Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/101





9 o'clock on the 8th of April, a large, bright sickle passes near the zenith. This sickle lies just south of the Big Dipper and is a clearly defined figure among the other designs which decorate the sky during the early spring.

Truly, this is a strange symbol to see emblazoned in the heavens; has it too a story? Indeed, yes; this cluster of stars is the Sickle of Leo and lies on the head of the fierce Nemean lion which came from the moon and which was later killed by Hercules and transferred to the starry sky. The lion's head rests in the curve of the figure; his shaggy neck on the short straight line and his heart beneath the bright star on the end.

Not far away lies the rest of this brave creature with another bright star on the tuft of his tail. Drawn together, the sickle and the triangle now suggest a very dignified lion, although in the old star atlases he is pictured as a very ferocious lion transfixed in a moment of action.

Note well this curious sickle-shaped figure beneath the bowl of the Big Dipper. We will take this figure just at present, as a