Page:The-story-of-the-golden-fleece--281903-29-andrew-lang.djvu/24

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

The Story of the Golden Fleece


them, and at sunset he saw them sink, golden and rose-colored and purple, and go down into the dark with the setting sun. Now, the king went home to his palace, hut he was very unhappy, and nothing gave him any pleasure. All day he roamed about among the hills, and looked for the beautiful girls, hut he never found them. And all night he dreamed about them, till he grew thin and pale and was like to die.

Now, the way with sick men then was that they made a pilgrimage to the temple of a god (for they were heathen people, worshiping many gods), and in the temple they offered sacrifices. Then they hoped that the god would appear to them in a dream, and tell them how they might be made well again. So the king drove in his chariot a long way, to the

18