ke the hero
whom once the gods themselves had honored.

One day as he was standing near the palace having speech with the king,
a herdsman ran to him and cried out: "Peleus, Peleus, a dread thing has
happened in the unfurrowed fields." And when he had got his breath the
herdsman told of the thing that had happened.

They had brought the herd down to the sea. Suddenly, from the marshes
where the sea and land came together, a monstrous beast rushed out upon
the herd; like a wolf this beast was, but with mouth and jaws that were
more terrible than a wolf's even. The beast seized upon the cattle. Yet
it was not hunger that made it fierce, for the beasts that it killed it
tore, but did not devour. Tit rushed on and on, killing and tearing
more and more of the herd. "Soon," said the herdsman, "it will have
destroyed all in the herd, and then it will not spare to destroy the
other flocks and herds that are in the land."

Peleus was stricken to hear that his herd was being destroyed, but more
stricken to know that the land of a friendly king would be ravaged, and
ravaged on his account. For he knew that the terrible beast that had
come from where the sea and the land joined had been sent by Psamathe.
He went up on the tower that stood near the king's palace. He was able
to look out on the sea and able to look over all the land. And looking
across the bright valleys he saw the dread beast. He saw it rush
through his own mangled cattle and fall upon the herds of the kindly
king. He looked toward the sea and he prayed to Psamathe to spare the
land that he had come to. But, even as he prayed, he knew that Psamathe
would not harken to him. Then he made a prayer to Thetis, to his wife
who had seemed so unforgiving. He prayed her to deal with Psamathe so
that the land of Ceyx would not be altogether destroyed.

As he looked from the tower he saw the king come forth with arms in his
hands for the slaying of the terrible beast. Peleus felt fear for the
life of the kindly king. Down from the tower he came, and taking up his
spear he went with Ceyx.

Soon, in one of the brightest of the valleys, they came upon the beast;
they came between it and a herd of silken-coated cattle. Seeing the men
it rushed toward them with blood and foam upon its jaws. Then Peleus
knew that the spears they carried would be of little use against the
raging beast. His only thought was to struggle with it so that the king
might be able to save himself.

Ag