Page:The-story-of-the-golden-fleece--281903-29-andrew-lang.djvu/26

The Story of the Golden Fleece he dreamed a dream. But it was not the god of the temple that he saw in his dream; he saw a beautiful lady, and she seemed to float above him in a chariot drawn by doves, and all about her was a crowd of chattering sparrows. She was more beautiful than any woman in the world, and she smiled as she looked at the king, and said, “Oh, King Athamas, you are sick for love! Now this you must do: go home, and on the first night of the new moon, climb the hills to that place where you saw the Three Maidens. In the dawn they will come again to the river, and bathe in the pool. Then do you creep out of the wood, and steal the clothes of her you love, and she will not be able to fly away with the rest, and she will be your wife.”

Then she smiled again, and her doves 20