chloe moved the little table within easyreach of their hands, and Lydia took her place on the stool beside thecouch. It was now quite dark except for the light of the hearth-fire. 

The Twins had been brought up to be seen and not heard, especially whenthere was company, and as Dion was not anxious to call attention tohimself just then, the two children slipped quietly into their places onthe floor by the hearth-fire just as Melas and the Stranger dipped theirbread into their broth and began to eat. 

It must be confessed that Melas seemed to enjoy the black broth muchmore than his guest did, but the stranger ate it nevertheless, and whenthe last drop was gone, the men both wiped their fingers on scraps ofbread and threw them to Argos, who snapped them up as greedily as if histongue had never been burned at all. Then Chloe brought the sausages hotfrom the fire, and barley-cakes from the oven. When she had served themen and had explained that these cakes were really not so good as herbarley-cakes usually were, Lydia gave the Twins each one, and she gaveDaphne a sausage. She just looked at Dion without a single word. 

He knew perfectly well what she meant. He munched his barley-cake inmournful silence, and I suppose no sausage ever smelled quite so good toany little boy in the whole world as Daphne's did to Dion just then. However, there were plenty of barley-cakes, and his mother let him havehoney to eat with them, which comforted Dion so much that when theStranger began to talk to Melas, he forgot his troubles entirely. Heforgot his manners too, and listened with his eyes and mouth both wideopen until the honey ran off the barley-cake and down between hisfingers. Then he licked his fingers!

No one saw him do it, not even his Mother, because she too was watchingthe the inhabitants of the little farm. They lived so far from the sea, and so far from highways of travel on the island, that the Twins in alltheir lives had seen but few persons besides their own family and theslaves who worked on the farm. The Stranger was to them a visitor fromanother world--the great outside world which lay beyond the shining bluewaters of the bay. They had seen that distant world sometimes from ahill-top on a clear day, but they had never been farther from homethan the little seaport of Ambelaca two miles away. 

"How is it, " the Stranger was saying to Melas, "that you, a Spartan, livehere, so far from your native soil, and so near to Athens? The Spartanshave but little love for the Athenians as a rule, nor for farming either, I am told. "

"We love the Athenians quite as well as they love us, " answered Melas;"and as for my being here, I have my father to thank for that. He was asoldier of the Persian Wars and settled here after the Battle of Salamis. I grew up on the island, and thought myself fortunate when I had a chanceto become overseer on this farm. "

"Who is the owner of the farm?" asked the Stranger. 

"Pericles, Chief Archon of Athens, " answered Melas. 

"You are indeed fortunate to be in his service, " said the Stranger. "Heis the greatest man in Athens, and consequently the greatest man in theworld, as any Athenian would tell you!"

"Do you know him?" asked Dion, quite forgetting in his interest thatchildren should be seen and not heard. 

Lydia shook her head at Dion, but the Stranger answered just as politelyas if Dion were forty years old instead of ten. 

"Yes, " he said, "I know Pericles well. I went with him only yesterday tosee the new temple he is having built upon the great hill of theAcropolis in Athens. You have seen it, of course, " he said, turning toMelas. 

"No, " answered Melas. "I sell most of my produce in the markets of thePiraeus, and go to Athens itself only when necessary to take fruit andvegetables to the city home of Pericles. There is no occasion togo in the winter, and the season for planting is only just begun. Perhapslater in the summer I shall go. "

"When you do, " said the Stranger, "do not fail to see the new building onthe sacred hill. It is worth a longer journey than from here to Athens, Iassure you. People will come from the ends of the earth to see it someday, or I am no true prophet. "

"Oh, " murmured Daphne to Dion, "don't you wish we could go too?"

"You can't go. You're a girl!" Dion whispered back. "Girls can't do suchthings, but I'm going to get Father to take me with him the very nexttime he goes. "

Daphne turned up her nose at Dion. "I don't care if I am a girl, " shewhispered back. "I'm no Athenian sissy that never puts her nose out ofdoors, I can do everything you can do here on the farm, and I guess Icould in Athens too. Besides, no one would know I'm a girl; I look justas much like a boy as you do. I look just like you. "

"You do not, " said Dion resentfully. "You can't look like a boy. "

"Ail right, " answered Daphne, "then you must look just like a girl, foryou know very well Father can't tell us apart, so there now. "

Dion opened his mouth to reply, but just then his Mother shook her headat them, and at the same moment Chloe, coming in with the wine-jar, stumbled over Argos and nearly fell on the table. Argos yelped, andDion and Daphne both laughed. Lydia was dreadfully ashamed because Chloehad been so awkward, and ashamed of the Twins for laughing. Sheapologized to the Stranger. 

"Oh, well, " said the Stranger, and he laughed a little too, even if hewas a philosopher, "boys will be boys, and those seem two fine stronglittle fellows of yours. One of these days they'll be competing in theOlympian games, I suppose, and how proud you will be if they should bringhome the wreath of victors!"

"They are as strong as the young Hercules, both of them, " Melas answered, "but one is a girl, so we can hope to have but one victor in the familyat best. "

"Perhaps two would make you over proud, " said the Stranger, smiling, "soit may be just as well that one is a girl, after all. "

Dion sat up very straight at these words, but Daphne hung her head. "I dowish I were a boy too, " she said, "they can do so many things a girl isnot allowed to do. They get the best of everything. "

"That must be as the Gods will, " said the Stranger kindly. "And Spartanwomen have always been considered just as brave as men, even if theyaren't quite as big. Anyway, some of us have to be women because we can'tget along without women in the world. "

Two bright spots glowed in Lydia's cheeks, and she twirled her distafffaster than ever. "I should think not, indeed, " she said. "Men aren'tmuch more fit to take care of themselves than children!"

Melas and the Stranger laughed, and the Stranger turned to Daphne. 

"Don't you remember, my little maid, how glad Epimetheus was to welcomePandora, even if she did bring trouble into the world with her?" heasked. 

"No, " said Daphne, "I don't know about Pandora. Please tell us abouther!"

Lydia rose and glanced up at the stars. "It's getting near bed-time, " shesaid to the Twins; and to the Stranger she added, "You must excuse theboldness of my children. They are brought up so far out of the world theyscarcely understand the reverence due men like yourself. You must notpermit them to impose upon your kindness. "

"I will gladly tell them about Pandora if you are willing, " said theStranger. "The fine old tales of Hellas should be the birthright of everychild. They will live so long as there are children in the world to hearthem and old fellows like myself to tell them. "

"If you will be so gracious then, " said Lydia, "but first let us prepareourselves to listen. "

She signed to Chloe, who immediately brought a basin and towel to theStranger and Melas. When they had washed their hands, she carried awaythe basin and swept the crumbs into the fire, while Lydia filled cupswith wine and water and set them before her husband and his guest. Thenwood was piled upon the fire, and Lydia seated herself beside it oncemore with her distaff and wool-basket, while Chloe crept into the shadowbehind her mistress's chair, and the Twins drew nearer to her footstool. When everything was quiet once more, the Stranger lifted his wine-cup. 

"Since we are in the country, " he said, "we will make our libation toDemeter, the Goddess of the fields. May yours be fruitful, with herblessing. " He poured a little wine on the earthen floor as he spoke. There was a moment of reverent silence. Then while the flames of thehearth danced upward toward the sky and the stars winked down from above, the Stranger began his story. 

II

THE STRANGER'S STORY

"Long, long ago, when the earth was young and the Gods mingled morefreely with men than they do to-day, there lived in Hellas a beautifulyouth named Epimetheus. I am not quite sure that he was the very firstman that ever lived, but at any rate he was one of the first, and he wasvery lonely. The world was then more beautiful than I can say. The sunshone every day in the year, flowers bloomed everywhere, and the earthbrought forth abundantly all that he needed for food, but stillEpimetheus was not happy. The Gods saw how lonely he was and they feltsorry for him. 

"'Let us give him a companion, ' said Zeus, the father of all the Gods. 'Even sun-crowned Olympus would be a desolate place to me if I had tolive all alone. ' So the Gods all fell to hunting for just the rightcompanion to send to poor lonely Epimetheus, and soon they found a lovelymaiden whose name was Pandora. 'She's just the right one, ' saidAphrodite, the Goddess of Love. 'See how beautiful she is. ' 'Yes, 'said Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, 'but she will need more than beautyor Epimetheus will tire of her. One cannot love an empty head forever, even if it is a beautiful one. I will give her learning and wisdom. '

"'I will give her a sweet voice for singing, ' said Apollo. In this wayeach one of the Gods gave to Pandora some wonderful gift, and when thetime came for her departure from Olympus, where the Gods dwell, thesegifts were packed away in a marriage-chest of curious workmanship, and were taken with her to the home of Epimetheus. 

"You can imagine how glad Epimetheus was to receive a bride so noblyendowed, and for a time everything went very happily upon the earth. Atlast, one sad day, a dreadful thing happened. 

"Pandora had been told by the Gods that she must not open the box, lestshe lose all the blessings it contained. 

"But she was curious. She wished to see with her own eyes what was in it, and one day, when Epimetheus was away from home, she lifted the corner ofthe lid! Out flew the gifts of the Gods! She tried her best to close thelid again, but before she could do so, the blessings had flown away in abright cloud. 

"Poor Pandora! She sat down beside the box and wept the very first tearsthat were ever shed in this world. While she was weeping and blamingherself for her disobedience and the trouble it had caused, she heard alittle voice, way down in the bottom of the box. 

"'Don't cry, dear Pandora!' the little voice said. 'You can never bequite unhappy when I am here, and I am always going to stay with you; Iam Hope. ' So Pandora dried her tears, and no matter how full of sorrowthe world has been since, there has never been a time when Hope was gone. If that time should ever come, the world would be a desolate placeindeed. "

When he had finished the story, no one said anything at all for a minute, and then Daphne looked up at the Stranger. 

"Is that really the way all the troubles began?" she asked. "Because ifit isn't, I think it's mean to blame everything on poor Pandora. "

"Why, Daphne!" said her Mother in a shocked voice; but the Stranger onlysmiled. 

"I should not be surprised if Epimetheus were to blame for a few thingshimself, " he said, stroking his beard. "Anyway, I'm sure he felt he wouldrather have Pandora and all the troubles in the world than to livewithout her, and men have felt the same way ever since. "

"Well, then, " began Daphne, her eyes shining like two blue sparks, "whydon't--?"

"Daphne! Daphne!" cried Lydia warningly. "You are talking too much for alittle girl. "

The Stranger nodded kindly to Lydia. "Let her speak, " he said. Daphnespoke. 

"Didn't Athena say Epimetheus would get tired of Pandora if she had anempty head?"

"Yes, " admitted the Stranger, "the story certainly runs that way. "

"And have men felt like that ever since too?" Daphne asked. 

