"
And AEson wept over his son and went away; but the boy did not weep, so
full was his fancy of that strange cave, and the Centaur, and his song,
and the playfellows whom he was to see.
Then Cheiron put the lyre into his hands, and taught him how to play it,
till the sun sank low behind the cliff, and a shout was heard outside.
And then in came the sons of the heroes, AEneas, and Heracles, and
Peleus, and many another mighty name.
And great Cheiron leapt up joyfully, and his hoofs made the cave
resound, as they shouted, "Come out, Father Cheiron; come out and see
our game." And one cried, "I have killed two deer," and another, "I took
a wildcat among the crags"; and Heracles dragged a wild goat after him
by its horns, for he was as huge as a mountain crag; and Caeneus carried
a bear cub under each arm, and laughed when they scratched and bit; for
neither tooth nor steel could wound him.
And Cheiron praised them all, each according to his deserts.
Only one walked apart and silent, Asclepius, the too-wise child, with
his bosom full of herbs and flowers, and round his wrist a spotted
snake; he came with downcast eyes to Cheiron, and whispered how he had
watched the snake cast his old skin, and grow young again before his
eyes, and how he had gone down into a village in the vale, and cured a
dying man with a herb which he had seen a sick goat eat.
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