were to pass through an unknown sea, and they did not know what lands
they would come to. Indeed, it was feared that they would never come to
any land at all. Ships did not dare to go far from the shore in those
days. But Cadmus and his friends were not afraid. They were ready to
face any danger.

In a few days they came to a large island called Cyprus. Cadmus went on
shore, and tried to talk with the strange people who lived there. They
were very kind to him, but they did not understand his language. At last
he made out by signs to tell them who he was, and to ask them if they
had seen his little sister Europa or the white bull that had carried her
away. They shook their heads and pointed to the west.

Then the young men sailed on in their little ship. They came to many
islands, and stopped at every one, to see if they could find any trace
of Europa; but they heard no news of her at all. At last, they came to
the country which we now call Greece. It was a new country then, and
only a few people lived there, and Cadmus soon learned to speak their
language well. For a long time he wandered from one little town to
another, always telling the story of his lost sister.

II. THE PYTHIA.

One day an old man told Cadmus that if he would go to Delphi and ask the
Pythia, perhaps she could tell him all about Europa. Cadmus had never
heard of Delphi or of the Pythia, and he asked the old man what he
meant.

"I will tell you," said the man. "Delphi is a town, built near the foot
of Mount Parnassus, at the very center of the earth. It is the town of
Apollo, the Bringer of Light; and there is a temple there, built close
to the spot where Apollo killed a black serpent, many, many years ago.
The temple is the most wonderful place in the world. In the middle of
the floor there is a wide crack, or crevice; and this crevice goes down,
down into the rock, nobody knows how deep. A strange odor comes up out
of the crevice; and if any one breathes much of it, he is apt to fall
over and lose his senses."

"But who is the Pythia that you spoke about?" asked Cadmus.

"I will tell you," said the old man. "The Pythia is a wise woman, who
lives in the temple. When anybody asks her a hard question, she takes a
three-legged stool, called a tripod, and sets it over the crevice in
the floor. Then she sits on the stool and breathes the strange odor; and
instead of losing her senses as other people would do, she talks with
Apollo; and Apol