"Yes, I think so, " answered the Stranger. "Certainly women need wisdomnow as much as Pandora did. "

"Then why don't they let us learn things the same as boys, " gaspedDaphne, a little frightened at her own boldness. "Dion's always tellingme I can't do things or go to places because I am a girl. I want to knowthings if I _am_ a girl. I can't try for the Olympian games and I can'teven go to see them just because I am a girl. " She stopped quiteovercome. 

Melas and Lydia and Dion were all too astonished to speak. Only theStranger did not seem shocked. He drew Daphne up beside him. 

"My dear, " he said, "a child can ask questions which even a philosophercannot answer. I do not know myself why the world feels as it does, butit certainly has always seemed to be afraid to let women know too much. It has always seemed to prefer they should have beauty rather thanbrains. "

"Yes, but, " urged Daphne, "I don't see why I can't try for the games too, when I am big enough. I can run just as fast as Dion and do everything hecan do. "

Melas smiled. "Daphne is true to her Spartan blood, " he said. "The girlsused to compete in the games at Sparta. "

The Philosopher stroked Daphne's hair. "So your name is Daphne, " he said, smiling, "And you can run fast and you have golden hair! Did you know itwas to the fleet-footed nymph Daphne with golden hair that we owe thevictor's crown at the Olympian games, even though no woman may wear it?"

Daphne shook her head. "I don't know what you mean, " she said. 

"I mean this, " said the Stranger. "It is said that once upon a timeApollo himself loved a beautiful nymph named Daphne. But Daphne did notlove Apollo even though he was a God, and when he pursued her she ranaway. She was as swift as the wind, but Apollo was still more swift, andwhen she saw that she could not escape him by flight, she prayed to herfather, who was a river god, and, to protect her, he changed her form bymagic. Her arms became branches, her golden hair became leaves, and herfeet took root in the ground. When Apollo reached her side, she was nolonger a beautiful maiden, but a lovely laurel tree. Apollo gathered someof the shining leaves and wove them into a wreath. 'If you will not be mybride, ' he cried, 'you shall at least be my tree and your leaves shall bemy crown, ' and that is why at the games over which Apollo presides, thevictor is still crowned with laurel. It was Apollo himself who gave usthe custom and made it sacred. So, my little maid, " he finished, "yougive us our crowns even though you may not win them for yourselves, don'tyou see? Isn't that almost as good?"

"Maybe it is, " sighed Daphne, thoughtfully, "but anyway I'd like to tryit the other way. " Then she slid from the Stranger's side to her Mother'sfootstool, and sat down with her head against her Mother's knee. 

"You are sleepy, " said Lydia, stroking her hair. "It is time you childrenwere in bed. "

"Oh, Mother, " pleaded Dion, "please let him tell just one more story. Itisn't late, truly. " Then he turned to their guest. "Those were very goodstories, " he said, "but they were both about girls. Won't you please tellme one about a boy?"

"Very well, " said the Stranger, "if your Mother will let me, I will tellyou the story of Perseus and how the great Goddess Athena helped him tocut off the Gorgon's head with its writhing snaky locks! There's a storyfor you! And if you don't believe it is true, some day, when you goto Athens with your Father, you can see the Gorgon's head, snakes andall, on the breastplate of the Goddess Athena, where she has worn it eversince. "

"Is it the real Gorgon's head?" asked Dion breathlessly, "all snakes andblood and everything?"

"No, " said the Stranger, laughing, "the blood of the Gorgon dried up longago. It is a sculptured head that adorns the breastplate of Athena. "

Then the Twins and Chloe listened with open mouth and round eyes toanother of the most wonderful stories in the world, while Lydia forgot tospin and the wine-cup of Melas stood untouched within reach of his hand. Even Lydia forgot all about time, and when the story was finished, themoon had already risen and was looking down upon them over the wall. Lydia pointed to it with her distaff. 

"See, children, " she said, "the Goddess Artemis herself has come to lightyou to bed. Thank your kind friend and say good-night. "

III

THE SHEPHERDS

The next morning Dion was wakened by feeling a cold wet nose wigglingabout in the back of his neck. It was Argos' nose. Dion knew it at once. He had felt it before. 

"Go away, Argos, " he said crossly. He pulled the sheepskin coverings ofhis bed closer about his ears and turned over for another nap. 

But Argos was a good shepherd dog and he knew that his first work thatmorning was to round up the Twins. So he gamboled about on his fourclumsy paws and barked. Then, seeing that Dion had no intention ofgetting up, he seized the sheepskin covers and dragged them to thefloor. 

"Bow-wow, " he said. 

Dion sat up shivering. "Good dog, " said Dion, "go away from here; go wakeDaphne!"

"Bow-wow, bow-wow, " said Argos, and bounded off to Daphne's room to wakeher too. 

Dressing took only a minute, for the children each wore but one garment, and there were no buttons; so, though they were sleepy and their fingerswere cold and clumsy, they appeared in the court while the roosters inthe farm-yard were still crowing and the thrushes in the olive trees werein the midst of their sunrise song. Chloe had already gone out to feedthe chickens. Lydia was bending over the hearth-fire, and their Fatherwas just saying good-bye to the Stranger at the door of the court, andpointing out to him the road to the little seaport town. 

"You will probably find a boat going over to the Piraeus some timeto-day, " he said, "and as they usually go early in the morning, it iswell for you to make an early start from here. May Hermes speed youon your way. "

"Farewell, " said the Stranger, "and if ever a philosopher can serve afarmer, you have but to ask in the Piraeus for the home of Anaxagoras. Ithank you for your hospitality, " and with these words he was gone. 

Melas had eaten his breakfast of bread and wine with his guest beforedawn, and was now ready for the day's work in the fields. The slaves ofPericles were already in the farm-yard, yoking the oxen, milking thegoats, and getting out the tools. There were pleasant early sounds allabout, but the Twins hovered over the hearth-fire, for the morning waschill; and Dion yawned. Lydia saw him. 

"Come, " she said briskly, "wash your faces! That will wake you up, if youare still sleepy. And then I'll have a bite for you to eat, and somebread and cheese for you to carry with you to the hills. "

"Are we going to the hills?" asked Dion. 

"Yes, " said Melas. "To-day you must watch the sheep. Dromas has to helpme plough the corn-field. You are old enough now to look after the flockand bring the sheep all safe home again at night. Come, move quickly!'Still on the sluggard hungry want attends. '"

"They were up too late, " said Lydia. "If they can't wake up in themorning they must go to bed very early every night. "

When Dion and Daphne heard their Mother say that, they became at oncequite lively, and were soon washed and ready for their breakfast, whichwas nothing but cold barley-cakes left over from the night before and adrink of warm goat's milk. When they had eaten it, Daphne put the breadand cheese which Lydia had wrapped up in a towel for their luncheon inthe front of her dress and they were ready to start. 

Melas and Dromas, the shepherd, were waiting for them at the farm-yardgate when the Twins came bounding out of the back door, Dion with alittle reed pipe in his hand and Daphne carrying a shepherd's crook. Thesheep were huddled together at the gate, waiting to be let out. 

"Be sure you keep good watch of that old black ewe, " said Dromas to theTwins as he went to open the gate. "She is a wanderer. I never saw asheep like her. She is always straying off by herself. Quarrelsome too. Argos knows she has to be watched more than the others, and sometimeswhen she goes off by herself and he goes after her, she just puts herhead down and butts at him like an old goat The wolves will get her oneof these days, as sure as my name is Dromas. "

"Are there wolves in the hills?" asked Daphne. 

"Maybe a few, " answered Dromas, "but they don't usually come round whenthey see the flock together, and a good dog along. You needn't beafraid. "

"I'm not afraid of anything, " said Daphne proudly, and then the gate wasopened, the sheep crowded through, and Dion and Daphne with Argos fell inbehind the flock, and away they went toward the hills, to the music ofDion's pipe, the bleating of the sheep, and the tinkling of their bells. 

The children followed the cart-path westward for some distance, and thenleft it to drive the flock up the southern slope of a rocky high hill, where the grass was already quite green in places and there was goodpasture for the sheep. It was still so early in the morning that the sunthrew long, long shadows before them, when they reached the hill pasture, though they were then two miles from home. The pasture was a lonelyplace. Even from the hill-tops there were no houses or villages to beseen. Far, far away toward the east they could see the olive and figtrees around their own house. On the western horizon there was a glimpseof blue sea. In a field nearer they could barely make out two brownspecks moving slowly back and forth. They were oxen, and Dromas wasploughing with them. It was so still that the children could plainlyhear the breathing of the sheep as they cropped the grass, and the rippleof the little stream which spread out into a shallow river and wateredthe valley below. 

The hillside was bare except for shrubs and a few trees, but there werewonderful places to play among the rocks. Dion proposed that they playrobber cave in a hollow place between two large boulders; but as heinsisted on being the robber, and Daphne wouldn't play if she couldn't bethe robber half the time, that game had to be given up. 

Then Daphne said, "Come on! Let's play Apollo and Daphne! I'm Daphneanyway, and I can run like the wind. You can be Apollo, only I know youcan't catch me! I can run so fast that even the real Apollo couldn'tcatch me!"

Dion looked scared. 

"Don't you know the Gods are all about us, only we can't see them?" hedemanded. "Apollo may have heard what you said, and if he should take anotion to punish you for bragging, I guess you'd be sorry. Maybe he'llturn you into a tree just like the other Daphne. "

"Pooh, " said Daphne. "I'm not afraid. I should think the Gods wouldn'thave time to listen to everything little girls say! They can't be verybusy if they do. "

Dion was horrified. "That's a wicked thing to say, " he said. "You mustnever speak that way of the Gods. Oh dear! This is bound to be an unluckyday. This morning when Argos woke me, I was having a bad dream! That's avery bad sign. "

"It's a sign you ate too much last night, " said Daphne. She said it veryboldly, but really she was beginning to feel a little frightened too, forevery one she knew believed in such signs and omens. 

"Come along out of this place, anyway, " said Dion. "Let's go somewhereelse and play. Let's go to the brook. "

The two children came out of their cave between the rocks and startedtoward the little stream, which was hidden from them by bushes. The sheepwere all grazing contentedly along the hillside, the old black ewebrowsing in the very middle of the flock. Argos was sitting on thehill-top in the sunshine, watching them, with his tongue hangingout. The sun was now quite high in the sky and the day was warm. Thechildren paddled in the water and built a dam, and sent fleets of leavesdown the stream, and played knuckle-bones on a flat rock beside it, untilat last they were hungry, and then they ate their bread and cheese. 

When they had finished the last crumb, Daphne curled herself up on theflat rock with her head on her arm. 

"I'm so sleepy, " she said. "I can't keep awake another minute. "

You see, they had been up ever so many hours then, and the sunshine wasvery warm, and the bees buzzed so drowsily in the sunshine!

"You and Argos watch the sheep, " she begged, and was asleep before youcould say Jack Robinson. 

