Can you guess who I am? They call my
name Pluto, and I am the king of diamonds and all other precious stones.
Every atom of the gold and silver that lies under the earth belongs to
me, to say nothing of the copper and iron, and of the coal mines, which
supply me with abundance of fuel. Do you see this splendid crown upon my
head? You may have it for a plaything. Oh, we shall be very good
friends, and you will find me more agreeable than you expect, when once
we get out of this troublesome sunshine."
"Let me go home!" cried Proserpina--"let me go home!"
"My home is better than your mother's," answered King Pluto. "It is a
palace, all made of gold, with crystal windows; and because there is
little or no sunshine thereabouts, the apartments are illuminated with
diamond lamps. You never saw anything half so magnificent as my throne.
If you like, you may sit down on it, and be my little queen, and I will
sit on the footstool."
"I don't care for golden palaces and thrones," sobbed Proserpina. "Oh,
my mother, my mother! Carry me back to my mother!"
But King Pluto, as he called himself, only shouted to his steeds to go
faster.
"Pray do not be foolish, Proserpina," said he, in rather a sullen tone,
"I offer you my palace and my crown, and all the riches that are under
the earth; and you treat me as if I were doing you an injury. The one
thing which my palace needs is a merry little maid, to run up stairs and
down, and cheer up the rooms with her smile.
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