They shine out, clear and bright, whenever
Diana takes her silver bow, which we call the moon, and goes to hunt in
her secret fields or forests. These three stars have been called Orion's
Belt for thousands of years, and for ages children and grown people have
watched for their coming after the sun has gone below the horizon.
The story told of Orion by the ancient Greeks has been repeated by some
of our poets, and Henry W. Longfellow has written in his own beautiful
way of this same famous Greek hunter who never knew fear. Perhaps you
will be more interested in his poem after you have read this short
account of the mighty giant whose belt of stars is longer than other
giants were tall.
Orion was the son of Neptune, the god of the sea. His father gave him
power to walk upon the water or to wade in the deepest ocean without
drowning. You know that if he had the power of walking in such places,
he did not need to swim, and his steps were so long that he could walk
much faster than his swiftest enemy could run.
[Illustration: ORION WITH HIS CLUB]
Orion was very fond of hunting, and wore, as his mantle or robe, the
tawny skin of a huge lion he had slain. His club and his sword were his
only weapons, and he needed no others, for his long arms helped him to
strike before he himself could be hurt.
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