thrust forth (for he was twisted round the trunk of the tree on

which the Fleece hung), and seizing the poor antelope,



swallowed him with one snap of his jaws.

After this feat, the dragon seemed sensible that some other



living creature was within reach, on which he felt inclined to

finish his meal. In various directions he kept poking his ugly



snout among the trees, stretching out his neck a terrible long

way, now here, now there, and now close to the spot where Jason



and the princess were hiding behind an oak. Upon my word, as

the head came waving and undulating through the air, and



reaching almost within arm's length of Prince Jason, it was a

very hideous and uncomfortable sight. The gape of his enormous



jaws was nearly as wide as the gateway of the king's palace.

"Well, Jason," whispered Medea (for she was ill natured, as all



enchantresses are, and wanted to make the bold youth tremble),

"what do you think now of your prospect of winning the Golden



Fleece?"

Jason answered only by drawing his sword, and making a step



forward.

"Stay, foolish youth," said Medea, grasping his arm. "Do not



you see you are lost, without me as your good angel? In this

gold box I have a magic potion, which will do the dragon's



business far more effectually than your sword."

The dragon had probably heard the voices; for swift as



lightning, his black head and forked tongue came hissing among

the trees again, darting full forty feet at a stretch. As it



approached, Medea tossed the contents of the gold box right

down the monster's wide-open throat. Immediately, with an



outrageous hiss and a tremendous wriggle--flinging his tail up

to the tip-top of the tallest tree, and shattering all its



branches as it crashed heavily down again--the dragon fell at

full length upon the ground, and lay quite motionless.



"It is only a sleeping potion," said the enchantress to Prince

Jason. "One always finds a use for these mischievous creatures,



sooner or later; so I did not wish to kill him outright. Quick!

Snatch the prize, and let us begone. You have won the Golden



Fleece."

Jason caught the fleece from the tree, and hurried through the



grove, the deep shadows of which were illuminated as he passed

by the golden glory of the precious object that he bore along.



A little way before him, he beheld the old woman whom he had

helped over the stream, with her peacock beside her. She



clapped her hands for joy, and beckoning him to make haste,

disappeared among the duskiness of the trees. Espying the two



winged sons of the North Wind (who were disporting themselves

in the moonlight, a few hundred feet aloft), Jason bade them



tell the rest of the Argonauts to embark as speedily as

possible. But Lynceus, with his sharp eyes, had already caught



a glimpse of him, bringing the Golden Fleece, although several

stone walls, a hill, and the black shadows of the Grove of



Mars, intervened between. By his advice, the heroes had seated

themselves on the benches of the galley, with their oars held



perpendicularly, ready to let fall into the water.

As Jason drew near, he heard the Talking Image calling to him



with more than ordinary eagerness, in its grave, sweet voice:

"Make haste, Prince Jason! For your life, make haste!"



With one bound, he leaped aboard. At sight of the glorious

radiance of the Golden Fleece, the nine and forty heroes gave a



mighty shout, and Orpheus, striking his harp, sang a song of

triumph, to the cadence of which the galley flew over the



water, homeward bound, as if careering along with wings!

End

• prince [´prins] n.王子；亲王；君主 (初中英语单词)


• permission [pə´miʃən] n.允许；同意；许可 (初中英语单词)


• encounter [in´kauntə] vt.&n.偶然相遇；冲突 (初中英语单词)


• enable [i´neibəl] vt.使能够；赋予权力 (初中英语单词)


• equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)


• dragon [´drægən] n.龙 (初中英语单词)


• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)


• beloved [bi´lʌvd] a.为….所爱的 n.爱人 (初中英语单词)


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• forbid [fə´bid] vt.禁止，不许，阻止 (初中英语单词)


• scheme [ski:m] n.计划；阴谋，诡计 (初中英语单词)


• princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)


• intelligence [in´telidʒəns] n.智力；消息 (初中英语单词)


• sunset [´sʌnset] n.日落；晚霞 (初中英语单词)


• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)


• sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)


• pasture [´pɑ:stʃə] n.牧场；放牧 v.吃(草) (初中英语单词)


• thoroughly [´θʌrəli] ad.完全地，彻底地 (初中英语单词)


• likewise [´laikwaiz] ad.同样地；也，又 (初中英语单词)


• whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)


• breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)


• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)


• overhead [´əuvə,hed] ad.当头 a.在头上的 (初中英语单词)


• height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)


• voyage [´vɔi-idʒ] n.&vi.航海；航程；旅行 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• immense [i´mens] a.广大的，无限的 (初中英语单词)


• sensible [´sensəbəl] a.感觉得到的 (初中英语单词)


• prospect [´prɔspekt, prəs´pekt] n.景色；境界 v.勘察 (初中英语单词)


• contents [´kɔ:ntents] n.容纳物；要旨 (初中英语单词)


• throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)


• tremendous [tri´mendəs] a.可怕的；巨大的 (初中英语单词)


• sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)


• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)


• moonlight [´mu:nlait] n.&a.月光(的) (初中英语单词)


• aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在…上 (初中英语单词)


• striking [´straikiŋ] a.显著的，明显的 (初中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)


• wisely [´waizli] ad.明智地，聪明地 (高中英语单词)


• accordance [ə´kɔ:dəns] n.一致；调和 (高中英语单词)


• gladly [´glædli] ad.愉快地，高兴地 (高中英语单词)


• handful [hændful] n.一把，少数，一小撮 (高中英语单词)


• serpent [´sə:pənt] n.大毒蛇；阴险的人 (高中英语单词)


• upright [´ʌprait] a.直立的 ad.直立地 (高中英语单词)


• positively [´pɔzətivli] ad.确实；断然；绝对 (高中英语单词)


• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)


• onward [´ɔnwəd] ad.&a.向前(的) (高中英语单词)


• rapture [´ræptʃə] n.着迷；全神贯注 (高中英语单词)


• sunrise [´sʌnraiz] n.日出，黎明 (高中英语单词)


• frightful [´fraitfəl] a.可怕的；不愉快的 (高中英语单词)


• hideous [´hidiəs] a.丑陋的，可怕的 (高中英语单词)


• uncomfortable [ʌn´kʌmftəbəl] a.不舒服的，不自在的 (高中英语单词)


• gateway [´geit-wei] n.入口；通道；途径 (高中英语单词)


• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)


• peacock [´pi:kɔk] n.(雄)孔雀 vi.炫耀 (高中英语单词)


• eagerness [´i:gənis] n.渴望；热忱 (高中英语单词)


• homeward [´həumwəd] ad.&a.回家(的) (高中英语单词)


• cinder [´sində] n.炉渣；灰烬 (英语四级单词)


• accomplished [ə´kʌmpliʃt] a.完成了的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)


• solicit [sə´lisit] v.恳求，请求 (英语四级单词)


• fleece [fli:s] n.羊毛；羊毛状物 (英语四级单词)


• mouthful [´mauθful] n.一口；少量 (英语四级单词)


• resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)


• brazen [´breizən] a.黄铜制的；无耻的 (英语四级单词)


• galley [´gæli] n.单层甲板大帆船 (英语四级单词)


• inconvenience [,inkən´vi:niəns] n.不方便；打扰 (英语四级单词)


• glimmer [´glimə] n.&vi.闪光 (英语四级单词)


• obscurity [əb´skjuəriti] n.暗(淡)；朦胧；含糊 (英语四级单词)


• venerable [´venərəbəl] a.可尊敬的；森严的 (英语四级单词)


• radiance [´reidjəns] n.发光；光彩；辐射 (英语四级单词)


• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)


• antelope [´æntiləup] n.羚羊 (英语四级单词)


• winning [´winiŋ] n.&a.胜利(的) (英语四级单词)


• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)


• mischievous [´mistʃivəs] a.有害的；淘气的 (英语四级单词)


• embark [im´bɑ:k] v.上船；装载；开始 (英语四级单词)


• speedily [´spi:dili] ad.迅速地 (英语四级单词)


• cadence [´keidəns] n.抑扬；节奏；韵律 (英语四级单词)


• betimes [bi´taimz] ad.早；准时；不久以后 (英语六级单词)


• sleepless [´sli:pləs] a.失眠的；寂静的 (英语六级单词)


• fierceness [´fiəsnis] n.凶恶，残忍 (英语六级单词)


• gloriously [´glɔ:riəsli] ad.光荣地，辉煌地 (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)


• effectually [i´fektjuəli] ad.有效地 (英语六级单词)


• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)