_Greek_
"Mother, when papa came back from South America, he told us a queer
story about the sailors dressing up in masks. What holiday was it? And
what did they do it for?"
"That must have been, Charlie, when the ship crossed the line, or the
equator, as you call it in the geography class. I remember his telling
about King Neptune and his trident."
[Illustration: NEPTUNE]
"What did the sailors do, mother?"
"Why, one dressed to represent Neptune, a famous ocean god, and the rest
masked as his followers. They were given presents by the passengers on
the ship, and it was a grand holiday."
"But who is King Neptune, and where does this ocean god live, mother?"
"People used to believe that Neptune was really king of all the waters
on the earth, Charlie. Doesn't that seem strange? I'll tell you a story
that I heard about Neptune and some of the other gods whom the Greeks
used to worship. Perhaps you will find more stories about him sometime."
"Wait a minute, mother, till I get that easy chair for you. Now we are
ready to begin."
"Once on a time, Juno, the wife of Jupiter, while watching from the sky,
saw some ships on the sea beneath her.
"After looking closely, she found they were the seven ships of Aeneas,
who was trying to reach the land of Italy and was now only a few miles
from its shore.
"Juno, for reasons of her own, did not want Aeneas to reach the land.
Knowing something must be done in the shortest possible time she went to
King Aeolus and asked his help. She promised him all manner of beautiful
gifts if he would only send his winds against the ships of Aeneas.
"King Aeolus knew he was doing wrong, but he would not refuse Juno. He
went to the mountain cave where he kept the storm winds, and, taking his
heavy war spear, burst open the massive door of the cavern and let all
the mad crew out at once.
"The storm they made was terrible. Great waves like mountains came
sweeping over the land, carrying trees and everything away.
"The ships of Aeneas were only playthings in such a hurricane, and the
winds seemed to know for what they had been let loose.
"The great cables that fastened heavy anchors to the ships were snapped
like stalks of corn. The winds roared like wild animals. The sky was as
black as night, and great waterspouts went whirling by like huge tops
set spinning by the blasts.
"One fierce wind blew against the ship of Aeneas and overturned it.
"A whirlwind caught three other ships and tossed them lightly on the
great rocks, on the shore. Another whirlwind sent three more ships into
the terrible quicksands and they were swallowed up.
"Aeneas, swimming in the water, saw around him his trusty sailors
clinging, like himself, to broken planks and pieces of timber. All about
them floated concave shields, outspread mantles, and overturned helmets.
Treasures, too, in the shape of precious home gifts, and robes covered
with jewels, drifted past them.
"But the only thing anyone wanted then was life, and it seemed as if the
winds and waters were ready and able to destroy every man of them.
"Aeneas called to Neptune, king of the seas, and Neptune heard him and
came riding up out of the bottom of the ocean.
"He held his golden-maned horses firmly in check, while his voice roared
over the waters, asking:
"'What is this, you winds, that you dare to trouble earth and sky
without leave from me? Who let you free from your rock prison?'
"The waves were afraid and quieted down. The clouds scattered like
naughty children caught in mischief. The winds flew home and, hurrying
back into their cave, blew the door tight-shut with a bang. Then
everybody waited to see what King Neptune would do.
"He ordered some of his ocean train to pry the three ships off the
rocks, but they could not, and he had to help them with his trident, or
three-pointed spear. Then King Neptune opened the quicksands and the
other three ships sailed out on the water again.
"Neptune knew Aeneas was a brave man and always quick to answer a call
for help, so the boat of Aeneas had been taken care of first, and he and
his men were put back safely into it.
[Illustration: A GREEK COIN. Made about 510 B.C. representing Neptune,
or Poseidon, as the Greeks called him]
"King Neptune, seeing everything was quiet again, showed Aeneas a
beautiful harbor where he and his sailors could rest. The brazen-hoofed
steeds that drew Neptune's chariot were tossing their heads and growing
restive. So Neptune called his followers, and in a flash they all
disappeared into the depths of the sea.
"Jupiter, ruler of the sky, praised Neptune for his skill in checking
the furious winds and maddened waves, and Pluto, ruler of the center of
the earth, said he was proud to call him brother."
"Well, that must have made King Aeolus ashamed of himself. Don't you
think so, mother?"