o the town, and would
allow no one to pass who could not answer a riddle which it asked. This
creature had the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of
an eagle; and, as it ate up all those who could not guess its riddle,
the people were very much frightened.

Many persons had already been slain; for, although the bravest men had
gone out to kill it, they had lost their lives in the attempt, as no one
could harm it unless he guessed the mysterious riddle.

Laius, the king, hoping to learn from the oracle at Delphi the answer to
the riddle, had ridden off in his chariot; but the people grew more
excited still, when a messenger came running into the town, and said
that the king and all his servants had been killed by robbers, and that
their dead bodies had been found in the middle of the road.

OEdipus paid no attention to this news; for he little suspected that
the old man whom he had killed was the king, whom everybody loved, and
for whom they now mourned with noisy grief.

He was, however, deeply interested in the story of the Sphinx; and he
was so sure that he could guess the riddle, that he immediately set out
to find the monster. He walked boldly along the road until stopped by
the Sphinx, which told him to answer this riddle if he wished to live:
"What creature walks upon four feet in the morning, upon two at noon,
and upon three at night?"

After a few moments' deep thought, OEdipus answered that the creature
was _man_. "For," said he, "in the morning of life, or in babyhood, man
creeps on hands and knees; at noon, or in manhood, he walks erect; and
at evening, or in old age, he supports his tottering steps with a
staff."

The Sphinx's riddle was guessed; and the monster, knowing that its power
was now at an end, tried to get away. But OEdipus would not allow it
to do so; and, drawing his sword, he forced it back until it fell over a
precipice, on the sharp stones below, and was dashed to pieces.

X. BLINDNESS AND DEATH OF OEDIPUS.

Boeotia was now rid of the Sphinx; and when the The'bans heard the
joyful news of its death, they welcomed OEdipus with much joy. In
reward for his bravery, they gave him not only the throne, but also the
hand of Jocasta, the widowed queen. It was thus that OEdipus, although
he did not know it, fulfilled the second part of the prophecy, and
married his own mother.

Several years now passed by, during which OEdipus ruled the Thebans so
wisely, that they a