“At last came the joyful day when Walter said: ‘Now, old Sport, we’ll go home.’ How I jumped and barked at the word and how delightful it was to get back. But to my surprise, while they all petted me and were glad to see me, they all shouted: ‘Where’s the Blue Ribbon, the first prize! Let’s see it!’
“Every one crowded about that shining round blue ribbon thing. It angered me so that when Walter tied it on my collar I ran as hard as I could, and then went dog fashion for that old blue ribbon thing until there was nothing left but torn ribbon and a chewed-up piece of silver. It was the cause of all my troubles, and I never wanted to see it again.”
THE ADVENTURES OF PERSEUS
Part One
In which a brave young man shows wit as well as courage.
Perseus was a brave young man who lived with the king of Greece. The king decided to send him on some dangerous mission. So he said to him one day: “Perseus, you must find the Gorgons. They are three terrible demon sisters who live in Africa. Their bodies are covered with scales, their hands are like claws, and the worst of all is that they have snakes on their heads instead of hair. Be careful for if you look at them you will be turned to stone. The most dreadful is named Medusa.” Then the king told Perseus to go to Africa and cut off the Medusa’s head.
Perseus lay down to sleep before starting on his journey. When he awoke he found by his bedside a helmet, a shield of polished steel, a scythe-shaped dagger, and a pair of winged sandals. He put the helmet on his head, the shield on his arm, took the dagger in his hand and stepped into the sandals.
At once the sandals took him high up in the air, for they were winged sandals, and flew over land and sea with the one who wore them. After a few hours he found himself descending into a strange country. The sandals let him down on a hot, dusty desert.
Perseus walked all day long and at night came to a little cluster of palm trees, in which he saw a wooden hut. He marched up to the hut very boldly and knocked at the door with his sword. A cracked voice said, “Come in.” Perseus went in and found three old women warming their hands over a fire, though it was already so hot that Perseus could hardly endure it. They were very old and wrinkled.