Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Dragon's Teeth Nathaniel Hawthorne

CADMUS, Phoenix, and Cilix, the three sons of King Agenor, and their little sister Europa, (who was a very beautiful child, ) were at play together, near the sea shore, in their father's kingdom of Phoenicia. They had rambled to some distance from the palace where their parents dwelt, and were now in a verdant meadow, on one side of which lay the sea, all sparkling and dimpling in the sunshine, and murmuring gently against the beach. The three boys were very happy, gathering flowers, and twining them into garlands, with which they adorned the little Europa. Seated on the grass, the child was almost hidden under an abundance of buds and blossoms, whence her rosy face peeped merrily out, and, as Cadmus said, was the prettiest of all the flowers.