Pandora gets vain pandor.., p.18
Pandora Gets Vain (Pandora (Hardback)),
p.18
All of a sudden, Pandy stopped.
“Iole!”
“What? What’s wrong? Did we forget something?”
“How could I be so stupid?”
“What?” said Alcie.
Pandy reached around her neck and unclasped the Eye of Horus. For an instant, she felt the tiniest twinge in her stomach where the pole had pierced her. But that wound was, miraculously, almost healed. And there was no pain at all in her hip or the places where the golden shrapnel had caught her; only a small, golden teardrop scar yet remained under her eye.
Carefully, she brought Iole underneath a torch for better light. Draping the eye over Iole’s head, she clasped the pendant again. A look soon came over Iole’s face of the sort that Pandy only saw when her father had had a little too much wine or after some of the girls at school snuck off with the youths to eat lotus leaves.
“Good?” asked Pandy.
Iole, very lightly, swung her broken arm from side to side.
“Oh! It’s going to be great,” she said, hugging Pandy gently with both arms.
“You’re not going home . . . right?” Pandy said softly.
“Of course not,” Iole whispered.
Onward they went, talking about the adventure that just ended: the black funnel, the dolphins, and the amazing tents of the Caravan of Wonders. Alcie was going on and on about Usumacinta and her birds when Pandy realized that Alcie wasn’t behind and to her right, where her feet usually led her. About the same time, Homer realized that he was slowly losing his grasp on Alcie’s elbow. Pandy turned around again.
“Alcie, why are you over there?” she asked, walking backward to face her friend.
“What are you talking about? I’m just walking.”
“You’re walking straight,” Pandy said.
“Very funny,” Alcie said. “I’m just walking . . .”
Homer plucked a nearby torch from the wall and held it down by Alcie’s feet.
There was a left foot . . . and a right foot.
Iole and Pandy both gasped, but Alcie just slumped against the wall, laughing and crying at the same time.
“Osiris. Osiris!” she said, nearly hiccoughing.
A gust of fresh air blew by and they knew that the exit was just ahead.
“Osiris! Oh Gods.” Alcie wept, rushing past Pandy right down the very middle of the passageway, a twirl here and a leap there, and out into the desert night. “Oh Gods! OH Gods!”
Pandy, Iole, and Homer quickly joined her, all rejoicing, dancing, and laughing in the half-moon light. Finally Homer spotted the steam rising from Apollo’s four snow white stallions, harnessed to a silver and gold chariot.
“We only have minutes. We need to go,” he said.
“Right,” said Pandy, straightening herself after laughing so hard. “Dido! Come on, boy!”
She paused.
“Where’s Dido?” she said, realizing that the last time she’d seen him was in Cleopatra’s chamber, surrounded by cats.
“I don’t know,” said Alcie, still running in circles to the left.
“He’s always with you,” said Iole. “He has to be around here someplace.”
“Dido!” Pandy began yelling. “Ghost dog! Great Zeus—he must have gotten lost. I have to go back!”
“You can’t, Pandy,” said Iole. “We have to leave right now. Apollo said we couldn’t dawdle.”
“I can’t leave without Dido! It’s not dawdling to find my dog!”
All at once a wind picked up, blowing from the south and out over the Mediterranean Sea heading toward Greece. High in the breeze, they each heard a woman’s vicious laugh and the sound of barking, yelping, and whimpering.
“Unnnh,” Pandy gurgled, unable to find words. Instinctively, she knew exactly whose laugh that was. She clutched her sides and looked at the sky, fearing that the pain in her stomach would kill her. She started for the palace entryway, but she knew it was useless.
“She took him! She’s got him!” Pandy wailed, crazed, as the sounds on the wind grew fainter. “Hera’s got my dog!”
The steeds of Apollo began to paw the ground with their hooves.
“Homer, help me get her into the chariot,” said Alcie, taking charge.
Homer picked up Pandy, now almost incoherent, and, careful not to touch the outside, loaded her into the front. Next Iole, then Alcie, with Homer at the back. Iole wrapped her arms tightly around Pandy as Alcie took the whistle from her hand. With Homer holding tightly to the reins, Alcie blew hard into one end. Immediately, the outside of the chariot glowed a blinding white as it lifted into the fast-fading night sky.
“I’ll find you, Dido,” Pandy said over and over between sobs, her head limp against Iole’s shoulder. Her cries grew louder as the ground fell away. “I promise, ghost dog, I’ll get you back . . . wherever you are!”
GLOSSARY
Names, pronunciations, and descriptions of gods, demigods, other integral immortals, places, objects, and fictional personages appearing within these pages. Definitions derived from three primary sources: Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes; Webster’s Online Dictionary, which derives many of its definitions from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (further sources are also indicated on this Web site); and the author’s own brain.
Aeolus (AY-o-lus): King of the Winds; a god who lived on earth on a floating island called Aeolia.
Agamemnon (aah-guh-MEM-non): King of Argos who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War.
ambrosia (am-BRO-zee-uh): the food and drink of the gods. Mortals who ate ambrosia became immortal. It is never specified or revealed exactly what it is.
Anubis (uh-NEW-bis): in Egyptian mythology, he is the jackal-headed God of Tombs, whose duty it was to take the souls of the dead before the judge of the infernal regions.
Apollo (uh-POL-oh): God of Music, Poetry, Light, Truth, and the Healing Arts. Often called the “Sun-God,” it is Apollo, in his magnificent chariot, who pulls the sun across the heavens each day.
Artemis (AR-teh-miss): twin sister of Apollo; often called the “Lady of Wild Things,” and she was huntsman-in-chief of the gods. She was also the protector of youth and young things everywhere; and, commonly, the primary goddess of the moon.
