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not kneel down properly, though it was a great saving in trouser-knees. They ran races, though, and made splendid time. "Rhoetus" was the best racer for two school terms, so the record said, and the name of the champion for the next year must have been kicked off out of envy, for our explorer noticed a big piece of rock chipped off, just under Rhœtus's name. They could not have boat races, of course, but they had swimming matches, and you may imagine that a boy with four legs and two arms could make pretty fast time.

They were a right conceited set, those Centaurs, but they had a "take down," when two Greek boys from the mainland came to school. These boys had only two legs, like our boys here, and the Centaur boys made no end of fun of them. But when Chiron saw that the two young Greeks, "Crates" and "Crantor," were studious and polite, he used to ride them on his back, and show them other favors. This made the Centaurs envious, and they did their best to make the young Greeks' lives a burden to them. They would not let them play ball, because they had only two legs, nor race, though Crantor was a first-rate runner, nor even let them chase the old woman's geese. So Crantor and Crates gave up, and turned their

attention to the polite arts, hoping their turn would come soon.

And it did.

Crates and Crantor had a cousin, a pretty little Greek girl named Celena, who came to visit them one day. She brought a splendid cake for the boys, and some honey from Hymettus, so, of course, all the boys were anxious to please her. They ran races, and played ball, and jumped fences, and Celena said they were very smart. Then Crates turned a hand-spring, and Crantor stood on his head.

"Can you do that?" asked Celena.

The Centaurs were ashamed, but they had to own up that it was impossible.

"Well, then," said Celena, "can't you get me some nuts? There is a tree full of them."

The Centaur boys all gathered around the tree, and reached up as far as they could, but having gathered all the nuts within reach some days before, they could get none now for Celena.

"Why don't you climb up, stupids?" said she.

Then all those Centaur boys were covered with confusion, for not one of them could climb a tree.

Crates and Crantor could, and in a minute they were on the topmost branches gathering nuts and

throwing them down to Celena, who thanked them very prettily, and turned up her pretty Greek nose at the unhappy Centaur boys. And after that Crates and Crantor held their heads high enough.

"For some things," sighed the Centaur boys, "it is better to be a two-legged boy," and then they grew more modest, and went to work to study the polite arts.

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They were a multitude in number more
Than with ten tongues, and with ten mouths, each

mouth

Made vocal with a trumpet's throat of brass

I might declare, unless the Olympian nine,
Jove's daughters, could the chronicle themselves
Indite. .

-Cowper's Translation of the Iliad.

HE people of ancient Greece used to say that

TH

Zeus (Jove or Jupiter) and Mnemosyne (Memory) had nine daughters. In very old times these daughters were worshiped as goddesses of poetry and song, under the name of Muses; later, they were spoken of as presiding over all litera

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