y in the wide blue
sea, with only his snowy head and tail showing above the water. Poor
Europa was holding on with one hand to the ivory horn and stretching
the other back towards her dear brothers.

And there stood Cadmus and Phoenix and Cilix looking after her and
crying bitterly, until they could no longer see the white head among
the waves that sparkled in the sunshine.

Nothing more could be seen of the white bull, and nothing more of
their beautiful sister.

This was a sad tale for the three boys to carry back to their parents.
King Agenor loved his little girl Europa more than his kingdom or
anything else in the world, and when Cadmus came home crying and told
how a white bull had carried off his sister, the King was very angry
and full of grief.

"You shall never see my face again," he cried, "unless you bring back
my little Europa. Begone, and enter my presence no more till you come
leading her by the hand;" and his eyes flashed fire and he looked so
terribly angry that the poor boys did not even wait for supper, but
stole out of the palace wondering where they should go first.

While they were standing at the gate, the Queen came hurrying after
them. "Dear children," she said, "I will come with you."

"Oh no, mother," the boys answered, "it is a dark night, and there is
no knowing what troubles we may meet with; the blame is ours, and we
had better go alone."

"Alas!" said the poor Queen, weeping, "Europa is lost, and if I should
lose my three sons as well, what would become of me? I must go with my
children."

The boys tried to persuade her to stay at home, but the Queen cried so
bitterly that they had to let her go with them.

Just as they were about to start, their playfellow Theseus came
running to join them. He loved Europa very much, and longed to search
for her too. So the five set off together: the Queen, and Cadmus,
and Phoenix, and Cilix, and Theseus, and the last they heard was King
Agenor's angry voice saying, "Remember this, never may you come up
these steps again, till you bring back my little daughter."

The Queen and her young companions traveled many a weary mile: the
days grew to months, and the months became years, and still they found
no trace of the lost Princess. Their clothes were worn and shabby, and
the peasant people looked curiously at them when they asked, "Have you
seen a snow-white bull with a little Princess on its back, riding as
swiftly as the wind?"

And the far