The Three Golden Apples" – Hercules The Hero– Part 2

Hi,

This is Stefania and here is part two of Hercules the three golden apples.

In our last episode Hercules was floating on the sea.

Then he came upon an island.

But what did he see on that island?

What do you think he saw?

No,

You will never guess it,

Not if you were to try 50,

000 times.

It positively appears to me that this was the most marvelous spectacle that had ever been seen by Hercules in the whole course of his wonderful travels and adventures.

It was a greater marvel than the Hydra with nine heads,

Greater than the six-legged man,

Greater than anything that was ever beheld by anybody before or since the days of Hercules,

Or than anything that remains to be beheld by travelers of all times to come.

It was a giant,

But such a big giant,

A giant as tall as a mountain,

So big a giant that the clouds rested about his middle,

His tummy,

And hung like a beard from his chin and flew before his huge eyes so that he could neither see Hercules nor the golden cup in which he was traveling.

And most wonderful of all,

The giant held up his great hands and appeared to support the sky,

Which so far as Hercules could see through the clouds,

The sky was resting on his head.

This does seem really almost too much to believe.

Meanwhile,

The bright cup that Hercules was floating in continued to float onward and finally touch the shore.

Just then,

A breeze blew away the clouds from the giant and Hercules saw it with all its big enormous features,

Eyes,

Each of them as big as a lake,

Nose a mile long,

And a mouth about the same size.

Poor fella,

He had evidently stood there a long time.

An ancient forest had been growing around his feet,

And oak trees of six or seven centuries old had sprung from the acorns and grew between his toes.

The giant now looked down from the far height of his big eyes and seeing Hercules roared out,

Who are you down at my feet there?

And from where did you come in that little cup?

I am Hercules,

Thundered back the hero,

And I am seeking for the garden of Hesperides.

Roar the giant in a fit of immense laughter.

That is a wise adventure truly.

And why not,

Cried Hercules,

Do you think I am afraid of the dragon with a hundred heads?

Just at this time while they were talking together,

Some black clouds gathered about the giant's middle and burst into a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning,

Causing such a noise that Hercules found it impossible to distinguish a word that the giant said.

Only the giant's big legs were to be seen and now and then a glimpse of his whole figure.

He seemed to be speaking most of the time,

But his big,

Deep,

Rough voice blended in with the vibrations of the thunder,

Claps,

And rolled away over the hills like them,

So Hercules couldn't understand a word he said.

At last the storm swept over just as suddenly as it had come,

And there again was the clear sky and the tired giant holding it up,

And the pleasant sunshine beaming over his vast height and shining it against the background of the thunderclouds.

So far above the shower had been his head that not a drop of hair was wet.

When the giant could see Hercules still standing on the seashore,

He called out to him again,

I am Atlas,

The mightiest giant in the world,

And I hold the sky upon my head.

So I see,

Answered Hercules,

But can you show me the way to the Garden of Hesperides?

What do you want there?

Asked the giant.

I want three of the golden apples,

Shouted Hercules for my cousin,

The king.

There is nobody.

What my self,

Said the giant that can go in to the Garden of Hesperides and gather the golden apples.

If it were not for this little business of holding up the sky,

I would make half a dozen steps across the sea and get them for you.

You are very kind,

Replied Hercules,

And can you not rest the sky upon a mountain?

None of them are quite high enough,

Said Atlas,

Shaking his head.

What if you were to take your stand on the summit of that nearest one?

Your head would be pretty nearly on a level with mine.

You seem to be a fellow of some strength.

What if you should take my burden on your shoulders while I do your errand for you?

Is the sky very heavy?

He inquired.

Why,

Not particularly so at first,

Answered the giant,

Shrugging his shoulders.

But it gets to be a little burdensome,

A little troublesome after a thousand years.

And how long a time,

Asked the hero,

Will it take you to get the golden apples?

Oh,

That will be done in a few minutes,

Cried Atlas.

I shall take ten or fifteen miles at each step and be at the garden and back again before your shoulders begin to ache.

Well then,

Answered Hercules,

I will climb the mountain behind you and relieve you of your burden.

The truth is Hercules had a kind heart of his own and considered that he should be doing the giant a favor by allowing him this opportunity for a walk.

And besides,

He thought that it would be still more for his own glory if he could boast of holding up the sky,

Than merely do an ordinary thing like conquer a dragon with a hundred heads.

So the sky was shifted from the shoulders of Atlas and placed upon Hercules's shoulders.

When this was safely done,

The first thing the giant did was to stretch himself.

Next,

He slowly lifted one of his feet out of the forest that had grown around it,

And then the other.