Athena (uh-THEE-nuh): Goddess of Wisdom and Reason. She has no mother, but instead sprang from Zeus’s head—fully grown and in full battle dress. She is a fierce warrior-goddess; wily and cunning. She is Zeus’s favorite child.
Atlas (AT-lass): one of the original Titans and, in some myths, Prometheus’s brother. Zeus condemned Atlas to bear the crushing vault of the heavens on his shoulders forever. (Often he is portrayed as also having to hold up the earth as well, but that’s just illogical. I mean, think about it, where would he stand? Hmm?)
caliph (cal-EEF): civil and religious leader of a Muslim state and a successor of Muhammad. One vested with supreme dignity.
calligraphy (cah-LIH-gruh-fee): beautiful handwriting.
Charybdis (kuh-RIB-diss): ship-destroying whirlpool lying on the other side of a narrow strait from Scylla. The myth is that Charybdis stole the oxen of Hercules, was killed by lightning, and changed into the whirlpool.
Cleopatra (klee-oh-PA-tra): (69–30 BC) beautiful and charismatic queen of Egypt; killed herself by allowing a snake to bite her to avoid capture by the Romans.
Crete (KREET): the largest Greek island.
Demeter (de-MEE-ter): sister of Zeus, Goddess of Agriculture and the Harvest; patron of agriculture, planting, crops, health, birth, and marriage.
Hera (HAIR-uh): Zeus’s wife and sister. She is the Queen of Heaven and is the protector of marriage, married women, and childbearing. Two words describe Hera: jealous and petty. Of course, that might be because Zeus’s many affairs have plagued her since the creation of mythology.
Hermes (HER-mees): the messenger of the gods, the swiftest in action and thought. He was known as “the Master Thief” (having stolen Apollo’s herd of cows on the day he was born) and was God of Commerce and the Market, the protector of traders.
Horus (HOR-us): the Egyptian day-god, more specifically he is meant to represent the rising sun. He was son of Osiris and Isis; as an adult he is represented as falcon or hawk headed.
Ionian Sea (eye-OH-nee-an SEE): an arm of the Mediterranean Sea between western Greece and southern Italy.
kohl (COAL): a type of makeup used by women in Egypt and Arabia to darken the edges of their eyelids.
maelstrom (MALE-strum): an enormous whirlpool. A powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides).
Notus (NO-tuss): the south wind.
Osiris (oh-SIGH-riss): Egyptian god of the underworld and judge of the dead.
Peking (pay-KING): one of the largest cities in China. Today, it is the capital of the People’s Republic of China and is now known as Beijing.
persimmon (per-SIM-uhn): bright orange fruit resembling a large plum or tomato; edible when fully ripe.
Plato (PLAY-toh): ancient Greek philosopher (428–347 BC); pupil of Socrates; teacher of Aristotle.
Poseidon (pos-EYE-don): brother to Zeus and the Lord of the Sea.
Prometheus (pro-MEE-thee-us): a Titan who fought on the side of the gods in the battle for supremacy over the earth and heavens. He also stole fire from Zeus when Zeus refused to share it with mankind. For this he was chained to a rock where a giant eagle would feast on his liver during the day, only to have it grow back at night.
Quetzalcoatl (kwet-zahl-COT-uhl): a primary god of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations, including the Mayas, Aztecs, and Toltecs. He is represented as a feathered serpent.
queue (KEW, or simply say the letter q): a braid of hair at the back of the head.
sarcophagi (sar-COUGH-uh-guy): plural of “sarcophagus.” Stone coffins used to entomb mummies.
Scylla (SILLA): a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster who lived on one side of a narrow strait; drowned and devoured sailors who tried to escape Charybdis. In one myth, she is said to have grown dogs’ and snakes’ heads out of her body. In another, she is depicted with six hideous heads, each mouth with many rows of sharp teeth.
Styx (STICKS): a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls.
Yangtze (YANG-t-see): the longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet, through China, and into the East China Sea.
Zeus (ZOOS): the supreme ruler, chief among all the gods, wielder of the mighty lightning bolt (sometimes called thunderbolt). His power is greater than that of all the other gods combined. He is often portrayed as falling in love with one woman after another, which infuriates his wife, Hera.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Emily Webster, Richard Overton, Ramona Hennesy, Scott Hennesy, Barbara Rush, William Sterchi, Phyllis Kramer, Karen Smith, Todd McClaren, Nadine Gross, Elizabeth Hailey, and Marcia Wallace.
Special thanks to Nancy Gallt; Harriet Shapiro, PhD; James Kelton; Leah Miller; Michael Scott; Dino Car-laftes; Minnie Schedeen; Elizabeth Schonhorst (who, somehow, makes me happy to edit); my dear “sisters” Josie and Rosie; and, of course, Sarabeth.
For Donald
INTA QALBI
Copyright © 2008 by Carolyn Hennesy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in the United States of America in January 2008
by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books
E-book edition published in August 2010
www.bloomsburykids.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Hennesy, Carolyn.
Pandora gets vain / by Carolyn Hennesy.—1st U.S. ed
p. cm.
Summary: After capturing jealousy from a priestess in Crete, Pandy, her friends Alcie and Iole, and her little dog, Dido, brave many obstacles as they travel to Egypt in search of the second of the seven evils—vanity.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-197-8 • ISBN-10: 1-59990-197-8 (hardcover)
1. Pandora (Greek mythology)—Juvenile fiction. [1. Pandora (Greek mythology) Fiction. 2. Mythology, Greek—Fiction. 3. Gods, Greek—Fiction. 4. Goddesses, Greek—Fiction. 5. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H3917Pav 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2008012244
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-329-3 • ISBN-10: 1-59990-329-6 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-59990-598-3 (e-book)
Carolyn Hennesy, Pandora Gets Vain (Pandora (Hardback))
