THE TWIN BOYS
The twin boys, it was said, were guarded by the god Mars. So it was not
strange that, as they grew older, the god should send his sacred birds,
the woodpeckers, to feed the children. In and out of the cave the birds
flew each day, bringing with them food for the little boys.
But neither the wolf nor the birds could do all that was needful, so
before long, the god who watched over the children sent Faustulus to
their aid.
Faustulus was one of the herdsmen of King Amulius. He had often seen
the wolf going in and out of the cave, and had noticed, too, how the
woodpeckers came and went each day. So when the wolf went off to prowl
in the woods, Faustulus ventured into the cave, where to his amazement
he found two beautiful and well-fed children. He took them in his arms
and carried them home to his wife. She gladly welcomed the little
strangers, and, naming them Romulus and Remus, brought them up as
though they had been her own sons.
As the years passed the boys grew ever more beautiful. Stronger and
braver, too, they became, until the rough herdsmen among whom they
dwelt called them princes.
The lads soon showed that they were fitted to lead the herdsmen. If
wild beasts attacked the flocks, or if robbers tried to steal them,
Romulus and Remus were ever the first to attack, and to drive away
either the robbers or the wild beasts.
[Illustration: A she-wolf, coming to the edge of the river to drink,
heard their cries.]
Faustulus lived on Mount Palatine, near to the spot where the boys
had been washed ashore when they were babes.
This hill belonged to the cruel king Amulius, and it was his sheep and
cattle that the princes, unwitting of the evil the king had done to
them, defended from danger.
Not far from Mount Palatine was another hill, named Mount Aventine, and
here also were herdsmen guarding flocks, but these herdsmen belonged to
the dethroned King Numitor. Numitor was living quietly in the city of
Alba.
Now it chanced that the herdsmen of Amulius began to quarrel with the
herdsmen of Numitor. One evening, forgetting all about their enemies,
the shepherds on Mount Palatine were merrymaking at a festival in
honour of the god Pan.
Then the herdsmen on Mount Aventine said one to the other, ‘See, here
is our chance. We will lay an ambush for these unwary merrymakers.’
As the gods willed, they captured none other than Remus, and well
pleased with their prize, they carried the prince a prisoner to their
master Numitor.