Free Favorite Greek Myths (Yesterday's Classics) by Lilian Stoughton Hyde Page B

the south came up and filled the sails. The crowd of people who stood watching on the shore all took this for a good omen.
    In those days any one who sailed far out into the open sea was likely to encounter all sorts of strange monsters and unknown terrors. The Argonauts, as these heroes were called, from the name of their ship, the Argo, had not sailed so very many miles before they saw a number of Harpies hovering over a rocky cape that jutted out into the sea. The Harpies were great birds like giant vultures, with faces like women.
    As the Argonauts came nearer the cape, they could see that these horrible Harpies were tormenting a blind old man who sat among the trees in his garden. Next they could see that the man wore a crown on his head, and must therefore be a king, and that he was trying to eat his breakfast, which had been placed before him on a small table. Just as he had raised a morsel of food to his mouth, a Harpy would swoop down with a great rush of wings, snatch the food, and carry it away.
    The sons of Boreas, feeling sorry for the poor old king, spread their purple wings, which were larger and stronger than those of the Harpies, rushed out from the Argo, drove the Harpies away, and chased them over the mountains.
    The blind old king, whose name was Phineus, was very grateful to the sons of Boreas. He asked where the Argonauts were going. When he found that they were going to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece, he told them how to contrive a safe passage through the Symplegades, two huge rocks which the Argonauts would have to pass when they entered the Black Sea.
    Many and many a good ship had been crushed by the Symplegades; for when a ship or any moving object passed between them, these rocks had a trick of whirling around on their bases, and then crashing together with a force that would grind almost any substance into powder. To avoid such a calamity, King Phineus told the Argonauts to send a dove through the narrow passage between the rocks; and the moment that the rocks, after closing, began to swing open again, to row the Argo through with all possible speed, before they could close a second time.
    The next day, the Argo reached the Symplegades, which rose up out of the sea like two strong towers. Jason, following the advice of King Phineus, took the swiftest of his doves, and sent it through between them. The huge rocks came together with a roar like thunder, then began to move slowly back to their places. Quick, the Argo shot through. But before her rudder was quite clear of the rocks, it was caught between them, as they crashed together again, and was crushed to atoms. The heroes all shuddered at their narrow escape, and rowed the ship away from those cruel rocks as quickly as they could.
    When all danger was over, Jason thought with pity of the hard fate of the dove. Just then, the gentle bird came fluttering down from the blue sky, and lit on his shoulder, cooing and turning and spreading out its tail, as happy as if it knew that it had saved the Argo's crew. Its white wings had been too swift for the rocks.
    After this the Symplegades never crushed any more ships; for they had come together with such great force that they could not separate themselves again, but became one rock.
    The Argonauts sailed a long way farther, and saw many strange things. One day they passed the Island of Mars, where the Stymphalian birds built their nests, and here they found two sons of Phrixus who had been shipwrecked. They took these men into their ship, and gave them food and clothing. From them they found out that Æetes, the king of Colchis, was a cruel and wicked man whom they would have good reason to fear; and that the Golden Fleece was guarded by a most frightful dragon. Soon after this they reached Colchis. They came into the harbor at night, and anchored the Argo among trees and thick-growing bushes, where it would not be likely to be discovered.

III
The Winning of the Golden Fleece
    T HE next day,