lcos by the sea.

And AEson, when he was driven out, went sadly away out of the town,
leading his little son by the hand; and he said to himself, "I must hide
the child in the mountains; or Pelias will surely kill him, because he
is the heir."

So he went up from the sea across the valley, through the vineyards and
the olive groves, and across the torrent of Anauros, toward Pelion the
ancient mountain, whose brows are white with snow.

He went up and up into the mountain over marsh, and crag, and down, till
the boy was tired and footsore, and AEson had to bear him in his arms,
till he came to the mouth of a lonely cave, at the foot of a mighty
cliff.

Above the cliff the snow wreaths hung, dripping and cracking in the sun.
But at its foot around the cave's mouth grew all fair flowers and herbs,
as if in a garden, ranged in order, each sort by itself. There they grew
gayly in the sunshine, and the spray of the torrent from above; while
from the cave came the sound of music, and a man's voice singing to the
harp.

Then AEson put down the lad, and whispered:

"Fear not, but go in, and whomsoever you shall find, lay your hands upon
his knees, and say, 'In the name of Zeus the father of gods and men, I
am your guest from this day forth.'"

Then the lad went in without trembling, for he, too, was a hero's son;
but when he was within, he stopped in wonder, to listen to that magic
song.

And there he saw the singer lying upon bear skins and fragrant boughs;
Cheiron, the ancient centaur, the wisest of all things beneath the sky.
Down to the waist he was a man; but below he was a noble horse; his
white hair rolled down over his broad shoulders, and his white beard
over his broad brown chest; and his eyes were wise and mild, and his
forehead like a mountain wall.

And in his hands he held a harp of gold, and struck it with a golden
key; and as he struck, he sang till his eyes glittered, and filled all
the cave with light.

And he sang of the birth of Time, and of the heavens and the dancing
stars; and of the ocean, and the ether, and the fire, and the shaping of
the wondrous earth. And he sang of the treasures of the hills, and the
hidden jewels of the mine, and the veins of fire and metal, and the
virtues of all healing herbs, and of the speech of birds, and of
prophecy, and of hidden things to come.

Then he sang of health, and strength, and manhood, and a valiant heart;
and of music, and hunting, and wrestling, a