sfied that they did not care to hunt any more that day. The
child struggled and fought as hard as she knew how, but it was of no
use. The hunters carried her down the mountain, and took her to the
house where they lived on the other side of the forest. At first she
cried all the time, for she sadly missed the bear that had been a mother
to her so long. But the hunters made a great pet of her, and gave her
many pretty things to play with, and were very kind; and it was not long
till she began to like her new home.

The hunters named her Atalanta, and when she grew older, they made her a
bow and arrows, and taught her how to shoot; and they gave her a light
spear, and showed her how to carry it and how to hurl it at the game or
at an enemy. Then they took her with them when they went hunting, and
there was nothing in the world that pleased her so much as roaming
through the woods and running after the deer and other wild animals. Her
feet became very swift, so that she could run faster than any of the
men; and her arms were so strong and her eyes so sharp and true that
with her arrow or her spear she never missed the mark. And she grew up
to be very tall and graceful, and was known throughout all Arcadia as
the fleet-footed huntress.

II. THE BRAND ON THE HEARTH.

Now, not very far from the land of Arcadia there was a little city named
Calydon. It lay in the midst of rich wheat fields and fruitful
vineyards; but beyond the vineyards there was a deep dense forest where
many wild beasts lived. The king of Calydon was named OEneus, and he
dwelt in a white palace with his wife Althea and his boys and girls. His
kingdom was so small that it was not much trouble to govern it, and so
he spent the most of his time in hunting or in plowing or in looking
after his grape vines. He was said to be a very brave man, and he was
the friend of all the great heroes of that heroic time.

The two daughters of OEneus and Althea were famed all over the world for
their beauty; and one of them was the wife of the hero Hercules, who
had freed Prometheus from his chains, and done many other mighty deeds.
The six sons of OEneus and Althea were noble, handsome fellows; but the
noblest and handsomest of them all was Meleager, the youngest.

When Meleager was a tiny babe only seven days old, a strange thing
happened in the white palace of the king. Queen Althea awoke in the
middle of the night, and saw a fire blazing on the hearth. She won