Dion came out of the bushes and counted the flock like a carefulshepherd. They were all there, and Argos was still on watch. 

"I'll lie down a little while, too, " said Dion to himself, "but I won'tgo to sleep. I'll just look at the sky. "

He stretched himself out beside Daphne and watched the white cloudssailing away overhead, and in two minutes he was asleep too. 

How long they slept the children never knew. They were awakened at lastby a long, long howl, which seemed to come from the other side of thehill. They sat up and clutched each other in terror. There was ananswering howl from Argos, and mingled with it they heard the dull thudof many feet, the bleating of sheep, and the frightened cries of lambs. 

"The sheep are frightened. There's a stampede!" cried Dion. 

The two children plunged through the bushes and gazed about them. Thewhole flock had disappeared! Their bells could be heard in a mad jangleof sound from the farther side of the hill, Argos was barking wildly. 

"Come on, " shouted Dion, springing out of the bushes, "We must get themback. "

"Suppose it is a wolf!" shrieked Daphne, tumbling after him. 

"We'll have to get the sheep back even if it is a bear, " cried Dion, andhe tore away over the crest of the hill and down the farther slope. Daphne followed after him, as fast as she could run. 

The sheep were already a long distance away, in a region of the hillswhich the children had never seen before in their lives, but they did notstop to think of that. All they thought was that the sheep must bebrought back at any cost. They could see Argos barking and circling roundthe frightened flock, and away in the distance a huge wild creature wasjust disappearing into the woods. 

On the children ran, over rocks and through briars, until at last theyreached the sheep, whose flight Argos had already checked. Dion ranbeyond to turn them back, while Daphne herded them on one side and Argoson the other. When they had the flock together and quiet once more, thechildren counted them. 

"There's one missing!" cried Daphne, aghast. "And it's the old black ewe!What will Father say?"

"It's all your fault, " said Dion. "I told you you would have bad luck ifyou spoke about the Gods the way you did. I shouldn't wonder if thatwasn't really a wolf that we saw. It may have been Pan himself! Or it mayhave been Apollo, and he meant to show you that you can't run even asfast as a sheep!"

"Anyway, the old black ewe is gone. "

"Oh dear! Oh dear! What shall we do?" mourned Daphne. 

By this time the sun was low in the sky, and it was late afternoon. 

"The first thing to do is to get home as fast as we can, " said Dion. 

"Which way is home?" said Daphne. 

Dion looked about him. "I don't know, " he said. "Maybe Argos does. HereArgos! Good dog! Take 'em home! Home Argos! Home!"

Argos wagged his tail, and ran around behind the flock. 

"Bow-wow, bow-wow, " he barked, and nipped the heels of the wether. In ashort time he had the whole flock moving toward a hollow between thehills. As they trotted along behind the sheep, Daphne struck her handstogether in dismay. 

"What else do you think I have done?" she cried. "I've left my crook inthe robber's cave!"

"And I left my pipe there, too, " Dion wailed. 

"We can't get them to-night anyway, " sobbed Daphne. "We could never findthe place! And besides, it is too late. It will be dark before we gethome. "

They trudged along behind Argos and the sheep in dismal silence. Argosdid not seem at all in doubt about the way home. He drove the sheepthrough the hollow between the hills and across two fields, and broughtthem out at last upon a roadway. 

"This must be the road that goes by the house, " cried Dion joyfully. Foranswer Daphne pointed toward the east. There some distance ahead of themwas Dromas driving the oxen home from the day's ploughing. 

Daphne clapped her hands for joy. "I knew Argos would find the way!" shecried. 

The bright colors of the sunset were just fading from the sky when theyreached the farm-yard gate. Dromas had gone in before them with the oxen, and Melas himself was waiting to let them in and to count the sheep. 

"Where is the old black ewe?" he said sternly to the Twins, when the lastsheep had passed through the gate. 

"We don't know, " sobbed Daphne. "We lost her. We lost the crook, andDion's little pipe, too. A wolf frightened the flock, and they ran away, and--"

"_Maybe_ it was a wolf, " said Dion darkly. 

Then the Twins told the whole story to their Father. Melas did not saymuch to them. He was a man of few words at any time, but he made themfeel very much ashamed. And when Lydia heard the things Daphne had saidabout the Gods, they felt worse than ever, at least Daphne did. 

That night, before the family went to bed, Melas kindled a fire upon thelittle altar which stood in the middle of the court and offered upon it ahandful of barley, and prayed to Pan and to Apollo that Daphne might beforgiven for her wicked words. 

IV

SOWING AND REAPING

The children were not allowed again to take the sheep to the hills. "Theyare not to be trusted, " said Melas. "They are the sort of shepherds thatgo to sleep and let the wolves find the flock. They are not realSpartans. "

Dion and Daphne felt this as a terrible reproach. Dromas now had to gowith the sheep, and so could no longer help with the other farm work, andthe ploughing and sowing of the corn-field had to be finished by Melashimself. The Twins did their best to help. When Melas scattered thegrain, they followed with rakes and scratched a layer of earth over theseeds. The crows watched the planting with much interest. 

"Look at them, " cried Dion to his Father one afternoon. "There are fiveof them on that tree yonder, and the minute we get to one end of thefield they begin to scratch up the grain at the other. "

"We'll fix them, " said Melas shortly. 

He sent the Twins to the house for sticks and straw and his old worn-outsheepskin cloak and hat, and when they came back, Melas stuck two longsticks of wood in the ground and bound a cross piece to them with stripsof leather. Then he wound the sticks with straw, and made a round bundleof straw at the top. He tied it all securely with thongs. Then he dressedit with the sheepskin and put on the hat. When it was done, it was thescariest looking scarecrow you ever saw!

"I guess that will frighten the crows!" said Dion, as he gazed at itadmiringly. "It just about scares me. "

"Caw, caw, caw!" screamed a crow. 

A crow was flying right over his head! Dion shook his fist at him. "Youold thief!" he cried. 

"I know one more thing we can do, " said Daphne. "Lycias told me aboutit. " She got a small piece of bark and made a little amulet of it. Shepunched a hole through one end and put a leather string through it. Neither she nor Dion could write, so when she had explained what mustbe done Melas himself took a sharp stone and scratched a curse upon crowsin the soft bark. When it was done Daphne hung it about the neck of thescarecrow. "There, " said Melas grimly, "I don't believe he'll go to sleepon the job. He's a Spartan scarecrow! Now let's go home to supper, andto-morrow we'll see how it works. "

The next morning the very first thing the Twins did was to rush out tothe field and there, right on top of the scarecrow were three blackcrows, and more were on the ground eating up the seed!

"After all we did, just look at them!" cried Dion. 

"Caw, caw, " screamed the crows. 

"You don't suppose Father made a mistake, and wrote a blessing insteadof a curse on that amulet?" said Daphne anxiously. They ran back to thehouse as fast as they could go. Melas was just coming out of thefarm-yard with a pruning-hook in his hand. 

"Oh, Father, " cried Dion, "the crows are roosting all over the scarecrow. Maybe he wasn't a Spartan scarecrow after all. "

"Anyway, he seems to have gone to sleep on the job, " added Daphne. 

Melas stared at the crows in angry silence. "You children will have toget your clappers then, and just drive the old thieves away, " he said atlast, "You will have to spend the day in the field watching them. I'vegot to work in the vineyard. The vines must be pruned. "

The Twins had not yet had their breakfast and they were hungry. So theyran to the kitchen, seized some barley-cakes and a little jar of milk, and in a few minutes were back again in the field. They sat down withthe wooden clappers beside them, and ate their breakfast in the companyof the scarecrow. All day long they watched the grain and rattled theirclappers, or threw clods at the black marauders. It was lively work, andalthough they did not like it, they remembered the black ewe and stuckfaithfully at it all through the long day. 

When the sun was high overhead, Lydia brought them some figs and cheeseand a drink of goat's milk. She also brought a message. This was themessage. "Father says you are to stay here until after dark. You are tohunt around until you find a toad, and when you find it, you must besure not to let it get away from you. He is going to put a magic spell onthe field to keep the crows away, but the spell will not work except inthe dark. So you must stay here until he comes. "

Between keeping off the birds and hunting for the toad, the Twins spent abusy afternoon. And after the toad was found it was no joke to try tokeep it. It was a wonderful hopper and nearly got away twice. At dusk thecrows flew away to their nests, and the children were alone in the fielduntil the twilight deepened into darkness. Owls had begun to hoot andbats were flying about, when at last they saw three dim, shadowy figurescoming across the field. 

The shadowy figures were Melas, Lydia, and Chloe. Lydia bore a jar, whichshe placed beside the scarecrow in the middle of the field. Melas tookthe toad in his hand, formed the others in line, and then solemnly headedthe procession as the five walked slowly round the entire field, carryingthe toad. When they got back to the scarecrow again, Melas put the toadin the jar and sealed it. Then he buried the jar in the middle of thefield, beside the scarecrow. 

"There, " said Lydia, when it was done, "that's the very strongest spellthere is. If that doesn't protect the corn, I don't know another thing todo. "

Whether it was the scarecrow, or the curse, or the spell, I cannot say, but it is certain that the corn grew well that summer, and when harvesttime came, Melas was so proud of his crop that he decided to have anextra celebration. So one day in late summer every one on the entirefarm rose with the dawn and hastened to the fields. It was the twelfthday of the month, which was counted a lucky day for harvesting, and everyone was gay, as, with sickles in hand, slaves and master alike enteredthe field of ripe grain. Melas and two other men led the way, cutting thestalks and leaving them on the ground to be gathered into sheaves andstacked by others who followed after. 

Meanwhile Lydia, Chloe, and the other women prepared an out-of-doorfeast. A calf had been killed and cut up for cooking, and in theafternoon a huge fire was built. Lydia had charge of the cooking. She setgreat pieces of meat before the fire to roast, and told the children tosit by and turn them often to keep them from burning. Dion and Daphnealso brought wood for the fire, while the slave women mixed cakes of mealand baked them in the ashes, or went to the spring for water, or carriedrefreshing drinks to the workers in the field. 

It was sundown when the last sheaf was stacked and Melas gave the signalto stop work. Chloe at once brought cool water from the spring to thetired harvesters, and when they had washed their hot hands and faces, Melas made a rude altar of stones, kindled a fire upon it, and, callingthe people together, offered upon it a handful of the new grain and madea prayer of thanks to Demeter, the Goddess of the fields, for the richharvest. When this was done, the feast was ready. The meat and cakes andwine were passed to the men by the women, and when they had been wellserved, the women too sat down under a tree and ate their supper. It wasa gay party. After supper there were jokes and songs, and Dromas playedupon his shepherd's pipe, until the night came on and the moon showed herround face over the crest of the hills. 

