DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4593#0050
34 THE ISLES AND SHRINES OF GREECE
father. The goddess Athene comes to her, — not even
here, however, with direct address, but in the form of
one of her handmaids, who chides her for sleeping
when she ought to be up and having a care for her
household. She reminds her of the washing that
must be done for her father that he may appear
respectably among his counsellors, and for the bach-
elor brothers who are fond of going to the dance.
She hints, too, about a day of marriage for the girl
herself. The Puritan conscience of the maid is
aroused. She gets up and goes to her father the
king, and says, " Dear papa, may the servants yoke
the mules to the wagon, — the good one with the
high back, — that I may go with the washing for
you and my brothers " (no hint about the day of her
marriage, but the old man understands it). He gives
her his best high-top wain. The mules are har-
nessed, and the queen puts up a nice luncheon. The
princess takes the reins and, accompanied by her
maids, drives with the clothes to the washing pools.
When they get there the princess does not tic her
mules to a tree all harnessed and with the check-rein
up, as a city-bred girl might do; she considerately
unharnesses them and lets them feed on the succulent
grass. She and the maids go to the pools and wash
the clothes with laughing rivalry. Then, while the
clothes dry, comes the lunch, and after that a game
of ball, the maids singing as they play. At last the
royal pitcher makes a bad curve or a wild throw;
the fielders miss it, and the ball falls into the river.
What happens, what must happen? What would a
bevy of girls do under similar circumstances in any
and every age? There is a loud, laughing scream
father. The goddess Athene comes to her, — not even
here, however, with direct address, but in the form of
one of her handmaids, who chides her for sleeping
when she ought to be up and having a care for her
household. She reminds her of the washing that
must be done for her father that he may appear
respectably among his counsellors, and for the bach-
elor brothers who are fond of going to the dance.
She hints, too, about a day of marriage for the girl
herself. The Puritan conscience of the maid is
aroused. She gets up and goes to her father the
king, and says, " Dear papa, may the servants yoke
the mules to the wagon, — the good one with the
high back, — that I may go with the washing for
you and my brothers " (no hint about the day of her
marriage, but the old man understands it). He gives
her his best high-top wain. The mules are har-
nessed, and the queen puts up a nice luncheon. The
princess takes the reins and, accompanied by her
maids, drives with the clothes to the washing pools.
When they get there the princess does not tic her
mules to a tree all harnessed and with the check-rein
up, as a city-bred girl might do; she considerately
unharnesses them and lets them feed on the succulent
grass. She and the maids go to the pools and wash
the clothes with laughing rivalry. Then, while the
clothes dry, comes the lunch, and after that a game
of ball, the maids singing as they play. At last the
royal pitcher makes a bad curve or a wild throw;
the fielders miss it, and the ball falls into the river.
What happens, what must happen? What would a
bevy of girls do under similar circumstances in any
and every age? There is a loud, laughing scream