Page:The Children Who Followed the Piper.djvu/77

 moonlight mix together on the high hills in the late summer) the Children who followed the Piper sat with the gods of the old time—Mars, with his black beard and the nose that went out from his face, had the big wine cup raised to his mouth; Silvanus, with the bag of nuts between his knees, talked and talked to the children; Faunus, where he sat, looked as if he were all grown over with moss, and Janus had one face bent to the ground and the other face watching the star above.

Baucis and Philemon brought out their dishes, not forgetting the never-emptied pitcher and the never-emptied basket; they brought the great wine cup that Philemon had specially made to Mars. All talked except Mars: he only took the cup away from his mouth to fill it again. Baucis and Philemon served all pleasantly, and the children had the pitcher of milk that was never emptied and the basket that was always filled with bread and fruit and honey.

When the supper was finished Silvanus,