Then Lycias, the oldest slave of all, began to tell stories. He had seenthe battle of Salamis, and he told how he had watched the Persian shipsgo down, one after another, before the victorious Greeks. "And the Kingsat right on the high rocks north of the Piraeus and saw 'em go down, " hechuckled. "It was a great sight. "

When Lycias had finished his story, Dromas told the tale of how the GodPan had appeared to a shepherd he knew, as he was watching his sheepalong on the hills. "It's all true, " he declared, as the story ended. "Iknew the man myself. All sorts of things happen when you're out alone onthe hillsides. "

The fire, meanwhile, had died down to a heap of brands and gleamingcoals, and Melas told the Twins to bring some wood to replenish it. Theyhad been gone only a short time on this errand when the group around thefire was amazed to see them come darting back into the circle, all out ofbreath and with eyes as big as saucers. 

"What is it?" cried Lydia, springing to her feet. 

"We don't know, " gasped Dion. "It's big--and black--and there's two ofit. It's right out by the brush-pile. "

"We were just going to get an armful of brush, " added Daphne, "when allof a sudden there it was--right beside us! We didn't wait to see it anymore. We just ran like everything!"

Lydia poked the coals into a blaze and peered out into the surroundingdarkness. 

"It was wolves, I'll go bail, " cried Lycias, and he started at once toclimb a tree. 

"Wolves!" shrieked Chloe, and got behind her mistress. The Twins werealready holding to her skirts. 

"Wolves!" howled the slaves, "a whole pack of them!" and as there wasnothing for them to climb, each hastily tried to get behind some oneelse. In the struggle Dromas got crowded back and sat down on a hot coal. He hadn't many clothes on, so he got up very quickly, and the next howlhe gave was not wholly on account of wolves. Only Lydia and Melas stoodtheir ground beside the fire. Melas waved a burning brand in the air andshouted at the top of his lungs, "Fools! Rabbits! Don't you know wolveswon't come near a fire?" but nothing soothed the frightened slaves. Something was coming, and if it wasn't wolves, they thought it was likelyto be a worse creature. They could see two black figures bounding alongin the moonlight, and behind them came a huge dog, barking with all hismight. Bang into the row of cowering slaves they ran, and the biggestblack thing roared "baa, " and the little one bleated "maa, " right intoDromas' ear. The "whole pack of wolves" was just the old black ewe andher little black lamb. Argos was chasing them and when he came tearinginto the circle about the fire and saw the sheep safe with Dromas, he satdown panting, with his tongue hanging out, and looked very much pleasedwith himself. Dromas seized the lamb in his arms. 

"It's a fine young ram, " he cried, "and it's nothing short of a miraclethat the wolves haven't got it, and its mother too, long before this!'

"I always said that old ewe was bewitched, " quavered Lycias. "It's magic, I say. And the lamb is as black as Erebus too. No good will come ofthis!"

"Come, come! We must take them up to the farm-yard at once, " said Melas, "before the old sheep takes it into her head to run away again. Dromas, you and Argos attend to her, and I'll carry the lamb myself. "

"We will all go, " said Lydia. "It is time for bed anyway. " So the remainsof the feast were gathered up, the fire was put out, and the wholecompany trailed back over the hill to the farm-house, Melas at the headof the procession, carrying the lamb in his arms. When the old sheep wascorraled once more with the flock, and the slaves had gone home to theirhuts, Melas came in from the farm-yard with the lamb. He seemed strangelyexcited. 

"Light the fire on the hearth, wife, " he said to Lydia. "There'ssomething queer about this lamb. "

Lydia uncovered the coals, laid on some wood, and blew the fire to ablaze. By its light Melas examined the lamb carefully. Then he said toLydia, who stood near with the Twins, "This ram has but one horn!"

"It can't be!" gasped Lydia. "Whoever heard of a ram with only one horn?"

"Feel it, " said Melas briefly. Lydia felt it. 

"By all the Gods, " she cried, "here is a strange thing!"

"Let us feel, " begged Dion and Daphne. They both felt. There was only onelittle budding horn to be found, and that was right in the middle of thelamb's forehead. 

"What does it mean?" cried Lydia. "Is it a miracle? Is it a portent? Doesit mean good luck or bad luck?"

"I don't know, " said Melas. "Only a priest could tell that. "

"Then take it to a priest, " said Lydia. 

"It is not my sheep, " said Melas. "It belongs to Pericles. "

"Then you must take it to him and let him decide what shall be done withit, " cried Lydia. "And go soon, I beg of you. I don't wish to have thecreature in the house. It may be bewitched. It may bring all kinds of badluck to us. "

"It is just as likely to bring good luck as bad, " said Melas. 

"Is Father really going to take the lamb to Athens?" asked Dion. 

"Yes, " answered Melas, with surprising promptness, "to-morrow. "

"Oh, " cried Dion and Daphne at the same instant, "_please_ let me gotoo. "

"No, " said Lydia at once, but Melas said, "Not so fast, wife. Seekguidance of the Gods. The children would learn much from such a journey, and their chances for learning are few. We should be gone but two days, if the sea is calm. "

Lydia was silent for a moment while the Twins stood by breathless withsuspense. At last she said, "Well, --if the Gods so will, --we will seek anomen. You could spend the night at the house of my brother, Phaon, thestone-cutter, I suppose. I have seen him but seldom since he married hisAthenian wife, but no doubt he would make you welcome for the night. "

She rose slowly as she spoke, and threw a handful of grain upon thefamily altar, at the same time praying to Hermes, the God of travelers, for guidance. Then she ran round the court with her hands over her ears, and as she came back to the group beside the hearth, suddenly uncoveredthem again. The Twins were talking together in low tones. 

"Oh, do you suppose they will let _me_ go?" Daphne was saying to Dion, and just at that moment Lydia took her hands from her ears. "Go" was thefirst word she heard. 

"The omen is favorable, " cried Lydia. "You are to go! I prayed to Hermes, then closed my ears, well knowing that the first word I should hear whenI uncovered them would be the answer to my prayer. That word was 'Go. 'Hasten to bed, my children, for you must make an early start to-morrow. "

Daphne could scarcely believe her ears. Not a word had been said abouther staying at home because she was a girl! She flew upstairs to bed lestsome one should suddenly think of it. 

V

THE TWINS GO TO ATHENS

In the gray dawn of the following morning Lydia stood in the doorway ofher house and watched the three figures disappear down the road towardthe little seaport town of Ambelaca. Melas walked ahead, carrying thelamb wrapped in his cloak, and the Twins followed, bearing between them abasket in which Lydia had carefully packed two dressed fowls, some fresheggs, and a cheese, to be taken to the home of Pericles, besides breadand cheese for Melas and the children. The Twins were so excited theywould have danced along the road instead of walking if it hadn't beenfor the basket, but every time Daphne got too lively, Dion said, "Remember the eggs, " and every time Dion forgot and skipped, Daphne saidthe same thing to him. 

They had gone nearly a mile in this way, when the road took them to thecrest of a hill, from the top of which it seemed as if they could see thewhole world. Just below them lay the little seaport town of Ambelaca, andbeyond it the blue waters of the bay sparkled and danced in the morningbreeze. On the farther side of the bay they could see the white buildingsof the Piraeus, and beyond that in the distance was a chain of bluemountains over which the sun was just peeping. That sight was sobeautiful that the children set down their basket, and Melas too stoodstill to gaze. 

"Those blue mountains beyond the Piraeus are the hills of Athens, " saidMelas. "The one with the flat top is the sacred hill of the Acropolis. And right down there, " he added, pointing to a white house on a near-byhill-top, overlooking the sea, "is the house of Euripides, the Poet. Hehas come from the noise and confusion of the city to find a quiet refugeupon Salamis. "

"Does he write real poetry?" asked Daphne. 

"They say he does, " answered Melas, "though I never read any of itmyself. "

"I wish I could write, " sighed Daphne, "even if it wasn't poetry! Even ifit were only curses to hang around a scarecrow's neck. I'd like towrite!"

"Girls don't need to know how to write, " said Melas. "It doesn't makethem any better housekeepers. I don't even see how Dion is going tolearn. There are no schools in Salamis. "

"Oh dear!" thought Daphne, "there it is again. " But she said nothing andfollowed Melas down the hill and into the village street. 

Soon they found themselves at the dock where the boat was tied. Therewere already passengers on board when the Twins and their Father arrived. There were two farmers with baskets of eggs and vegetables, and there wasan old woman with a large bundle of bread. Next to her sat a fishermanwith a basket of eels. They were all going to the market in the Piraeusto sell their produce. Melas with the lamb in his arms climbed in besideone of the farmers and sat facing the fisherman. Dion sat next to himwith the basket on his knee, and Daphne had to sit beside the fishermanand the eels. The eels squirmed frightfully, and Daphne squirmed tooevery time she looked at them. She was afraid one might get out and wrapitself around her legs. They did look so horribly like snakes, and Daphnefelt about snakes just as most girls do. However, she knew it was uselessto say anything. There was no other seat for her, and so she rememberedthat she was a Spartan and tried not to look at them. 

When they were all seated, the rowers took their places on therowing-benches, the captain gave the signal, and off they went over theblue waters toward the distant shore. For a time everything wentsmoothly. There was no sound but the rattling of the oarlocks, the chantof the rowers as they dipped their oars, and the rippling of the wateragainst the sides of the boat. Up to this time the black lamb had lainquietly in Melas' arms, but now something seemed to disturb him. Helifted his head, gave a sudden bleat, and somehow flung himself out ofMelas' arms directly into the basket of eels! Such a squirming as therewas then! The eels squirmed, and the lamb squirmed, and if his legs hadnot been securely tied together he undoubtedly would have flopped rightinto the water, and then this story would never have been written. 

The fisherman gave an angry roar. "Keep your miserable lamb out of my eelbasket, " he shouted. 

Melas had not waited to be told. He had already seized the lamb, but itstruggled hard to get away, and between the lamb and the eels there was adisturbance that threatened to upset the boat. 

"Sit still, " roared the captain. "Have you no sense? Do you all want togo to the bottom?"

"May Poseidon defend us!" cried the old woman with the bread. "I've nowish to be made into eel-bait. "

"Nor I, " said one of the farmers angrily. "You'd better kill your lambsbefore you take them to market, " he said to Melas; "it will be safer forthe rest of us. "

"The lamb is not for market, " Melas answered. "I would not dare kill it. It bears a portent on its brow!"

"A portent?" gasped the old woman. 

"May all the Gods defend us! What portent?" Melas pointed to the horn. "It has but one horn, " he said. 

They all became still at once. They all looked at the lamb. They all feltof his horn. Their eyes grew big. 

"There was never such a thing known, " said the farmer. 

"Whose is the lamb?" asked another. "Is it yours?"

