separate his parents, and with his
iron weapon he effected his object. All the brothers rejoiced except
one, Okeanos, and he remained faithful to his father.[188]

It would be well for the sake of the story itself to give a creation
myth from India, but I shall have other use for it than its particular
charm.

"'In the beginning, when Twashtri came to the creation
of woman, he found that he had exhausted his materials
in the making of man, and that no solid elements were
left. In this dilemma, after profound meditation, he
did as follows. He took the rotundity of the moon, and
the curves of creepers, and the clinging of tendrils,
and the trembling of grass, and the slenderness of the
reed, and the bloom of flowers, and the lightness of
leaves, and the tapering of the elephant's trunk, and
the glances of deer, and the clustering of rows of
bees, and the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, and the
weeping of clouds, and the fickleness of the winds,
and the timidity of the hare, and the vanity of the
peacock, and the softness of the parrot's bosom, and
the hardness of adamant, and the sweetness of honey,
and the cruelty of the tiger, and the warm glow of
fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of
jays, and the cooing of the _kokila_, and the
hypocrisy of the crane, and the fidelity of the
_chakrawaka_, and compounding all these together, he
made woman and gave her to man. But after one week,
man came to him and said: Lord, this creature that you
have given me makes my life miserable. She chatters
incessantly and teases me beyond endurance, never
leaving me alone; and she requires incessant
attention, and takes all my time up, and cries about
nothing, and is always idle; and so I have come to
give her back again, as I cannot live with her. So
Twashtri said: Very well; and he took her back. Then
after another week, man came again to him and said:
Lord, I find that my life is very lonely, since I
gave you back that creature. I remember how she used
to dance and sing to me, and look at me out of the
corner of her eye, and play with me, and cling to me;
and her laughter was music, and she was beautiful to
look at, and soft to touch; so give her back to me
again. So Twashtri said: Very well; and gave h