132 THE THREE GOLDEN APPLES.

Yes; it was the selfsame Old Man of the Sea, whom
the hospitable maidens had talked to him about. ‘Thank-
ing his stars for the lucky accident of finding the old
fellow asleep, Hercules stole on tiptoe towards him, and
caught him by the arm and leg.

“Tell me,” cried he, before the Old One was well
awake, “which is the way to the garden of the Hes-
perides ? ”’

As you may easily imagine, the Old Man of the Sea
awoke in a fright. But his astonishment could hardly
have been greater than was that of Hercules, the next
moment. For, all of a sudden, the Old One seemed to
disappear out of his grasp, and he found himself holding
a stag by the fore and hind leg! But still he kept fast
hold. Then the stag disappeared, and in its stead there
was a sea-bird, fluttering and screaming, while Hercules
clutched it bythe wing and claw! But the bird could
not get away. Immediately afterwards, there was an
ugly three-headed dog, which growled and barked at
Hercules, and snapped fiercely at. the hands by which he
held him! But Hereules would not let him go. In
another minute, instead of the three-headed dog, what
should appear but Geryon, the six-legged man-monster,
kicking at Hercules with five of his legs, in order to get
the remaining one at liberty! But Hercules held on.
By and by, no Geryon was there, but a huge snake, like
one of those which Hercules had strangled in his baby-
hood, only a hundred times as big; and it twisted and
_twined about the hero’s neck and body, and threw its
tail high into the air, and opened its deadly jaws as: if