"No, " said Melas, "it belongs to Pericles the Archon. It was born on hisfarm. I am taking it to him so that he may decide what to do with it. "

"A portent on the farm of Pericles?" cried the old woman. "I'll warrantit will be read as favoring him, since he already has a world at hisfeet. May the Gods forgive me, but it seems to me they are often morepartial than just. "

"Hush, woman, " said one of the farmers. "Speak no ill of the Gods, notuntil we are safe on the land at any rate. "

The woman snapped her mouth shut. The farmers and the fisherman settledthemselves as far away as possible from the Twins and Melas, and nothingmore was said until the boat touched the other shore, and all thepassengers scrambled out upon the dock. The farmers and the fisherman andthe old woman all hastened away to the marketplace, and when they reachedit, they must have kept their tongues busy, for as Melas and the Twinspassed through it on their way to Athens a few moments later, they werefollowed by a crowd of curious people who wanted to see the lamb and whohad a great deal to say about what such a miracle might mean. 

Melas paid little attention to them, but hastened on his way, and soonthey reached the eastern edge of the town and started along the pavedroad which ran from the Piraeus to Athens proper. This road was nearlyfive miles long and ran between two high walls of stone some distanceapart. The curious crowd left them at this point and the three walked onalone through olive orchards and past little vineyards, toward Athens. 

"Nobody could get lost on this road, " said Dion to his Father, "not evenif he tried! He couldn't get over the walls. "

"What are the walls for?" asked Daphne. "It seems silly to build highwalls like this right out in the country. "

"Not so silly when you think about it, " answered Melas. "These walls werebuilt by Pericles, so that if any enemy should make an invasion, Athenswould always have a safe access to the sea. Without that she could bestarved within her own walls in a very short time. "

"Pericles must be almost as powerful and wise as the Gods themselves, Ishould think, " said Daphne. 

"He does all these things by the help of the Gods, without doubt, " saidMelas. 

When they were halfway on their journey to the city, Dion suddenly letdown his side of the basket with a thump. 

"Remember the eggs!" cried Daphne sharply, but Dion did not seem to hear. 

"Look! Look!" he cried and pointed toward the east. There against thesky, on the top of the sacred mountain, stood a gigantic figure shiningin the sun. 

"What is it?" cried both children at once. 

"That is the bronze statue of Athena, the Goddess who gives protection toAthens, " said Melas. 

"Did Pericles make that too?" asked Daphne. 

Melas laughed. "No, " he said; "you must not think Pericles madeeverything you may see in Athens. Great as he is, he is not a sculptor. "

"Oh, oh, " cried Dion, "I want to see the Gorgon's head with snaky locks. Don't you remember the Stranger said it was on the breastplate of thestatue?"

"Ugh, " said Daphne, shuddering. "I don't believe I'd like it. It mustlook just like eels. "

"Come, come, " said Melas. "At this rate you won't have a chance. The daywill be gone before we know it. "

The Twins picked up the basket, and the three marched on toward the city, and it was not long before they had entered the gate and were passingalong closely built-up streets to the home of the greatest man in Athens. 

"This is the place, " said Melas at last, stopping at one of the houses. 

"This isn't Pericles' house, is it?" cried Daphne. "Why, I thought itwould be the biggest house in Athens, and it looks just like the others. "

"Pericles does not put on much style, " said Melas, as he lifted theknocker on the door. "He is too great to need display. He cares moreabout fine public buildings for the city than about making his neighborsenvious by living better than they do. Just get the idea out of your headthat greatness means wealth and luxury, or you are no true Spartans, noreven good Athenians. "

As he said this, Melas let the knocker fall. The door was immediatelyopened by a porter, who looked surprised when he saw Melas and the Twins. 

"What brings you in from the farm?" he said. 

"I wish to see your mistress, the wife of Pericles, " said Melas, withdignity. "I have business of importance. "

"Come in, come in, " said the porter, grinning good-naturedly; "and you, too, little boys, " he added graciously to the Twins, and led the way intothe house. Dion was just opening his mouth to explain that Daphne wasn'ta boy, but Daphne poked him in the ribs and shook her head at him. "Lethim think so, " she said, jerking her chiton up shorter through hergirdle. 

They were ushered through a passageway into the court of the house, andthere the porter left them while he went to call his mistress. The house, though little different from the other houses of well-to-do Athenians, was still much finer than anything the Twins had ever seen. The floor wasof marble, and the altar of Zeus which stood in the center of the courtwas beautifully carved. The doorways which opened into the various roomsof the house were hung with blue curtains. A room opening into the courtat the back had a hearth-fire in the middle of it, much like that in thechildren's own home. Soon a door in the back of the house opened, andTelesippe, the wife of Pericles, appeared. She was a large coarse-lookingwoman, and with her were three boys, her own two and Alcibiades, ahandsome lad, who was a ward of Pericles and a member of his family. 

Melas approached her and opened his cloak. 

"Why, Melas, what have you there?" cried Telesippe in amazement, as shesaw the little black rain. 

"A portent, Madam, " said Melas with solemnity. "This ram, born on yourhusband's farm, is a prodigy, it has but one horn. I have brought it toyou, that the omen might be interpreted. I trust it may prove a favorableone. "

Telesippe looked at the lamb and turned pale. She struck her handstogether. The porter and another slave at once appeared. 

"Go to the temple and bring Lampon, the priest, " she said to the slave;and to the porter she added, "and you, the moment the priest arrives, call your master. "

The slave instantly disappeared, and the porter went back to his post bythe entrance. Although Telesippe was evidently disturbed and anxiousabout the portent, she now turned her attention to the basket, which Dionand Daphne had placed before her, and when their luncheon had been takenout, she called a slave woman and gave the fowl and the eggs and cheeseinto her care. 

The three boys, meanwhile, crowded around Melas and the lamb and askedquestions of all sorts about it and about the farm. It seemed but a shorttime when the porter opened the door once more and ushered in the priest. The Twins had never seen a priest, since there were none on the island, and they looked with awe upon this man who could read omens and interpretdreams. He was a tall, spare man with piercing dark eyes. He was dressedin a long white robe, and wore a wreath of laurel upon his brow, and hisblack hair fell over his neck in long, straggling locks. 

No sooner had he entered the court and taken his place beside thealtar than the blue curtains of a door at the right parted and a tallnoble-looking man entered the room. Dion and Daphne knew at once that itmust be Pericles. No other man, they thought, could look so majestic. Their knees shook under them, and they felt just as you would feel if youwere suddenly to meet the President of the United States. Pericles wasnot alone. A man also tall, and wearing a long white cloak, followedhim through the curtains and joined the group about the altar. 

"The Stranger!" gasped Daphne to Dion in a whisper. "Don't you remember?He said he knew Pericles!"

The Stranger spoke to Melas and laid his hand playfully upon the heads ofthe Twins. 

"These are old friends of mine, " he said to Pericles. "I stayed at theirhouse one night last spring. "

Pericles had already greeted the priest. Now he smiled pleasantly at thechildren, and spoke to Melas. 

"I hear a miracle has occurred on my farm, " he said. 

For answer Melas showed the lamb, which now began to jump and wriggle inhis arms. 

"There can be no doubt that the portent concerns the Great Archon, " saidthe priest solemnly. "See how the ram leaps the moment he appears!"

Pericles beckoned to the Stranger. "What do you think of this, Anaxagoras?" he said, smiling. 

"I am no soothsayer, " answered the Stranger, smiling too. "The priest isthe one to expound the riddle. "

Lampon now came forward, and, with an air of importance, pulled a fewhairs from the lamb's fleece, and laid them upon the live coals of thealtar. He watched the hair curl up as it burned and bent his ear tolisten. "It burns with a crackling sound, " he said; "the omen istherefore favorable to your house, O Pericles. Instead of two horns, theanimal has but one! Instead of two factions in Athens, one favorable toPericles, one opposed, there will henceforth be but one! All the citywill unite under the leadership of Pericles the Olympian. "

"The Gods be praised!" exclaimed Telesippe, with fervor. 

The priest clapped his hands and bowed his head, and Dion saw him peercautiously through the tangled locks which fell over his face to see howPericles had taken this prophecy. The Great Archon was standing quietlybeside Anaxagoras, and neither one gave any sign of being impressed bythe oracle. The priest scowled under his wreath. 

"What shall be done with the ram?" asked Telesippe, when Lampon againlifted his head. 

"Let it be sent to the temple as an offering. Since it is black it mustbe sacrificed to the Gods of the lower world, " answered the priest. 

Telesippe at once called a slave. Melas gave the ram into his hands; thepriest received a present of money from Pericles, and, followed by theslave with the ram, disappeared through the doorway. 

"You did well to bring the ram to me at once, " said Pericles to Melaswhen the door closed behind the priest. "Take this present for yourpains, " and he placed a gold-piece in Melas' hand. "And these littleboys, " he added, smiling pleasantly at the Twins, "they too have donetheir share in bringing the portent. They must have a reward as well. " Hegave them each a coin, and, when he had received their thanks, at onceleft the house, followed by Anaxagoras. The Twins and Melas then saidgood-bye to Telesippe and the boys and took their leave. 

When they turned the corner into the next street, Melas said with a sigh, "There, that's off my mind. And I hope there will be no more miracles fora while. "

"If it would take us to the house of Pericles every time, I'd like themat least once a week!" cried Dion, looking longingly at the coin Pericleshad given him. 

"So would I, " Daphne added fervently. "Even if Pericles didn't give usanything at all, I'd come to Athens just to look at him! He looks justlike the Gods. I know he does. "

Melas laughed. "You're just like the Athenians, " he said, "They call himthe Olympian because they feel the same way about him. Give me yourcoins, " he added. "I will put them in my purse for safe-keeping. "

"Anyway, " said Daphne, as she and Dion gave their Father the money, "I'mglad the portent was favorable to Pericles. The old woman on the boat wasright. She said it would be. "

VI

THE FESTIVAL OF ATHENA

The day had begun so early that it was still morning when Melas and theTwins left the house of Pericles and took their way toward the Agora, which was the business and social center of Athens. Here were the marketswhere everything necessary to the daily life of the Athenians was sold. The Twins had never dreamed there were so many things to be found in theworld. Not only were there fruits, meats, fish, vegetables, and flowers, but there were stalls filled with beautiful pottery or with dyed andembroidered garments gorgeous in color, and even with books. The bookswere not bound as ours are. They were written on rolls of parchment andwere piled up in the stalls like sticks of wood. Around the marketplacethere were arcades supported by marble columns, and ornamented by rows ofbronze statues. In the center stood a magnificent altar to the twelveGods of Olympus, whom the people of Hellas believed to be the greatest oftheir many Gods. There were temples opening on the Agora, and beyondthe temples there were the hills of Athens, with the Sacred Mount of theAcropolis, the holiest of all holy places, bounding it on the south. 

Melas had seen all these sights before, but to the Twins it was likestepping right into the middle of an enchanted world. Melas took themeach by the hand, and found an out-of-the-way corner near a stall whereyoung girls were selling wreaths, and there they ate their luncheon, while they watched the people swarming about them. 

