THE PARADISE OF CHILDREN. 103

lifted the lid nearly upright, and looked inside. It seemed
as if a sudden swarm of winged creatures brushed past
her, taking flight out of the box, while, at the same in-
stant, she heard the voice of Epimetheus, with a lament-
able tone, as if he were in pain.

“OQ, Lam stung!” cried he. “Iam stung! Naughty:
Pandora! why have you opened this wicked box ? ”

Pandora let fall the lid, and, starting up, looked about
her, to see what had befallen Epimetheus. The thunder-
cloud had so darkened the room that she could not very
clearly discern what was in it. But she heard a dis-
agreeable buzzing, as if a great many huge flies, or
gigantic mosquitoes, or those insects which we call dor-
bugs and pinching-dogs, were darting about. And, as
her eyes grew more accustomed to the imperfect light,
she saw a crowd of ugly little shapes, with bats’ wings,
looking abominably spiteful, and armed with terribly
long stings in their tails. It was one of these that had
stung Epimetheus. Nor was it a great while before Pan-
dora herself began to scream, in no less pain and affright
than her playfellow, and making a vast deal more hubbub
about it. An odious little monster had settled on her
forehead, and would have stung her I know not how
deeply, if Epimetheus had not run and brushed it away.

Now, if you wish to know what these ugly things
might be, which had made their escape out of the box, I
must tell you that they were the whole family of earthly
_ Troubles. There were evil Passions ; there were a great
many species of Cares ; there were more than a hundred
and fifty Sorrows; there were Diseases, in a vast num-