an to him, and welcomed him to the Western
Land and to their garden.

"We knew that you were coming," they said, "for the winds told us. But
why do you come?"

Perseus told them of all that had happened to him since he was a child,
and of his quest of Medusa's head; and he said that he had come to ask
them to give him three things to help him in his fight with the Gorgons.

The Maidens answered that they would give him not three things, but
four. Then one of them gave him a sharp sword, which was crooked like a
sickle, and which she fastened to the belt at his waist; and another
gave him a shield, which was brighter than any looking-glass you ever
saw; and the third gave him a magic pouch, which she hung by a long
strap over his shoulder.

"These are three things which you must have in order to obtain Medusa's
head; and now here is a fourth, for without it your quest must be in
vain." And they gave him a magic cap, the Cap of Darkness; and when they
had put it upon his head, there was no creature on the earth or in the
sky--no, not even the Maidens themselves--that could see him.

When at last he was arrayed to their liking, they told him where he
would find the Gorgons, and what he should do to obtain the terrible
head and escape alive. Then they kissed him and wished him good luck,
and bade him hasten to do the dangerous deed. And Perseus donned the Cap
of Darkness, and sped away and away towards the farthermost edge of the
earth; and the three Maidens went back to their tree to sing and to
dance and to guard the golden apples until the old world should become
young again.

V. THE DREADFUL GORGONS.

With the sharp sword at his side and the bright shield upon his arm,
Perseus flew bravely onward in search of the dreadful Gorgons; but he
had the Cap of Darkness upon his head, and you could no more have seen
him than you can see the wind. He flew so swiftly that it was not long
until he had crossed the mighty ocean which encircles the earth, and had
come to the sunless land which lies beyond; and then he knew, from what
the Maidens had told him, that the lair of the Gorgons could not be far
away.

He heard a sound as of some one breathing heavily, and he looked around
sharply to see where it came from. Among the foul weeds which grew
close to the bank of a muddy river there was something which glittered
in the pale light. He flew a little nearer; but he did not dare to look
straight forward, lest he should al