_Greek_
It is an easy matter for any one to find the three great stars in the
sky that are arranged in a row, like three great diamonds sparkling on
the front of a mammoth crown. They shine out, clear and bright, whenever
Diana takes her silver bow, which we call the moon, and goes to hunt in
her secret fields or forests. These three stars have been called Orion's
Belt for thousands of years, and for ages children and grown people have
watched for their coming after the sun has gone below the horizon.
The story told of Orion by the ancient Greeks has been repeated by some
of our poets, and Henry W. Longfellow has written in his own beautiful
way of this same famous Greek hunter who never knew fear. Perhaps you
will be more interested in his poem after you have read this short
account of the mighty giant whose belt of stars is longer than other
giants were tall.
Orion was the son of Neptune, the god of the sea. His father gave him
power to walk upon the water or to wade in the deepest ocean without
drowning. You know that if he had the power of walking in such places,
he did not need to swim, and his steps were so long that he could walk
much faster than his swiftest enemy could run.
[Illustration: ORION WITH HIS CLUB]
Orion was very fond of hunting, and wore, as his mantle or robe, the
tawny skin of a huge lion he had slain. His club and his sword were his
only weapons, and he needed no others, for his long arms helped him to
strike before he himself could be hurt. Once he was made blind, but as
he wandered by the seashore the music of the singing waves which were
his father's home gave him comfort and led him to a friend who guided
him to Apollo. One bright sunbeam from Apollo's crown touched Orion's
eyes and they saw more clearly than ever before. Nearly everything was
Orion's friend, for with his great strength he was always ready to help
those who could not help themselves. But he was so huge that many who
did not know him were afraid, and one day the Pleiads, daughters of
Atlas, saw him coming and they fled away so fast that they were changed
into doves. You can find the place where they alighted in the sky, just
ahead of Orion. He still follows them, and his dog Sirius, who carries
the famous dog star, is close at his side; but the Pleiads never allow
Orion to overtake them in their long journey through the regions of the
sky. The Pleiads are so beautiful that you must learn to find them, and
this cluster of six twinkling stars, "a swarm of fireflies tangled in a
silver braid," will guide you in finding the belt of the mighty hunter
Orion, the giant of the heavens. Four other very brilliant stars mark
his shoulders and his knees.