The flowers-sellers, the bread-women, and some flute-girls were almostthe only women in sight, but the whole Agora was full of men. There werefathers of families buying provisions for the day. Each was followed by aslave with a basket, for no Athenian gentleman would carry his ownpackages. There were always slaves to do that. There were grave men inlong cloak-like garments with fillets around their heads who walked backand forth talking together. There were boys, followed by their"pedagogues, " old slaves who carried their books for them, and saw to itthat their young charges got into as little mischief as possible, as theywent about the streets. 

Suddenly at some signal which neither Melas nor the Twins saw, the wholecrowd began to move toward the south. 

"Where are they going?" asked Dion. 

"Listen to that little Spartan savage, " said one of the wreath-sellers, laughing. "He doesn't even know it's the regular festival of Athena. Runalong, bumpkin, and see the sights. "

Melas gave the girl a black look. He didn't like to have Dion called a"Spartan savage, " nor a "bumpkin" either, but he knew very well Spartansmight expect scant courtesy in Athens, so he said nothing, but he rosefrom his corner at once and, telling the children to follow, startedafter the crowd. 

They reached the steep incline which led up to the Acropolis, and, stillfollowing the crowd, had gone part way to the summit, when there was amighty pushing and jostling among the people, and loud voices cried, "Make way for the sacred procession. " The crowd parted, and Melas andthe Twins were pushed back toward one side, but as they were lucky enoughto be on the border of the crowd, instead of being pressed farther back, they were able to see the sacred procession of the Goddess Athena as itmounted the long slope and disappeared through the great gate. 

In one of the oldest temples on the Acropolis, called the Erechtheum, there was an ancient wooden statue of Athena which the Athenians believedhad fallen from heaven. It was very sacred in their eyes, and every yearthey celebrated a festival when the robes and ornaments of the statuewere taken off and cleaned. This year the maidens of Athens hadembroidered a new and beautiful robe, and it was being carried in stateto the temple to be offered to the Goddess and placed upon her statue. 

The Twins had never seen so many people in all their lives before. Theprocession was headed by some of the chief men of Athens, and foremostamong them the children recognized Pericles. Near him walked Anaxagorasthe Philosopher, with Phidias, the great sculptor, and Ictinus, thearchitect of the new temple of which the Stranger had told the Twins onthe spring evening so long before. There were also Sophocles thedramatist and Euripides the poet. Melas recognized them all, for theywere known to every one and he had seen them at the house of Pericles orwalking about the Agora on previous journeys. He pointed them out to theTwins. 

"That queer snub-nosed man back of Sophocles is Socrates thephilosopher, " he said. "He is a friend of Pericles also, though he ispoor and queer, and is always standing about the market-place talking toany one who will listen to him. "

"Are there two philosophers in Athens?" asked Dion. "I thought Anaxagoraswas the philosopher. "

Melas laughed. "Philosophers are as thick in Athens as bees in a hive, "he said, "and poets too. "

The beautiful embroidered robe, borne on a chariot shaped like a ship, now appeared in the procession, and the crowd breathed a long sigh ofwonder and admiration as it passed. Then came a long row of younggirls bearing baskets and jars upon their shoulders. They were followedby older women, for women were allowed to take part in this festival. After them came youths on horseback, and then more youths leadinggarlanded oxen for the sacrifice. The procession was so long that the endof it was still winding through the streets below some time after thehead had reached the top of the incline. Right up the steep slope itstreamed, between the gaping crowds massed on either side, and when thevery end of it had passed out of sight, the people closed in behind itand swarmed over the level height of the sacred hill. 

Melas and the children pushed their way with the others, but the crowdwas so great and the movement so slow that when at last they got near thesacred altars before the Erechtheum, the ceremonies were over and the airwas already filled with smoke and the smell of roasting meat. 

It was late afternoon before the feasting was over, and, meanwhile, theentire hill-top of the Acropolis was covered with moving crowds. As apart of the festival, there were all sorts of games and side shows. Dionand Daphne were so busy watching sword-swallowers, and tumblers, and menperforming all sorts of strange and wonderful tricks, they almost forgotentirely the Gorgon's head with the snaky locks, which the Stranger hadtold them about, and which Dion so much wished to see. Daphne was thefirst to remember it. 

"I'm going to see the new temple that Pericles is building over there. Don't you want to see it, too?" said Melas to the Twins. "Where?" saidDion. Melas pointed to a great heap of marble blocks toward the southernside of the Acropolis. It was then that Daphne thought about the statue. 

"Dion wants to see the Gorgon's head, " she said. 

"Well, then, " answered Melas, "hurry up about it, for it is getting lateand we must soon be starting for your uncle's house. "

The two children trotted away toward the great bronze statue near theentrance without another word, and it was not until they were quite outof sight that Melas remembered he had not told them where to meet him. 

"I shall find them by the statue anyway, " he said to himself, and went onexamining the foundations of the Parthenon. 

Meanwhile the children ran round to the front of the statue and gazed upat the breastplate of the Goddess, upon which Phidias had carved theGorgon's head. There it was with its staring eyes and twisting locks, looking right down at them. 

"Ugh! I don't like it a bit better than I thought I should, " said Daphne, covering her eyes. "It's worse than eels. "

"I'd rather see the man swallowing swords any day, " answered Dion. "Let'sgo and see if we can't find him again, " and off they went toward a crowdof people gathered about a little booth beyond the Erechtheum. 

It was not until they had seen him swallow swords twice and eat fireonce, and the conjurer had begun to pack his things to go away that theTwins thought at all about time. When at last they woke up to the factthat the sun was setting behind the purple hills, and looked about them, there were very few people left on the Acropolis, and their Father wasnowhere to be seen. The two children ran as fast as they could go to theplace where the Parthenon was building, but there was no one there. Eventhe workmen had gone. Then they ran back and looked down the long inclineup which the procession had come in the morning, but Melas was not to beseen. The Twins returned to the statue of Athena, but no one awaited themthere. The Gorgon's head looked down at them with its dreadful staringeyes, and Daphne thought she saw one of the snaky locks move. 

"Oh, let's run, " she cried. 

"Where?" asked Dion. 

"I don't know, " said Daphne. "Anywhere away from here! Let's go back tothe Erechtheum. Perhaps Father will be there looking for us. "

They went all round the old temple, which was partly in ruins, and whenthey found no trace of their Father, sat down miserably upon the steps ofthe great porch of the Maidens on the southern side. It was called thePorch of the Maidens because, instead of columns of marble, statues ofbeautiful maidens supported the roof. Daphne looked up at them. 

"They look strong, like Mother, " she said. "It doesn't seem quite solonesome here with them. Maybe we shall have to stay here all night. "

"Don't you think we could find Uncle Phaon's house by ourselves?" askedDion. 

"Oh, " cried Daphne, shuddering, "never! We couldn't even by daylight, andnow it is almost dark. "

"Anyway, " said Dion, "we're safer being lost here than anywhere else inAthens. It's where the Gods live. Maybe they'll take care of us. "

"We might sacrifice something on an altar, " said Daphne, "and pray, theway Father does. "

"We haven't a thing to sacrifice, " answered Dion. "We haven't anything toeat even for ourselves. "

They were so tired and hungry and discouraged by this time that theydidn't say another word. They just sat still in the gathering darkness, and wished with all their hearts that they had never come to Athens atall. 

They were startled by hearing footsteps above them on the porch. Thestone balustrade was so high, and the children were crouched so far belowit near the ground, that they could not be seen by people above unlessthey should lean over the balustrade and look down. The twins snuggledcloser together in the darkness and kept very still. Suddenly they heardvoices above them; there were two men on the porch talking together inlow tones. One was the voice of Lampon the priest; the children bothrecognized it at once. 

"Look over there, " it was saying. "Pericles is building new temples inAthens, to the dishonor and neglect of the oldest and most sacred of all. Pericles does not fear the Gods, even though they have raised him tohis proud position. He is a traitor to our holy office, and I hate him. "

"You speak strongly, " said the other voice. 

"It isn't only that he neglects the old temples and refuses to restorethem, but he actually builds a new one before our eyes on this holyhill, " went on the voice of Lampon. "It is not only an impiety in itself, but an affront to you and your holy office. I myself saw his scorn andindifference this very day. I was called to his house by his pious wifeto see a prodigy. A ram was brought from his country estate that had butone horn, --a marvel, truly!"

"How did you read the portent?" asked the other voice. 

"As favorable to him, of course, " answered Lampon. "What else could I dowith Pericles himself watching me, and with that old fox of an Anaxagorasby his side?"

"The Gods punish people who do not believe in them, " said the othervoice, "and we are the priests of the Gods. Should we not do all we canto bring such wicked men to justice?"

"Yes, but, " said Lampon, "the people adore Pericles. They would notbelieve evil of him. We must act carefully, lest we ourselves receive theblow that we aim at him. "

"I have found out that he went to the boat-race at the Piraeus thisafternoon, " answered the voice of the other priest, "and after that hegoes to a banquet at the house of the rich Hipponicus, and will returnlate to his home. If we could waylay him and make him angry, he might saysomething blasphemous to us, not knowing we were priests. He might evenoffer us violence! Disrespect to a priest is disrespect to the Gods, andno man in Athens, not even Pericles, can insult the representatives ofthe Gods and live. "

"A good idea, truly, and worthy of the priest of Erechtheus, " said thevoice of Lampon. 

"We will doff our priestly robes and appear as men of the people. Pericles must not suspect who we are, or of course he will be too cleverto allow himself to speak the insults we know only too well he would liketo offer us as priests. We can each be witness for the other; and hecannot deny our report. "

If Daphne had not sneezed just at this moment, everything that happenedafter that would almost surely have been quite different. But she didsneeze! The air was damp and chill, she was sitting on a cold stone step, and a loud "kerchoo" suddenly startled the two plotters on the porch. Thechildren were so frightened they could not move, but they rolled up theireyes, and over the edge of the balustrade they saw two shadowy headslooking down at them. 

"Who's there?" said the voice of Lampon. 

The children were too frightened to answer. 

"Bring a torch, " cried the voice of the other priest, and soon the twoheads were again hanging over the balustrade and a torch in the hand ofLampon threw light on the upturned faces of the Twins. 

"Who are you?" said the priest of the Erechtheum, "and what are you doinghere at this hour, you miserable little spies?"

"Oh, please, we aren't spies at all, " cried Dion. He didn't know what aspy was, but he thought it safe to say he wasn't one. "We are lost. "

"Come up here at once. " It was Lampon who spoke. 

The children, half dead with terror, went round to the other side of theporch, climbed the steps to the entrance, and stood trembling before thepriests. Lampon lifted his torch and looked at them carefully. 

