the place which he had chosen for a home; for
there he found rest and quiet, and neither the hum of labor nor the din
of battle was likely ever to enter. One thing, however, must needs be
done before he could have perfect peace. There lived near the foot of
the mountain a huge serpent called Python, which was the terror of all
the land. Oftentimes, coming out of its den, this monster attacked the
flocks and herds, and sometimes even their keepers; and it had been
known to carry little children and helpless women to its den, and there
devour them.

The men of the place came to Apollo, and prayed him to drive out or
destroy their terrible enemy. So, taking in hand his silver bow, he
sallied out at break of day to meet the monster when it should issue
from its slimy cave. The vile creature shrank back when it saw its
radiant enemy, and would fain have hidden itself in the deep gorges of
the mountain. But Apollo quickly launched a swift arrow at it, crying,
"Thou bane of man, lie thou upon the earth, and enrich it with thy dead
body!" The never-erring arrow sped to the mark; and the great beast
died, wallowing in its gore. And the people in their joy came out to
meet the archer, singing paeans in his praise. They crowned him with
wild flowers and wreaths of olives, and hailed him as the Pythian king;
and the nightingales sang to him in the groves, and the swallows and
cicadas twittered and tuned their melodies in harmony with his lyre.

But as yet there were no priests in Apollo's temple; and he pondered,
long doubting, as to whom he should choose. One day he stood upon the
mountain's topmost peak, whence he could view all Greece and the seas
around it. Far away in the south, he spied a little ship sailing from
Crete to sandy Pylos; and the men who were on board were Cretan
merchants.

"These men shall serve in my temple!" he cried.

Upward he sprang, and high he soared above the sea; then swiftly
descending like a fiery star, he plunged into the waves. There he
changed himself into the form of a dolphin, and swam with speed to
overtake the vessel.

Long before the ship had reached Pylos, the mighty fish came up with
it, and struck its stern. The crew were dumb with terror, and sat
still in their places; their oars were motionless; the sail hung limp
and useless from the mast. Yet the vessel sped through the waves with
the speed of the wind, for the dolphin was driving it forward by the
force of his fins