Then all at once he began to leap and dance for joy at his freedom,

Flinging himself here and there high in the sky and coming down with a shock that made the earth tremble.

Then he laughed with a tremendous roar that was echoed from the mountains far and near.

When his joy had a little subsided,

Gone down a little bit,

He stepped out into the sea.

Ten miles at the first step,

Which brought him mid-leg deep,

Then ten miles at the second step,

When the water came just above his knees,

And ten more miles at the third step,

By which he was nearly immersed up to his waist.

This was the greatest depth of the sea.

Hercules watched the giant until the gigantic shape faded entirely out of view.

And now Hercules began to consider what he should do in case Atlas should be drowned in the sea,

Or if he were to be stung to death by the dragon with the hundred heads which guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.

If any such misfortune were to happen,

How would he ever get rid of the sky?

And by the way,

Its weight began already to be a little bit heavy on his head and shoulders.

I really pity that poor giant,

Thought Hercules,

If it worries me so much in ten minutes,

How much it must have worried him in a thousand years.

At last,

To his great joy,

He saw the huge shape of the giant,

Like a cloud on the far-off edge of the sea.

At his nearer approach,

Atlas held up his hand,

In which Hercules could see three magnificent golden apples as big as pumpkins,

All hanging from one branch.

I am glad to see you again,

Shouted Hercules when the giant was within hearing.

So you have got the golden apples?

Certainly,

Certainly,

Answered Atlas,

And very fair apples they are.

I took the finest that grew on the tree,

I assure you.

Oh,

It is a beautiful spot,

That garden of the Hesperides.

Yes,

And the dragon with a hundred heads?

Is a sight worth any man's seeing?

There was so much to see,

You had better have gone for the apples yourself.

No matter,

Replied Hercules,

You have had a pleasant ramble and have done the business as well as I could.

I heartily thank you for your trouble.

And now,

I have a long way to go,

And I'm rather in a hurry,

And as my king the cousin is anxious to receive the golden apples,

Will you be so kind enough to take the sky off my shoulders again?

Why,

As to that,

Said the giant,

Chucking the golden apples into the air twenty miles high and catching them as they came down.

As to that,

My good friend,

I consider you a little unreasonable.

Can I not carry the golden apples to the king,

Your cousin,

Much quicker than you could?

As his majesty's in such a hurry to get them,

I promised you to take my longest steps.

And besides,

I have no desire for burdening myself with the sky just now.

Here Hercules grew impatient and gave a great shrug of his shoulders.

It being twilight,

You might have seen two or three stars tumble out of their places.

Everybody on earth looked upward,

Thinking the sky was gonna fall.

Oh,

That will never do,

Cried giant Atlas with a great roar of laughter.

I have not let fall so many stars as you just did within the last five centuries.

By the time you've stood there as long as I did,

You will begin to learn patience.

What,

Shouted Hercules very angrily,

Do you intend to make me bear this burden,

This weight forever?

We will see about that one of these days,

Answered the giant.

At all events,

You ought not to complain if you have to bear it for the next hundred years or perhaps the next thousand.

I bore it a good while longer in spite of the backache.

After a thousand years,

If I happen to feel in the mood,

We may possibly shift about again.

Posterity will talk of you,

I warrant it.

Who cares?

Great Hercules with another shrug of shoulders.

Just take the sky upon your head,

Just for a second,

Will you?

I want to make a cushion of my lion skin for the weight to rest upon.

It really hurts me and will cause unnecessary inconvenience in so many centuries as I understand here.

Mmm,

That's more than fair.

I'll do it,

Said the giant.

For just ten minutes,

I'll take back the sky.

Only for ten minutes,

I have no idea,

No intention of spending another thousand years as I have spent the last.

Variety is the spice of life,

I say.

Oh,

The thick,

Witted,

Old giant.

He threw down the golden apples and received back the sky from the head and shoulders of Hercules upon his own where it rightly belonged.

And Hercules picked up the three golden apples that were big or bigger than pumpkins and straightaway set on his journey homeward without paying the slightest attention to the thundering cries of a giant who yelled after him to come back.

Another forest sprang up around his feet,

Grew old there,

And again might be seeing the oak trees of six or seven centuries old.

And there stands a giant to this day.

At any rate,

There stands a mountain as tall as he and which bears his name.

Not really the giant now,

But there's a mountain there with the name of Atlas.

And when the thunder rumbles about the top of that mountain,

We can imagine it to be the voice of giant Atlas yelling after Hercules to come back right now.

And that's the end of our story.

The story of Hercules and the golden apples.

He managed to get those apples back from the giant and Hercules took those apples back home.

We'll be back again with more stories,

But this is the end of the story of Hercules and the three golden apples.

Bye for now.

You