Much to her astonishment, this hole kept spreading wider and wider, and growing deeper and deeper, until it really seemed to have no bottom; and all the while, there came a rumbling noise out of its depths, louder and louder, and nearer and nearer, and sounding like the tramp of horses' hoofs and the rattling of wheels.Too much frightened to run away, she stood straining her eyes into this wonderful cavity, and soon saw a team of four sable horses, snorting smoke out of their nostrils, and tearing their way out of the earth with a splendid golden chariot whirling at their heels.They leaped out of the bottomless hole, chariot and all; and there they were, tossing their black manes, flourishing their black tails, and curvetting with every one of their hoofs off the ground at once, close by the spot where Proserpina stood.In the chariot sat the figure of a man, richly dressed, with a crown on his head, all flaming with diamonds.He was of a noble aspect, and rather handsome, but looked sullen and discontented; and he kept rubbing his eyes and shading them with his hand, as if he did not live enough in the sunshine to be very fond of its light.
As soon as this personage saw the affrighted Proserpina, he beckoned her to come a little nearer.
"Do not be afraid," said he, with as cheerful a smile as he knew how to put on."Come! Will you not like to ride a little way with me, in my beautiful chariot?"But Proserpina was so alarmed, that she wished for nothing but to get out of his reach.And no wonder.The stranger did not look remarkably good-natured, in spite of his smile; and as for his voice, its tones were deep and stern, and sounded as much like the rumbling of an earthquake underground than anything else.As is always the case with children in trouble, Proserpina's first thought was to call for her mother.
"Mother, Mother Ceres!" cried she, all in a tremble."Come quickly and save me."But her voice was too faint for her mother to hear.Indeed, it is most probable that Ceres was then a thousand miles off, making the corn grow in some far distant country.Nor could it have availed her poor daughter, even had she been within hearing; for no sooner did Proserpina begin to cry out, than the stranger leaped to the ground, caught the child in his arms, and again mounted the chariot, shook the reins, and shouted to the four black horses to set off.They immediately broke into so swift a gallop, that it seemed rather like flying through the air than running along the earth.In a moment, Proserpina lost sight of the pleasant vale of Enna, in which she had always dwelt.Another instant, and even the summit of Mount Aetna had become so blue in the distance, that she could scarcely distinguish it from the smoke that gushed out of its crater.But still the poor child screamed, and scattered her apron full of flowers along the way, and left a long cry trailing behind the chariot; and many mothers, to whose ears it came, ran quickly to see if any mischief had befallen their children.But Mother Ceres was a great way off, and could not hear the cry.
As they rode on, the stranger did his best to soothe her.
"Why should you be so frightened, my pretty child?" said he, trying to soften his rough voice."I promise not to do you any harm.What! you have been gathering flowers? Wait till we come to my palace, and I will give you a garden full of prettier flowers than those, all made of pearls, and diamonds, and rubies.Can you guess who I am? They call my name Pluto; and Iam the king of diamonds and all other precious stones.Every atom of the gold and silver that lies under the earth belongs to me, to say nothing of the copper and iron, and of the coal mines, which supply me with abundance of fuel.Do you see this splendid crown upon my head? You may have it for a plaything.
O, we shall be very good friends, and you will find me more agreeable than you expect, when once we get out of this troublesome sunshine.""Let me go home!" cried Proserpina."Let me go home!""My home is better than your mother's," answered King Pluto.
"It is a palace, all made of gold, with crystal windows; and because there is little or no sunshine thereabouts, the apartments are illuminated with diamond lamps.You never saw anything half so magnificent as my throne.If you like, you may sit down on it, and be my little queen, and I will sit on the footstool.""I don't care for golden palaces and thrones," sobbed Proserpina."Oh, my mother, my mother! Carry me back to my mother!"But King Pluto, as he called himself, only shouted to his steeds to go faster.
"Pray do not be foolish, Proserpina," said he, in rather a sullen tone."I offer you my palace and my crown, and all the riches that are under the earth; and you treat me as if I were doing you an injury.The one thing which my palace needs is a merry little maid, to run upstairs and down, and cheer up the rooms with her smile.And this is what you must do for King Pluto.""Never!" answered Proserpina, looking as miserable as she could."I shall never smile again till you set me down at my mother's door."But she might just as well have talked to the wind that whistled past them, for Pluto urged on his horses, and went faster than ever.Proserpina continued to cry out, and screamed so long and so loudly that her poor little voice was almost screamed away; and when it was nothing but a whisper, she happened to cast her eyes over a great broad field of waving grain--and whom do you think she saw? Who, but Mother Ceres, making the corn grow, and too busy to notice the golden chariot as it went rattling along.The child mustered all her strength, and gave one more scream, but was out of sight before Ceres had time to turn her head.
