d
many wiles, he found the other had as many shifts, he began to walk
across the sand, himself in front, while the Son of Zeus and Leto came
behind. Soon they came, these lovely children of Zeus, to the top of
fragrant Olympus, to their father, the Son of Cronos; for there were the
scales of judgement set for them both.

There was an assembly on snowy Olympus, and the immortals who perish not
were gathering after the hour of gold-throned Dawn.

(ll. 327-329) Then Hermes and Apollo of the Silver Bow stood at the
knees of Zeus: and Zeus who thunders on high spoke to his glorious son
and asked him:

(ll. 330-332) 'Phoebus, whence come you driving this great spoil, a
child new born that has the look of a herald? This is a weighty matter
that is come before the council of the gods.'

(ll. 333-364) Then the lord, far-working Apollo, answered him: 'O my
father, you shall soon hear no trifling tale though you reproach me that
I alone am fond of spoil. Here is a child, a burgling robber, whom I
found after a long journey in the hills of Cyllene: for my part I have
never seen one so pert either among the gods or all men that catch folk
unawares throughout the world. He stole away my cows from their meadow
and drove them off in the evening along the shore of the loud-roaring
sea, making straight for Pylos. There were double tracks, and wonderful
they were, such as one might marvel at, the doing of a clever sprite;
for as for the cows, the dark dust kept and showed their footprints
leading towards the flowery meadow; but he himself--bewildering
creature--crossed the sandy ground outside the path, not on his feet nor
yet on his hands; but, furnished with some other means he trudged his
way--wonder of wonders!--as though one walked on slender oak-trees. Now
while he followed the cattle across sandy ground, all the tracks showed
quite clearly in the dust; but when he had finished the long way across
the sand, presently the cows' track and his own could not be traced
over the hard ground. But a mortal man noticed him as he drove the
wide-browed kine straight towards Pylos. And as soon as he had shut them
up quietly, and had gone home by crafty turns and twists, he lay down in
his cradle in the gloom of a dim cave, as still as dark night, so that
not even an eagle keenly gazing would have spied him. Much he rubbed his
eyes with his hands as he prepared falsehood, and himself straightway
said roundly: "I have not seen them: I have no