son; but when he was within, he stopped in wonder to listen to that
magic song.

And there he saw the singer lying upon bear-skins and fragrant
boughs: Cheiron, the ancient centaur, the wisest of all things
beneath the sky. Down to the waist he was a man, but below he was
a noble horse; his white hair rolled down over his broad shoulders,
and his white beard over his broad brown chest; and his eyes were
wise and mild, and his forehead like a mountain-wall.

And in his hands he held a harp of gold, and struck it with a
golden key; and as he struck, he sang till his eyes glittered, and
filled all the cave with light.

And he sang of the birth of Time, and of the heavens and the
dancing stars; and of the ocean, and the ether, and the fire, and
the shaping of the wondrous earth. And he sang of the treasures of
the hills, and the hidden jewels of the mine, and the veins of fire
and metal, and the virtues of all healing herbs, and of the speech
of birds, and of prophecy, and of hidden things to come.

Then he sang of health, and strength, and manhood, and a valiant
heart; and of music, and hunting, and wrestling, and all the games
which heroes love: and of travel, and wars, and sieges, and a
noble death in fight; and then he sang of peace and plenty, and of
equal justice in the land; and as he sang the boy listened wide-
eyed, and forgot his errand in the song.

And at the last old Cheiron was silent, and called the lad with a
soft voice.