Part 25 (2/2)

He was tired with the journey and made sleepy with the heat of the sun, and when he came within sight of Omphale's house he lay down by the side of the road, first taking off his armor, and laying aside his bow, his quiver, and his s.h.i.+eld. He wakened up to see two men looking down upon him; he knew that these were the Cercopes, robbers who waylaid travelers upon this road. They were laughing as they looked down on him, and Heracles saw that they held his arms and his armor in their hands.

They thought that this man, for all his tallness, would yield to them when he saw that they had his arms and his armor. But Heracles sprang up, and he caught one by the waist and the other by the neck, and he turned them upside down and tied them together by the heels. Now he held them securely and he would take them to the town and give them over to those whom they had waylaid and robbed. He hung them by their heels across his shoulders and marched on.

But the robbers, as they were being b.u.mped along, began to relate pleasantries and mirthful tales to each other, and Heracles, listening, had to laugh. And one said to the other, ”O my brother, we are in the position of the frogs when the mice fell upon them with such fury.” And the other said, ”Indeed nothing can save us if Zeus does not send an ally to us as he sent an ally to the frogs.” And the first robber said, ”Who began that conflict, the frogs or the mice?” And thereupon the second robber, his head reaching down to Heracles's waist, began:

The Battle of the Frogs and Mice

A warlike mouse came down to the brink of a pond for no other reason than to take a drink of water. Up to him hopped a frog. Speaking in the voice of one who had rule and authority, the frog said:

”Stranger to our sh.o.r.e, you may not know it, but I am Puff Jaw, king of the frogs. I do not speak to common mice, but you, as I judge, belong to the n.o.ble and kingly sort. Tell me your race. If I know it to be a n.o.ble one I shall show you my kingly friends.h.i.+p.”

The mouse, speaking haughtily, said: ”I am Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her, and my race is a famous one. My father is the heroic Bread Nibbler, and he married Quern Licker, the lovely daughter of a king. Like all my race I am a warrior who has never been wont to flinch in battle. Moreover, I have been brought up as a mouse of high degree, and figs and nuts, cheese and honey-cakes is the provender that I have been fed on.”

Now this reply of Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her pleased the kingly frog greatly. ”Come with me to my abode, ill.u.s.trious Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her,” said he, ”and I shall show you such entertainment as may be found in the house of a king.”

But the mouse looked sharply at him. ”How may I get to your house?” he asked. ”We live in different elements, you and I. We mice want to be in the driest of dry places, while you frogs have your abodes in the water.”

”Ah,” answered Puff Jaw, ”you do not know how favored the frogs are above all other creatures. To us alone the G.o.ds have given the power to live both in the water and on the land. I shall take you to my land palace that is the other side of the pond.”

”How may I go there with you?” asked Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her the mouse, doubtfully.

”Upon my back,” said the frog. ”Up now, n.o.ble Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her. And as we go I will show you the wonders of the deep.”

He offered his back and Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her bravely mounted. The mouse put his forepaws around the frog's neck. Then Puff Jaw swam out. Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her at first was pleased to feel himself moving through the water.

But as the dark waves began to rise his mighty heart began to quail. He longed to be back upon the land. He groaned aloud.

”How quickly we get on,” cried Puff Jaw; ”soon we shall be at my land palace.”

Heartened by this speech, Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her put his tail into the water and worked it as a steering oar. On and on they went, and Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her gained heart for the adventure. What a wonderful tale he would have to tell to the clans of the mice!

But suddenly, out of the depths of the pond, a water snake raised his horrid head. Fearsome did that head seem to both mouse and frog. And forgetful of the guest that he carried upon his back, Puff Jaw dived down into the water. He reached the bottom of the pond and lay on the mud in safety.

But far from safety was Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her the mouse. He sank and rose, and sank again. His wet fur weighed him down. But before he sank for the last time he lifted up his voice and cried out and his cry was heard at the brink of the pond:

”Ah, Puff Jaw, treacherous frog! An evil thing you have done, leaving me to drown in the middle of the pond. Had you faced me on the land I should have shown you which of us two was the better warrior. Now I must lose my life in the water. But I tell you my death shall not go unavenged-the cowardly frogs will be punished for the ill they have done to me who am the son of the king of the mice.”

Then Crumb s.n.a.t.c.her sank for the last time. But Lick Platter, who was at the brink of the pond, had heard his words. Straightway this mouse rushed to the hole of Bread Nibbler and told him of the death of his princely son.

Bread Nibbler called out the clans of the mice. The warrior mice armed themselves, and this was the grand way of their arming:

First, the mice put on greaves that covered their forelegs. These they made out of bean sh.e.l.ls broken in two. For s.h.i.+eld, each had a lamp's centerpiece. For spears they had the long bronze needles that they had carried out of the houses of men. So armed and so accoutered they were ready to war upon the frogs. And Bread Nibbler, their king, shouted to them: ”Fall upon the cowardly frogs, and leave not one alive upon the bank of the pond. Henceforth that bank is ours, and ours only. Forward!”

And, on the other side, Puff Jaw was urging the frogs to battle. ”Let us take our places on the edge of the pond,” he said, ”and when the mice come amongst us, let each catch hold of one and throw him into the pond. Thus we will get rid of these dry bobs, the mice.”

The frogs applauded the speech of their king, and straightway they went to their armor and their weapons. Their legs they covered with the leaves of mallow. For breastplates they had the leaves of beets. Cabbage leaves, well cut, made their strong s.h.i.+elds. They took their spears from the pond side-deadly pointed rushes they were, and they placed upon their heads helmets that were empty snail sh.e.l.ls. So armed and so accoutered they were ready to meet the grand attack of the mice.

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