upper world. Unfortunately, however, this was during the time

when Ceres had forbidden any fruits or vegetables to grow; and,
after seeking all over the earth, King Pluto's servant found

only a single pomegranate, and that so dried up as not to be
worth eating. Nevertheless, since there was no better to be

had, he brought this dry, old withered pomegranate home to the
palace.

put it on a magnificent golden salver, and carried it up to
Proserpina. Now, it happened, curiously enough, that, just as

the servant was bringing the pomegranate into the back door of
the palace, our friend Quicksilver had gone up the front steps,

on his errand to get Proserpina away from King Pluto.
As soon as Proserpina saw the pomegranate on the golden salver,

she told the servant he had better take it away again.
"I shall not touch it, I assure you," said she. "If I were ever

so hungry, I should never think of eating such a miserable, dry
pomegranate as that."

"It is the only one in the world," said the servant.
He set down the golden salver, with the wizened pomegranate

upon it, and left the room. When he was gone, Proserpina could
not help coming close to the table, and looking at this poor

specimen of dried fruit with a great deal of eagerness; for, to
say the truth, on seeing something that suited her taste, she

felt all the six months' appetitetaking possession of her at
once. To be sure, it was a very wretched-looking pomegranate,

and seemed to have no more juice in it than an oyster shell.
But there was no choice of such things in King Pluto's palace.

This was the first fruit she had seen there, and the last she
was ever likely to see; and unless she ate it up immediately,

it would grow drier than it already was, and be wholly unfit to
eat.

"At least, I may smell it," thought Proserpina.
So she took up the pomegranate, and applied it to her nose;

and, somehow or other, being in such close neighborhood to her
mouth, the fruit found its way into that little red cave. Dear

me! what an everlasting pity! Before Proserpina knew what she
was about, her teeth had actuallybitten it, of their own

accord. Just as this fatal deed was done, the door of the
apartment opened, and in came King Pluto, followed by

Quicksilver, who had been urging him to let his little prisoner
go. At the first noise of their entrance, Proserpina withdrew

the pomegranate from her mouth. But Quicksilver (whose eyes
were very keen, and his wits the sharpest that ever anybody

had) perceived that the child was a little confused; and seeing
the empty salver, he suspected that she had been taking a sly

nibble of something or other. As for honest Pluto, he never
guessed at the secret.

"My little Proserpina," said the king, sitting down, and
affectionately drawing her between his knees, "here is

Quicksilver, who tells me that a great many misfortunes have
befallen innocent people on account of my detaining you in my

dominions. To confess the truth, I myself had already reflected
that it was an unjustifiable act to take you away from your

good mother. But, then, you must consider, my dear child, that
this vast palace is apt to be gloomy (although the precious

stones certainly shine very bright), and that I am not of the
most cheerfuldisposition, and that therefore it was a natural

thing enough to seek for the society of some merrier creature
than myself. I hoped you would take my crown for a plaything,

and me--ah, you laugh, naughty Proserpina--me, grim as I am,
for a playmate. It was a silly expectation."

"Not so extremely silly," whispered Proserpina. "You have
really amused me very much, sometimes."

"Thank you," said King Pluto, rather dryly. "But I can see
plainly enough, that you think my palace a dusky prison, and me

the iron-hearted keeper of it. And an iron heart I should
surely have, if I could detain you here any longer, my poor

child, when it is now six months since you tasted food. I give
you your liberty. Go with Quicksilver. Hasten home to your dear

mother."
Now, although you may not have supposed it, Proserpina found it

impossible to take leave of poor King Pluto without some
regrets, and a good deal of compunction for not telling him

about the pomegranate. She even shed a tear or two, thinking
how lonely and cheerless the great palace would seem to him,

with all its ugly glare of artificial light, after she
herself--his one little ray of natural sunshine, whom he had

stolen, to be sure, but only because he valued her so
much--after she should have departed. I know not how many kind

things she might have said to the disconsolate king of the
mines, had not Quicksilver hurried her way.

"Come along quickly," whispered he in her ear, "or his majesty
may change his royal mind. And take care, above all things,

that you say nothing of what was brought you on the golden
salver."

In a very short time, they had passed the great gateway
(leaving the three-headed Cerberus, barking, and yelping, and

growling, with threefold din, behind them), and emerged upon
the surface of the earth. It was delightful to behold, as

Proserpina hastened along, how the path grew verdant behind and
on either side of her. Wherever she set her blessed foot, there

was at once a dewy flower. The violets gushed up along the
wayside. The grass and the grain began to sprout with tenfold

vigor and luxuriance, to make up for the dreary months that had
been wasted in barrenness. The starved cattle immediately set

to work grazing, after their long fast, and ate enormously, all
day, and got up at midnight to eat more.

But I can assure you it was a busy time of year with the
farmers, when they found the summer coming upon them with such

a rush. Nor must I forget to say, that all the birds in the
whole world hopped about upon the newly-blossoming trees, and

sang together, in a prodigiousecstasy of joy.
Mother Ceres had returned to her deserted home, and was sitting

disconsolately on the doorstep, with her torch burning in her
hand. She had been idly watching the flame for some moments

past, when, all at once, it flickered and went out.
"What does this mean?" thought she. "It was an enchanted torch,

and should have kept burning till my child came back."
Lifting her eyes, she was surprised to see a sudden verdure

flashing over the brown and barren fields, exactly as you may
have observed a golden hue gleaming far and wide across the

landscape, from the just risen sun.
"Does the earth disobey me?" xclaimed Mother Ceres,

indignantly. "Does it presume to be green, when I have bidden
it be barren, until my daughter shall be restored to my arms?"

"Then open your arms, dear mother," cried a well-known voice,
"and take your little daughter into them."

And Proserpina came running, and flung herself upon her
mother's bosom. Their mutualtransport is not to be described.

The grief of their separation had caused both of them to shed a
great many tears; and now they shed a great many more, because

their joy could not so well express itself in any other way.
When their hearts had grown a little more quiet, Mother Ceres

looked anxiously at Proserpina.
"My child," said she, "did you taste any food while you were in

King Pluto's palace?"
"Dearest mother," exclaimed Proserpina, "I will tell you the

whole truth. Until this very morning, not a morsel of food had