"Didn't I see you this morning at the house of Pericles?" he askedsternly. The Twins nodded. 

"Who sent you here?" he asked. 

"Nobody sent us. We're lost, " cried poor Daphne. 

"Humph!" said the other priest. "That's a likely story. "

"Did you hear what we were talking about?" asked Lampon. He took Dion bythe shoulder, and as he did not answer at once, shook him. 

"Come, yes or no, " he said. 

"Ye-e-es, " stammered Dion. 

The two priests looked at each other, and Lampon said: "They are thechildren of the farmer who brought the lamb to Pericles. They live on hisfarm. "

"It will be a long time before they see the farm again, " answered theother shortly. "They say they are lost. Very well, we will see to it thatthose words are made true. What do you say to shipping them to Africa?They would make a pretty pair of slaves, and a ship sails for Alexandriato-morrow. It can easily be arranged. I know the captain. "

"A good idea!" said Lampon. "Since these children are in a sense wards ofPericles, they are for that reason the more likely to be enemies of theGods. It would be an act of piety to send them where they could do noharm by betraying the secrets of the temple. "

The children were speechless with fright. Their two captors pushed themroughly before them into the temple and drove them through the greatgloomy interior, lighted only by a few torches, to a small closet-likeroom somewhere in the rear. As they walked, huge black shadows cast bythe torch of Lampon danced grotesquely before them. At the closet the twopriests stopped to unlock the door. 

"Here is a safe harbor for you for the night, " said Lampon, as he pushedthe children into the closet. "To-morrow we may find a yet safer placefor you, " and with these words he locked them in. 

The children were so exhausted by hunger and fright that, even thoughthey were Spartans, they sat down on the cold stone floor and wept ineach other's arms. 

"Oh, Mother, Mother, " sobbed Daphne, "why did we ever leave you?"

"Don't you remember, " said Dion, struggling with his tears, "that thesigns were favorable? It must be all right somehow, for the word Motherheard was 'Go. '"

"If I only hadn't sneezed!" sobbed Daphne. 

"But a sneeze is always a good sign, " said Dion. 

"Well, anyway, " said Daphne bravely, though her voice shook and her teethchattered, "crying won't do any good. Let's feel around and see if thereis anything in this room. "

It was dark, except for a gray patch of dim light from a window high upin the wall. Dion and Daphne kept close together and went carefully roundthe room, feeling the wall with their hands. Dion stumbled againstsomething. It was a chest where the priests' robes were kept. 

"Do you suppose we could move it?" whispered Daphne. "If we could, maybewe could look out of the window and see where we are. "

They both got on the same side of it and pushed with all their strength. The chest moved a little and made a horrible screeching sound on thestone floor. 

"Sh-sh-sh, " whispered Daphne, as if the chest could hear. They held theirbreath to listen for footsteps. There was no sound outside. They waited alittle while and pushed again. Again the chest screeched, and again theystopped to listen. After many such efforts it was finally moved underthe window, and the two sprang up on the top of it to look out. Bystanding on tiptoe they could just see over the sill. There was no glass, for there was no window-glass anywhere at that time, and the cool nightair blew in on their faces. The Acropolis was bathed in moonlight. Therewas no sound outside, and no one in sight anywhere. Apparently the worldwas asleep. Suddenly the stillness was broken by the hoot of an owl, andthey could see the great bird flying toward them. 

"It's Athena's own bird, " whispered Dion, "and it's flying from the east. That means good luck. Oh, maybe we can get away from this dreadful placeafter all!"

"Let's pray to Athena, " quavered Daphne. "We can't sacrifice, but maybeshe'll hear us just the same. "

The two little prisoners spread their hands toward the sky, and Dionwhispered, "Help us, O Athena, just the way you helped Perseus kill theGorgon. "

"Give us wisdom to get out of this place and to save Pericles from thesewicked men, " added Daphne. 

"Sh-sh, " whispered Dion, "they're priests. "

"They are wicked, anyway, whatever they are, to want to kill Pericles, "said Daphne stoutly. Then she added: "Maybe that's why we're here! Maybewe could warn him about the priests if we could just get out. Anyway, we're Spartans, and we've got to stop crying and do our best. "

Dion put his hands on the window-sill and gave a jump. 

"I believe I could get up here if you'd give me a boost, " he said. 

"But how shall I getup?" asked Daphne. "There'll be nobody to boost me. "

"I'll pull you, " said Dion. 

"You might fall out backwards, or fall in head first doing it, " saidDaphne. 

"Let's try, anyway, " said Dion. 

Daphne boosted, and Dion climbed, and in another minute he was sitting onthe window-sill with one foot hanging down outside and the other firmlybraced against the side of the window. He held on with his left hand and, leaning over, was able with his right to clasp Daphne. She hooked herleft arm on his, put her hand on the sill and leaped. The next instantshe was lying on her stomach over the sill, and Dion was helping her to asitting position. 

"It isn't so very far to drop, " whispered Dion. "I've dropped from thebalustrade into the court lots of times at home. "

"All right, " said Daphne, "You drop first, and I'll follow. "

Dion turned, stuck his head out as far as possible, and looked in everydirection. Then he let himself down from the sill, hung to it for amoment by his hands, and dropped like a cat to the ground. He flattenedhimself against the wall of the temple, and in another moment Daphne wassafe beside him. 

"Now, " whispered Dion, "we'll run like everything around behind thetemple to the statue of Athena. "

Hand in hand through the moonlight they sped, and were soon in the shadowof the great bronze statue. 

"Let's wait here a minute and look around, " whispered Dion. 

They crouched down in the shadow and looked back. Their hearts almoststopped beating when they saw two cloaked figures emerge from the temple, and they recognized Lampon and the priest of the Erechthcum. The two menpassed so near the statue that the children could plainly hear theirvoices, though they spoke in low tones. 

"We will wait at the head of the street of the Amphorae, " they heardLampon say. "He is sure to pass that way. It will relieve my tongue totell him some things in the guise of a common ruffian which I could notsay as a priest. "

"You did well to recognize those brats, " said the priest of theErechtheum. "They might have upset all our plans if we had not kept themsafe. "

The two brats behind the statue shook their fists at the retreatingfigures. They waited until the sound of footsteps had died away, and thenthey made a quick dash from the shadow and flew down the inclineup which the procession had come in the morning. In a moment they were atthe bottom. They could just see the dark figures of the priestsdisappearing toward the north. The children shrank back again intothe shadow. 

"What shall we do next?" said Daphne. "We don't know our way anywhere atall. We don't even know where our uncle lives. "

"What was the name of that rich man at whose house they said Pericles wasgoing to the banquet?" asked Dion, with a sudden inspiration. 

"Oh, dear, " said Daphne, "I can't think. Let me see. Hip---Hip--"

"Ponicus, " finished Dion, "that's it! Surely any Athenian would knowwhere a rich man like Hipponicus lives. We must just go along until wemeet some one we can ask. "

"Suppose we should meet Lampon!" shuddered Daphne. 

"We shan't, " said Dion; "they've gone off that way. They are going to thestreet of the Amphorae. We should recognize that street. It has the longrow of vases, don't you remember? We went through it this morning. "

"If we can find the house of Hipponicus and warn Pericles about thepriests, I'm sure he'll take care of us, " said Daphne. 

Encouraged by this thought, the two children passed boldly out of theshadow and ran westward. They passed a few people, but for the most part, the street was deserted, and they met no one they dared speak to. At lastthey came to the city wall and a gate. 

"Now what shall we do?" murmured Daphne. "We can't go any farther thisway. "

"Why, I know this place, " Dion whispered joyfully. "It's the gate thatopens into the paved road to the Piraeus. It's the very gate we camethrough this morning! The luck is surely with us now. "

"Let's stay here and speak to the first person that comes along, " saidDaphne. "I'm sure it will be the right one. "

The two children waited with beating hearts. A tall figure now appearedwalking toward the gate, followed by a slave carrying a torch. As the mandrew near, the children went boldly out to meet him. 

"Can you tell us the way to the house of Hipponicus?" asked Dionpolitely. 

The man stopped, and the slave held the torch so his master could see thefaces of the children. 

"By all the Gods, " said the man, "what are you children doing out here atthis time of the night?"

"The Stranger! Anaxagoras!" cried Daphne. "Oh, I knew Athena would helpus!" and the two children threw themselves into his arms, so great wastheir relief and joy. 

They told him the whole story of their adventure on the Acropolis and whythey wanted to find the house of Hipponicus. 

"Well, " said Anaxagoras, when they had finished, "I live in the Piraeus. I was on my way home, but now I shall go with you to the house ofHipponicus, and you shall tell your story to Pericles himself. "

VII

HOME AGAIN

Under the guidance and protection of Anaxagoras and the slave, thechildren were soon ushered into the court of the richest house in Athens, and then Anaxagoras sent a message to Pericles, who was dining with agroup of men in a large room opening off the court. When the slave openedthe door of the banquet-room, the children caught a glimpse of menreclining on couches, with wreaths about their heads, and heard for aninstant the sound of laughter and gay voices. The smell of food camealso, and the Twins sniffed the delicious odor hungrily. Soon Periclesappeared, wearing a wreath upon his brow, and, as Daphne thought, lookingmore like a God than ever. Anaxagoras told him the story which the Twinshad told to him. 

"A very neat plot! Is it not?" said Pericles gravely, when Anaxagoras hadfinished. 

"They said something about you too, " said Daphne, lifting her eyes toAnaxagoras. 

"Indeed!" said Anaxagoras. "So I am in it, too! What did they say?"

"They said you were an old fox, " said Daphne. The two men laughed. 

"I trust I may live up to their opinion of me, " said Anaxagoras. 

Then Pericles looked at the children and laid his hand gently upon theirtousled heads. 

"So you ran alone through Athens at night to warn me, did you?" he said. "And you have been in great danger for my sake? I shall know how to dealwith those two pious old serpents of the Acropolis. Thanks to you, Ishall not fall into their coils. And Pericles does not forget anobligation. Now, my little Spartans, " he added, tipping up their chinsand looking at their pale and pinched faces, "it's time you had somethingto eat!"

He clapped his hands and a slave appeared. "Say to Hipponicus that twofriends of Pericles are in the court, and he begs that they may be servedthere with the best the house affords. "

The slave disappeared and soon returned bringing such a feast as theTwins had never tasted in their whole lives before. Pericles waited, talking quietly with Anaxagoras, until their hunger was partly appeased, and then he spoke to them again. 

