So she put on her turban, made of poppies (a
kind of flower which she was always noted for wearing) and got into her
car drawn by a pair of winged dragons, and was just ready to set off.
"Dear mother," said Proserpina, "I shall be very lonely while you are
away. May I not run down to the shore, and ask some of the sea nymphs to
come up out of the waves and play with me?"
"Yes, child," answered Mother Ceres. "The sea nymphs are good creatures,
and will never lead you into any harm. But you must take care not to
stray away from them, nor go wandering about the fields by yourself.
Young girls, without their mothers to take care of them, are very apt to
get into mischief."
The child promised to be as prudent as if she were a grown-up woman,
and, by the time the winged dragons had whirled the car out of sight,
she was already on the shore, calling to the sea nymphs to come and
play with her. They knew Proserpina's voice, and were not long in
showing their glistening faces and sea-green hair above the water, at
the bottom of which was their home. They brought along with them a great
many beautiful shells; and, sitting down on the moist sand, where the
surf wave broke over them, they busied themselves in making a necklace,
which they hung round Proserpina's neck. By way of showing her
gratitude, the child besought them to go with her a little way into the
fields, so that they might gather abundance of flowers, with which she
would make each of her kind playmates a wreath.
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