Monsters of Greek Mythology, Volume Two Read Online Free PDF Page B

stairs to his bedchamber.
    The next time the water needed changing, Iole flashed out of the shadows, swung the bucket up, and ran out. She took her time about drawing water from the well, for the sun was shining brightly and the birds were singing … and she knew that the moppers would welcome a rest. Then she trotted back, swinging the bucket lightly, took a mop from the eldest servant and joined the others. Since she was very strong and quick and did as much work by herself as the other six together, she was made welcome and no one questioned her presence. They all thought she was simply another servant girl taken on by the majordomo.
    By the time the king descended, the enormous stairway was spotless. The servants stood with their face to the wall as the king passed. They had been trained to do that, because the king did not like to look at servants. This suited Iole, for she wished to attract as little attention as possible. But she did sneak a glance over her shoulder as he went by, and gasped with surprise. Eurystheus was not what she thought a king should look like. He was enormously fat, with a triple paunch and a multitude of chins. His face was red and bloated; his nose was a snout; he wheezed and grunted as he waddled down the stairs.
    By this time a group of courtiers had gathered in the reception hall and followed the king into the great dining hall where breakfast was served. Iole slipped among the horde of servants who were busy bringing in the breakfast, bearing great platters of food from the kitchen to the dining hall. And again she proved herself so swift and graceful, and bore the heavy platters with such ease, that she was welcomed among the servants and no one challenged her right to be there.
    After a few days Iole felt that she was fully accepted; it was as if she had worked in the palace all her life. And she began to plan her next move.
    Now, the juiciest topic of gossip in the court was Hercules, who had come and gone a week before. How the king had feared his coming, and stationed soldiers beyond the castle walls so that he might be warned when Hercules approached. How a soldier had rushed into the throne room, crying, “I have seen him, oh King! He approaches the wall. And he’s gigantic!” And how, when the king heard this, his red face had turned a ghastly purplish white, and he quivered like a great pudding. “Don’t let him enter!” he bellowed. “Don’t let him pass through the gate! Copreus! Copreus! Where the hell is Copreus? Oh, there you are. Copreus, you go and relay my wishes to Hercules. Tell him he must slay the Nemean Lion and bring me its hide. But meet him outside the walls. Run! Run!”
    Copreus rushed way. Awaiting his return, the king had behaved like a madman, gnawing his knuckles, roaring at people, hurling his scepter at them, threatening this one and that one with execution before the day was out. He quieted down only when Copreus returned and described his meeting with Hercules.
    â€œHe is huge, Your Majesty,” Copreus had said. “About nine feet tall and with shoulders like a span of oxen. But very gentle. He greeted me courteously, and listened quietly as I told him what you wanted him to do. And received the news calmly. ‘Tell the king I thank him for his confidence in me,’ he said. ‘And when I return with the lion’s hide, I hope to meet him personally.’ And he strode off.”
    â€œThat big, eh?” said the king. “You don’t think he has a chance against the lion, do you?”
    â€œOh, my lord,” said Copreus. “No chance at all. A hunting party went out against that lion in Nemea, I’m told. Tested men, warriors all, the strongest archers and spearmen in the land. The lion stood under a shower of spears and arrows, and they were like a fall of dry leaves. The beast wasn’t even scratched. Then he charged and killed the huntsmen, every one. Their bones lie