o see her face, only Prokris
knew not of her own beauty, and thought not of her own goodness. But
they amongst whom she lived, the old and the young, the sorrowful and
happy, all said that Prokris, the child of Herse, was always as fair
and bright as the dew of early morning.

[Illustration: THALIA (_Muse of Comedy_).]

Once in her many wanderings she had climbed the heights of Mount
Hymettos, almost before the first streak of dawn was seen in the sky.
Far away, as she looked over the blue sea, her eyes rested on the
glittering cliffs of Euboea, and she looked and saw that a ship was
sailing towards the shore beneath the hill of Hymettos. Presently it
reached the shore, and she could see that a man stepped out of the
ship, and began to climb the hill, while the rest remained on the
beach. As he came nearer to her, Prokris knew that his face was very
fair, and she thought that she had never seen such beauty in mortal
man before. She had heard that sometimes the gods come down from their
home on Olympos to mingle among the children of men, and that
sometimes the bright heroes were seen in the places where they had
lived on the earth before they were taken to dwell in the halls of
Zeus. As the stranger came near to her the sun rose brightly and
without a cloud from the dark sea, and its light fell on his face, and
made it gleam with more than mortal beauty. Gently he came towards
her, and said, "Lady, I am come from the far-off eastern land, and as
I drew near to this shore I saw that some one was resting here upon
the hill. So I hastened to leave the ship that I might learn the name
of the country which I have reached. My name is Kephalos, and my
father, Helios, lives in a beautiful home beyond the sea, but I am
traveling over the earth, till I shall have gone over every land and
seen all the cities which men have built. Tell me now thy name, and
the name of this fair land." Then she said, "Stranger, my name is
Prokris, and I am the daughter of King Erechtheus, who dwells at
Athens yonder, where thou seest the bright line of Kephisos flowing
gently into the sea." So Prokris guided the stranger to her father's
house, and Erechtheus received him kindly, and spread a banquet before
him. But as they feasted and drank the dark red wine, he thought
almost that Kephalos must be one of the bright heroes come back to his
own land, so fair and beautiful was he to look upon, and that none
save only his own child, Prokris, migh