come here, good dog."

Pluto pulled the horses' reins, and the chariot stopped between two
big tall pillars. The dog got up and stood on his hind legs, so that
he could put his paws on the chariot wheel. What a strange dog he was!
A big, rough, ugly-looking monster, with three heads each fiercer than
the other.

King Pluto patted his heads and the dog wagged his tail with delight.
Proserpina was much afraid when she saw that his tail was a live
dragon, with fiery eyes and big poisonous teeth.

"Will the dog bite me?" she asked, creeping closer to King Pluto. "How
very ugly he is."

"Oh, never fear," Pluto answered; "he never bites people unless they
try to come in here when I do not want them. Down, Cerberus. Now,
Proserpina, we will drive on."

The black horses started again and King Pluto seemed very happy to
find himself once more at home.

All along the road Proserpina could see diamonds, and rubies and
precious stones sparkling, and there were bits of real gold among the
rocks. It was a very rich place.

Not far from the gateway they came to an iron bridge. Pluto stopped
the chariot and told Proserpina to look at the river which ran
underneath. It was very black and muddy, and flowed slowly, very
slowly, as if it had quite forgotten which way it wanted to go, and
was in no hurry to flow anywhere.

"This is the river Lethe," said King Pluto; "do you not think it a
very pleasant stream?"

"I think it is very dismal," said Proserpina.

"Well, I like it," answered Pluto, who got rather cross when any one
did not agree with him. "It is a strange kind of river. If you drink
only a little sip of the water, you will at once forget all your care
and sorrow. When we reach the palace, you shall have some in a golden
cup, and then you will not cry any more for your mother, and will be
perfectly happy with me."

"Oh no, oh no!" said Proserpina, sobbing again. "O mother, mother,
I will never forget you; I do not want to be happy by forgetting all
about you."

"We shall see," said King Pluto; "you do not know what good times we
will have in my palace. Here we are, just at the gate. Look at the big
pillars; they are all made of solid gold."

He got out of the chariot and carried Proserpina in his arms up a long
stair into the great hall of the palace. It was beautifully lit by
hundreds of diamonds and rubies which shone like lamps. It was very
rich and splendid to look at, but it was cold and lonely and Pluto
mu