Hermes And Argus

　　Argus was a watchman with a hundred eyes，set in a circle all around his head．When he slept，he closed only two eyes at a time；the other ninety-eight were always wideopen．So it could not have been easy to steal away anything that Argus was watching．

　　Now it happened that Hera，the wife of Zeus，was very jealous of a beautiful river nymph，called Io．Zeus，in order to save Io from the jealous anger of Hera，changed her into a white heifer ．Hera，suspecting that the white heifer was really Io，set Argus with his hundred eyes to watch her．

　　Poor Io was very unhappy．Her father， the river god，did not know her，neither did her sister nymphs；but they used to pat the white heifer and give it grass from their hands． At last Io wrote her name with her hoof in the sands of the river bank，and then her father and sisters knew that the pretty white heifer was their own Io．

　　She had no sooner revealed herself to her family in this way than Argus drove her away to a field that lay far back from the river ，where the river god and the nymphs could not come，and then set himself down on the top of a high hill，meaning to watch her more closely than ever．

　　Zeus felt sorry for Io，still he did not dare to change her back into her natural form  while Argus was watching her． But remembering how Hermes，when he was less than a day old，had stolen away the cattle of Apollo，he now set this prince of thieves， this mischief flowing Hermes ，to steal Io away from Argus．

　　Hermes thought there could be no better fun． He laid aside his winged cap and his winged shoes ，and dressed like the shepherds in that country，He carried his golden stick in his hand，and as he walked along，played carelessly on a shepherd's pipe；then，finding a few goats feeding at the side of the road，he drove them slowly before him．

　　Argus found his watch rather dull，and was glad enough to talk to any one who happened to pass by． He was very glad when he saw Hermes coming with the goats，and he invited the pretended shepherd to come and sit by him，under the trees in the shade，and play on his pipe and tell stories．

　　Hermes sat down on a stone by the side of Argus，and began to play very softly，so softly that the music was like the sighing of the wind  through the branches of the trees． The day was warm， and it was quiet．Two of Argus's eyes soon closed．The others might have remained open if there had not been a sleepy magic in Hermes'  piping．The soft notes came gently，slower and slower， and one after another Argus'  other eyes began to close， till only two remained open．These two eyes were very bright；they fairly twinkled，and they kept their watch on Io through all Hermes' playing．Then Hermes began to tell stories，and at last the two twinkling eyes closed，like the others．Argus， with all his hundred eyes closed， was fast asleep．To make him sleep more heavily，Hermes just touched him lightly with the dream-giving stick，and then he successfully led Io away．

　　Hera was very angry when she found that her wonderful watch man had slept at his post，slept with all his eyes at once．She said he did not deserve to have so many eyes，if he could not keep some of them open．So she took all of his hundred eyes away from him，and set them in the tail of her pet peacock ，who was very proud to wear them．Ever since that day all peacocks have had eyes in their tails．

　　阿剛斯是個有100只眼睛的看守，他能看到頭頂上一圈的任何東西。他睡覺時，一次只合上兩只眼睛，其他98只眼睛總是睜著。所以要把阿剛斯看守的東西偷走是不容易的。

　　事情的發生是宙斯的妻子赫拉非常嫉妒一位漂亮、名叫伊娥的女河神。宙斯為了要救伊娥免遭赫拉的陷害，就把她變為一只白母牛。赫拉懷疑這只白母牛就是伊娥，就命令長著一百只眼睛的阿剛斯看守她。

　　可憐的伊娥非常苦悶，她父親海神和姐妹們都不知道她的遭遇；不過他們還是輕撫這只白母牛并且拿草給它吃。伊娥最后用蹄把名字寫在沙灘上。她父親和姐妹們才知道這只可愛的白母牛就是伊娥。

　　沒多久她就不能這樣跟人交談了，因為阿剛斯把她帶到遠離河水、河神和女河神無法到達的一處平原，他自己則坐在山頂上，這樣他隨時都能清楚地看到每一動靜。

　　宙斯為伊娥感到很難過，可是在阿剛斯的看守下他還不敢把她變回原來的樣子。不過他想起海爾墨斯在很小的時候就偷走阿波羅的牛群，他就叫這個小偷王、愛胡鬧的海爾墨斯去把伊娥從阿剛斯那里偷走。

　　在海爾墨斯看來沒有比這種事更好玩了。他脫掉帶翼的羽毛帽子和鞋子，換上那個國家牧羊人的衣服。他手持金杖，一邊走一邊隨心所欲的吹著牧羊笛。他發現路邊有幾只野山羊在吃草，就慢慢地把它們趕到他前面。

　　阿剛斯有點厭煩這種無聊的看守，因此很高興跟路過的人談談天。他看到海爾墨斯趕羊路過時很高興，就請這個假牧羊人到樹蔭下坐坐，吹吹笛子或講故事。

　　海爾墨斯坐在阿剛斯身邊的一塊石頭上，就開始吹一曲像微風吹拂樹枝發出的颼颼聲那樣柔和的音樂，那天天氣很暖和，也很安靜。阿剛斯的兩只雙很快閉上了。假如不是海爾墨斯的笛聲中有催眠的魔力的話，其他98只眼睛可能仍然會張開著。柔和的調子輕飄過來。阿剛斯的眼睛就一只一只慢慢地閉上，直到只有兩只眼睛仍睜著。這兩只眼睛很明亮，它們在海爾墨斯音樂的催眠下還可以明亮的眨著看守伊娥。海爾墨斯就開始講故事，最后這兩只閃爍的眼睛也像其他的眼睛閉上了。阿剛斯的100只眼睛都睡著了。為了讓他睡得更沉，海爾墨斯輕輕地用那支賜夢的魔杖碰了他一下，然后勝利地把伊娥帶走。

　　赫拉發現她最好的看守在工作時100只眼睛都睡著時很憤怒。她說如果他不能讓一些眼睛張開著就不應該有這么多的眼睛。于是把他的100只眼睛全部拿走，放在她的寵物孔雀的尾巴上，孔雀很驕傲的戴著。從此以后，所有孔雀的尾巴上都有100只眼睛。

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