stern man. It was Hades.

He had come up from his land of darkness, and was shading his eyes with his hands. He saw Persephone, beautiful with flowers, and instantly caught her in his arms and placed her in the chariot beside him. The flowers fell from her apron. "Oh! my pretty flowers," she cried, "I have lost them all." Then she saw the stern face of Hades. Frightened, she stretched out her hands to kind Apollo who was driving his chariot overhead. She called to her mother for help.

Hades drove straight toward his dark underground home. The horses seemed to fly. As they left the light, Hades tried to comfort Persephone. He told her of the wonders of his kingdom. He had gold and silver and all kinds of precious stones. Persephone saw gems glittering on every side as they went along, but she did not care for them.

Hades told her how lonely he was, and that he wished her to be his queen and share all his riches. Persephone did not want to be a queen. She longed only for her mother and the bright sunshine.

Soon they came to the land of Hades. It seemed very dark and dismal to Persephone, and very cold, too. A feast was ready for her, but she would not eat. She knew that anyone who ate in Hades' home could never return to earth again. She was very unhappy, though Hades tried in many ways to please her.

Everything on the earth was unhappy, too. One by one the flowers hung their heads and said, "We cannot bloom, for Persephone has gone." The trees dropped their leaves and moaned, "Persephone has gone, gone." The birds flew away and said, "We cannot sing for Persephone has gone."

Demeter was more miserable than anyone else. She had heard Persephone call her, and had gone straight home. She searched all the earth for her child. She asked everyone she met these questions, "Have you seen Persephone? Where is Persephone?" The only answer she ever received was, "Gone, gone, Persephone is gone!"

Demeter became a wrinkled old woman. No one would have known that she was the kind mother who had always smiled on the people. Nothing grew on the earth and all was dreary and barren. Demeter said that she would do nothing until Persephone returned to her. It was useless for the people to plow the soil. It was useless to plant the seeds. Nothing could grow without the help of Demeter. All the people were idle and sad.

When Demeter found no one on earth who could tell her about Persephone, she 

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