"Now, my brave Spartans, " he said, "since you have been so considerate ofmy safety, it is well that I should look after yours. Have you any ideawhere your Father may be found? He is probably searching the town foryou. "

"We were to spend the night at the house of my Uncle Phaon, thestone-cutter, " said Dion, "but we don't know where he lives. "

"Phaon, " said Pericles, stroking his beard. "Is he not a workman in theshop of Phidias the sculptor? He has a stone-cutter of that name, and, now I think of it, he is called Phaon the Spartan. "

"That must be my uncle, " said Dion, "but I don't know where he lives. Ihave never been to Athens before, and Uncle Phaon does not come to thefarm. "

"We can find out from Phidias, " said Anaxagoras, and, turning to hisslave, he said, "Run quickly to the house of Phidias and say to him thatPericles the Archon wishes to know where to find the house of Phaon thestone-cutter. "

The slave sped away and returned in a short time with the message thatPhaon lived near the northwest gate. "And I know the way there, " addedthe slave. 

"Very well, " said Anaxagoras. "We will take these children there. Then Iwill await you at your house, Pericles, for I wish to hear the end of thestory, and to know how you deal with those two old traitors. "

"Now that I know their purpose, " said Pericles, "it is easy to defeat it!I shall return no word to their abuse. When I reach my house, I shallpolitely offer my assailant the escort of my slave, to light him homewith his torch. "

Anaxagoras laughed heartily. 

"Good, " he cried, "and humorous as well. A torch to light up their evilfaces is the last thing in the world they would wish to have. You couldnot devise a more perfect plan to foil their wicked schemes. "

"I wish all plots might be as easily frustrated, " said Pericles gravely. Then, turning to the children, he added kindly: "You have nothing furtherto fear. My good friend Anaxagoras and his slave will see you safely toyour uncle's house, and he will surely know where to find your Father. "

"You won't let Lampon catch us and sell us for slaves, will you?" beggedDaphne, shuddering. "They said they would sell us in Alexandria. "

Pericles' brow darkened. "They threatened that, did they?" he exclaimed. "The wretches shall not lay a finger on you! Pericles the Archon has saidit. And now you must hurry away. Your Father will be torn with anxietyuntil he sees you again. To-morrow morning I shall send a messenger toyour uncle's house with a package for you, which you must not open untilyou are safe at home again. And when you grow up to be strong, bravemen, I shall expect you to be generals in the army of Athens at the veryleast. "

"I can't grow up to be a strong, brave man, " said Daphne in a very smallvoice. "I wish I could. But I'm a girl. "

"A girl!" cried Pericles in amazement, "and so brave! Surely then youwill at least be the mother of heroes some time. But after this stay morequietly at home, my child. Women should have no history. " And hedisappeared through the door into the banquet-hall. 

When the Twins, accompanied by Anaxagoras and the slave, finally reachedthe house of their uncle, they found the door open and people hurryingexcitedly to and fro, carrying torches in their hands. In the court ofthe house stood Melas, talking with Phaon and his wife. 

"I have searched every nook and cranny of the Acropolis, " Melas wassaying. "I do not see how they could have escaped me. "

"It's a punishment of the Gods, " said the wife of Phaon. "You should nothave let Daphne run the streets like a boy. It's against nature. Nodecent Athenian girl would be allowed to. I never put my nose out of myMother's house exeept on the days of women's festivals until I wasmarried. "

"But, my dear, " said Phaon mildly, "you forget the Spartans aredifferent. "

"I should say they were!" snapped the wife of Phaon, "and now they maysee what comes of it. It's my opinion these wild children have fallen offthe cliffs on the north side of the Acropolis. "

Melas shuddered, sank down upon a stool, and hid his face. Just at thatmoment there was a sudden rush of feet behind him and he felt four armsflung about his neck. Spartan though he was, Melas trembled, and his eyeswere wet as he clasped his children in his arms, Anaxagoras stood in thedoorway a moment smiling at the happy group, and then gently slipped awaywithout waiting for any thanks. 

Early the next morning a basket addressed to the "brave children of Melasthe Spartan, from Pericles the Archon, " was delivered by a slave at thedoor of Phaon. The Twins had been eagerly expecting it, and when itarrived they were no less eager to start for home, since Pericles hadtold them not to open it until they were under their own roof once more. Their aunt, the wife of Phaon, was filled with curiosity to know thecontents. Moreover, since she had learned the whole story of the nightbefore and knew that the children had won the favor and were now underthe avowed protection of Pericles, her respect for them and for Spartansin general had greatly increased. 

"Let us see what gifts the great Pericles has sent you!" she cried, whenthe package came. 

"No, no, " said Daphne hastily. "He said we should not open it until wegot home. "

"Very well, then, " said the wife of Phaon, sulkily, "only then I shallnever see what's in it. "

"Well, " said Daphne piously, "you remember about Pandora, don't you? Iwouldn't dare open it until the time comes!"

To this the aunt could make no reply, Melas, too, had no wish to lingerin Athens after the experience of the day before. The children were interror of meeting Lampon, and Melas himself felt it would be a greatload off his mind to get them safely back to their quiet house on Salamisonce more and into their Mother's care. So they bade Phaon and his wifegood-bye and started before noon for the Piræus. 

At the dock they found the boat ready for its return journey across thebay. Nearby was the large black hull of an African ship, bound forAlexandria. Dion pointed to it. 

"Suppose we were on that this minute, " he said to Daphne, and Daphnecovered her eyes and shook with horror at the mere thought of it. 

It was nearly night when the three weary wanderers climbed the lasthill and turned from the roadway into the path which led to the oldfarm-house. Lydia was standing in the doorway with Chloe behind her, smiling, and Argos came bounding out to meet them, wagging his tail andbarking for joy. 

It was a happy party that gathered around the hearth fire that night. Lydia had prepared a wonderful feast to greet the travelers. There wereroast chicken, and sausages too, and goat's milk, and figs. They openedthe basket by fire-light, and if all the Christmases of your whole lifehad been rolled into one, it couldn't have been more wonderful to youthan the gifts of Pericles were to Dion and Daphne. There was a soft robeof scarlet for each of them, with golden clasps to fasten it. There werea purse of gold coins and two beautiful parchment books--all written byhand, for of course there were no printed books in those days. There weregifts for their Father and Mother, too, and, best of all, a letterwritten with Pericles' own hand and addressed to "Euripides the Poet, ofSalamis. " With it came a note to Melas, saying he might read the letter, as he wished him to know its contents. This was the letter:--

"Pericles the Archon to Euripides the Poet, Greetings. 

"The bearers of this letter are friends of mine who have rendered me agreat service. By their timely warning I was enabled to foil a plot tomake me appear to the public as an enemy of the Gods. As sufficientrecompense I commend them to your friendship. No greater service can berendered Athens than to raise up noble and patriotic defenders. To thisend I commit these children to your guidance, the girl no less thanthe boy. Give them, I beg, the benefit of your wisdom, since they haveproven themselves worthy of such honor, and Athens shall one day thankyou for this service. "

And so it was that Dion and Daphne, the Spartans, not only mastered thelearning of their time, but also became the friends of Pericles theAthenian and of Euripides the Poet, and perhaps now wander with them inthe Elysian Fields. 

 * * * * *

A study period for the working out of the pronunciation of the moredifficult names and words will be the only preparation for reading _TheSpartan Twins_ needed by the average fifth grade class. The story canusually be read at sight in the sixth grade. 

It will admirably supplement the study of Greek History in these grades. The essential thing is for the teacher to provide the proper backgroundfor the story. The value in the history of the Greeks lies in the lessonsof bravery and of love of country that it brings us, and in theinspiration and beauty of the myths, dramas, poems, and orations, thestatues and temples that survive to our time. The fundamental aim in itsstudy in the fifth and sixth grades is not so much to store the child'smind with details as to make such impressions as will guide him to alater appreciation of why we remember the Greeks, and what we havelearned from them. 

In these days of a "new internationalism, " the teacher's most immediateduty is to bring her pupils to a realization of what Americanism anddemocracy mean, and that each is a development from the past. To do this, she should explain that before there were immigrants, there werediscoverers and colonists, from Spain, England, and France; and thatthese countries had their origin in colonies from Rome, herself a colonyfrom Greece. The teacher should explain that the spirit in these ancientcities that inspired colonization, trade, and empire was the inherent andineradicable desire of men, first, for the opportunity of rulingthemselves, and then to establish bonds of union against foreignaggression. Children will then perceive that the ancient Greeks were menquite like ourselves; and that they began the ways of government which wehave, and which our forefathers brought to America. So much for what welearned from the Greeks. 

As to why we remember them, let the teacher recall the stories alreadyfamiliar through supplementary reading in literature, the Golden Fleece, Hercules, the Siege of Troy, the Wanderings of Ulysses; let her point outGreek cities which still exist, Athens, Marseilles, Alexandria, Constantinople; let her tell the stories of Marathon, of Leonidas andThermopylae, and of Salamis; let her show pictures of Athens, the mostsplendid city of ancient Greece, of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, theVenus of Milo, the Hermes of Praxiteles, the Discus Thrower, and so on. 

This book affords opportunity to contrast the way in which children werebrought up in Sparta with the way in which they were brought up inAthens. The ideals of these two city-states also may be contrasted. Although cities might have separate interests, it should be shown thatthroughout Greece there were interests in common, of which the peoplewere reminded through the Olympic games. 

The teacher is referred to the following volumes for further assistancein re-creating the atmosphere of ancient Greece:--

Tappan's _The Story of the Greek People_, _Old World Hero Stories_, and_Our European Ancestors_; Hawthorne's _Wonder-Book_ and _TanglewoodTales_; Peabody's _Old Creek Folk Stories_; Bryant's translation of the_Odyssey_ and of the _Iliad_; Palmer's translation of the _Odyssey_;Hopkinson's _Greek Leaders_; Plutarch's _Alexander the Great_; Marden's_Greece and the Ægean Islands_; Hurll's _Greek Sculpture_ and _How toShow Pictures to Children_; _Masterpieces of Greek Literature_. 

Like all the other Volumes in the "Twins Series, " _The Spartan Twins_furnishes ample subjects for dramatization. The unique illustrationsshould be of assistance, and other illustrations in most of the booksreferred to above also will help to show scenery, costumes, furniture, and utensils. 

The story will suggest many topics for class discussion, and in additionsuch questions as the following will help the pupils to visualize theGreece of the past:--

1. Why would ancient Greece have been a pleasant country to live in?

2. How would it affect your home town if it were shut off from allothers?

3. Judging from the Greek stories, what sort of men did they regard asheroes? What sort of men do we regard as heroes to-day?

4. In the stories of gods and heroes, are there scenes that would makegood pictures?

5. Imagine you are Pericles, and make a speech telling the Athenians whythey ought to beautify their city. 

6. What could be done to beautify the place in which you live?

7. Which one of the Greeks or their heroes do you regard as the greatestman? Why?

8. What was good and what was not good in the training of the Spartanboys?

9. In what respects was the training of the Athenian boys better?

10. How do the ideas of one child become known to other children? Howdo the ideas of one country become known to other countries?

11. Had the Greeks good reasons for emigrating?

12. Imagine that you are an ancient Greek and tell why you became acolonist.