THE STORY OF THE LAUREL
Once upon a time there was a great flood over all the earth. Some
wicked people had angered the gods, and Jupiter sent all the waters of
the earth and sky to cover the earth.
He did not want the waters to dry up until all the people were
drowned, so he shut fast in their caverns all the winds except the
south wind, which was sometimes called the messenger of the rain. And
Jupiter sent this messenger of his to wander over all the earth.
A mighty figure of ruin he was, as he swept along, emptying the clouds
as he passed. His face was covered with a veil like the night, his
hair was loaded with showers, and his wings and his cloak were
dripping wet. The gods of the ocean and the river gods all helped him
in his work; till, in a short time the whole earth was out of sight
under a vast sea and all the wicked were drowned.
Then Jupiter was sorry to see the earth looking so empty and deserted,
so he called home the south wind and set the other winds free. The
north wind and the east wind and the gentle west wind swept over the
earth until it was again dry and green. After that Jupiter sent a new
race of better men and women to live upon it.
But, strange to say, the water had brought forth many queer new
animals; and among them was a huge monster, so ugly that I will not
even try to tell you what it looked like, and so wicked and cruel that
the people for miles around the swampy land where it dwelt lived in
constant terror.
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