Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Pomegranate Seeds Nathaniel Hawthorne

When Demeter's young daughter, Persephone, is kidnapped by the king of the underworld, the earth-goddess decrees that nothing will grow on Earth until the girl is returned to her. "Mother, Mother Ceres!" cried she, all in a tremble. "Come quickly and save me." But her voice was too faint for her mother to hear. Indeed, it is most probable that Ceres was then a thousand miles off, making the corn grow in some far distant country. Nor could it have availed her poor daughter, even had she been within hearing; for no sooner did Proserpina begin to cry out, than the stranger leaped to the ground, caught the child in his arms, and again mounted the chariot, shook the reins, and shouted to the four black horses to set off.