Now it came to pass that Admetus fell in love with a beautiful maiden,
Alcestis, and, because of the strange condition that her father Pelias
had laid upon all suitors, he was heavy-hearted. Only that man who
should come to woo her in a chariot drawn by a wild boar and a lion
might ever marry Alcestis; and this task was enough to puzzle even a
king.
As for the shepherd, when he heard of it he rose, one fine morning, and
left the sheep and went his way,--no one knew whither. If the sun had
gone out, the people could not have been more dismayed. The king
himself went, late in the day, to walk by the river Amphrysus, and
wonder if his gracious keeper of the flocks had deserted him in a time
of need. But at that very moment, whom should he see returning from the
woods but the shepherd, glorious as sunset, and leading side by side a
lion and a boar, as gentle as two sheep! The very next morning, with
joy and gratitude, Admetus set out in his chariot for the kingdom of
Pelias, and there he wooed and won Alcestis, the most loving wife that
was ever heard of.
It was well for Admetus that he came home with such a comrade, for the
year was at an end, and he was to lose his shepherd. The strange man
came to take leave of the king and queen whom he had befriended.
"Blessed be your flocks, Admetus," he said, smiling. "They shall
prosper even though I leave them. And, because you can discern the gods
that come to you in the guise of wayfarers, happiness shall never go
far from your home, but ever return to be your guest.
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