,
like the shepherd, found the place friendly. Nowhere else were the
flocks so white and fair to see, like clouds loitering along a bright
sky; and sometimes, when he chose, their keeper sang to them. Then the
grasshoppers drew near and the swans sailed close to the river banks,
and the countrymen gathered about to hear wonderful tales of the slaying
of the monster Python, and of a king with ass's ears, and of a lovely
maiden, Daphne, who grew into a laurel-tree. In time the rumor of these
things drew the king himself to listen; and Admetus, who had been to see
the world in the ship Argo, knew at once that this was no earthly
shepherd, but a god. From that day, like a true king, he treated his
guest with reverence and friendliness, asking no questions; and the god
was well pleased.

Now it came to pass that Admetus fell in love with a beautiful maiden,
Alcestis, and, because of the strange condition that her father Pelias
had laid upon all suitors, he was heavy-hearted. Only that man who
should come to woo her in a chariot drawn by a wild boar and a lion
might ever marry Alcestis; and this task was enough to puzzle even a
king.

As for the shepherd, when he heard of it he rose, one fine morning, and
left the sheep and went his way,--no one knew whither. If the sun had
gone out, the people could not have been more dismayed. The king himself
went, late in the day, to walk by the river Amphrysus, and wonder if his
gracious keeper of the flocks had deserted him in a time of need. But at
that very moment, whom should he see returning from the woods but the
shepherd, glorious as sunset, and leading side by side a lion and a
boar, as gentle as two sheep! The very next morning, with joy and
gratitude, Admetus set out in his chariot for the kingdom of Pelias, and
there he wooed and won Alcestis, the most loving wife that was ever
heard of.

It was well for Admetus that he came home with such a comrade, for the
year was at an end, and he was to lose his shepherd. The strange man
came to take leave of the king and queen whom he had befriended.

"Blessed be your flocks, Admetus," he said, smiling. "They shall prosper
even though I leave them. And, because you can discern the gods that
come to you in the guise of wayfarers, happiness shall never go far from
your home, but ever return to be your guest. No man may live on earth
forever, but this one gift have I obtained for you. When your last hour
draws near, if any one shall be