Part 6 (2/2)
Already Dawn had drawn back the purple curtains of the morning and the Hours were harnessing the horses to the chariot.
The stars and moon were retiring for the day.
The chariot glittered with jewels which sent the light in all directions.
Phaethon looked upon it with delight and longed impatiently for the great joy of driving it.
Helios said, ”O, my dear son, go not too high or you will scorch the dwelling of heaven, nor too low, lest you set the world on fire.
”Keep the middle path; that is best, and do not use the whip; rather, hold the horses in.”
Phaethon was too happy to hear what his father was saying.
He leapt into the golden chariot and stood erect as the fiery horses sprang forth from the eastern gates of Day.
They soon missed the strong steady hand of their master.
Up, up they went, far into the sky, above the stars, and then plunged downward toward the earth.
The clouds smoked, the mountain tops caught fire, many rivers dried up and whole countries became deserts.
Great cities were burning, and even Poseidon cried out in terror from the sea.
Then the people on earth learned with what great wisdom the path of the sun was planned.
Helios saw that the whole world would soon be on fire, and cried to father Zeus to save the earth from the flames.
Zeus searched all the heavens for clouds and hurled his thunderbolts from the sky.
Phaethon fell from the chariot, down, down into a clear river.
The naiads cooled his burning brow, and gently sang him to sleep.
His sisters came to the banks of the river and wept.
That they might be always near Phaethon, Zeus, in pity changed them into poplar trees, and their tears became clear amber as they fell into the water.
At last the tired horses became quiet, and the great car rolled slowly back into its old path.
But the deserts and barren mountain tops still tell the story of the day Phaethon tried to drive the chariot of the sun.
THE GRATEFUL FOXES.
It was springtime in j.a.pan, and the blossoms hung thick on the cherry trees.
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