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Judd, Mary Catherine

"Classic Myths"

When
at last Castor was slain in a great battle, Pollux prayed Jupiter to let
them be again united. The prayer was granted. Not long after this, the
poets tell us, the star picture of the Twins was discovered in the sky,
and there the two loving brothers stay forever watching the earth to see
if they may help others to be faithful to the end.


THE MILKY WAY
_Russian_

Soon after the world was made, God created a beautiful maiden and gave
her charge of all the birds beneath the heavens. Her name was Lindu. Her
father's name was Uko. She knew all the birds of passage, and where they
should go in autumn, and she sent each flock on its way.
Lindu cared for the birds tenderly, like a mother for her children, and
gave them help whenever it was possible. She sent the stormy wind to
blow dust into the eyes of the fierce hunters when they were seeking to
slay her pets. It was not surprising that all the world loved her, and
those who dwelt in the sky most of all.
The North Star wished to make her his wife. He drove up to Uko's palace
with a dusky coach drawn by six black horses, and in the coach were ten
fine presents. But Lindu did not love him.
"You always stay in one place, and cannot stir from it," said she.


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