f
men, and Prokris knew, from the spear which she held in her hand and
the hound which crouched before her, that it was Artemis, the mighty
child of Zeus and Leto. Then Prokris fell at her feet, and said, "O
lady Artemis, pity me in my great sorrow;" and Artemis answered, "Fear
not, Prokris, I know thy grief. Kephalos hath done thee a great wrong,
but he shall fall by the same device wherewith he requited thy pure
and trusting love." Then she gave to Prokris her hound and her spear,
and said, "Hasten now to thine own land, and go stand before Kephalos,
and I will put a spell upon him that he may not know thee. Follow him
in the chase, and at whatsoever thou mayest cast this spear, it shall
fall, and from this hound no prey which thou mayest seek for shall
ever escape."

So Prokris sailed back to the land of Erechtheus with the gifts of
Artemis. And when Kephalos went to the chase, Prokris followed him,
and all the glory of the hunt fell to her portion, for the hound
struck down whatever it seized, and her spear never missed its aim.
And Kephalos marveled greatly, and said to the maiden, "Give me thy
hound and thy spear," and he besought the stranger many times for the
gift, till at last Prokris said, "I will not give them but for thy
love, thou must forsake Eos and come to dwell with me." Then Kephalos
said, "I care not for Eos; so only I have thy gifts, thou shalt have
my love." But even as he spoke these words, a change came over the
face of the stranger, and he saw that it was Prokris herself who stood
before him. And Prokris said, "Ah, Kephalos, once more thou hast
promised to love me, and now may I keep thy love, and remain with thee
always. Almost I may say that I never loved any one but thee, but thou
art changed, Kephalos, although still the same, else wouldst thou not
have promised to love me for the gift of a hound and a spear." Then
Kephalos besought Prokris to forgive him, and he said, "I am caught in
the trap which I laid for thee, but I have fallen deeper. When thou
gavest thy love to me as to a stranger, it pleased thee yet to think
that I was like Kephalos, and my vow to thee has been given for the
mere gifts which I coveted." But Prokris only said, "My joy is come
back to me again, and now I will leave thee no more."

So once more in the land of Erechtheus Prokris and Kephalos dwelt
together in a true and deep love. Once more they wandered over hill
and dale as in the times that were past, and looked