“Of course, ladies first.”
“All right,” said Uncle Henry, “everybody find Arcturus in the hem of Boötes’ kilt. Get that? Well, then, draw a line in the sand, Betty, from Boötes’ right shoulder through Arcturus, and extend the line about as far again. ([10]) Then look in the sky at that point for a bright star.”
“I see it!” cried Betty. The boys picked it out next moment.
“Well,” said Uncle Henry, “it doesn’t look much like an ear of corn, does it? That’s what it is, though; an ear of corn held in the Virgin’s left hand. Its name, Spica, means just that. The Virgin is scattering grains from the ear of corn with her right hand, to attract the birds of Starland—the swan, the eagle, and the dove. We’ll find the eagle a little later on, but the dove is so far south that we never see it well. The boys and girls in South America see Noah’s dove, but we can’t.”
“Now,” continued Uncle Henry, “follow along northward from Spica to a point just below the big lion’s tail. There is the Virgin’s head. Between it and Spica are two fairly bright stars. The one nearest Spica is the Virgin’s shoulder. Her left arm hangs at her side, from the shoulder to Spica, while her right arm extends in the direction of the great bear’s tail. Put down the pebbles as fast as you find the stars, Betty.”
When Betty and Uncle Henry had finished the Virgin, or Virgo, as she is called in Latin, she looked like this:
Then Uncle Henry added the little half circle of small pebbles, with one larger one near the centre, shown in the picture just at the left of Boötes. ([11])
“What is that, Uncle Henry?” asked all the children at once.