THE WENDY HUT

Taranaki Daily News, 6 October 1928, Page 20

THE WENDY HUT

THE BOASTFUL MUSICIAN. The ancient Greeks hated boasting and toid many stories as a warning against it. It is said that once the goddesss Minerva was playing her fluts by the side of a stream. Seeing her reflection in the water, she was so annoyed by her puffed out cheeks that she flung the flute away, saying she would never play it again because ii destroyed her beauty. Now a youth named Marsyas happened to be lying in the grass, and when the goddess threw away her wonderful instrument, he rescued it from the stream and learnt to play it himself. So lovely was the music of Marsyas that soon the inhabitants of the woods—the fauns, the nymphs and the dryads became his friends; and for hours he played to them, ' Eventually Marsyas became the most famous musician in the world, but his success turned his head. Instead of thanking the gods for haring provided him with the magic flute, he boasted openly that he was a greater musician, than Apollo, the god of music, and challenged him. Apollo accepted the challenge on condition that the vanquished musician should be sacrificed to the gods, and on the appointed day the two met in the woods with the nine muses who acted as judges. The music of Marsyas was beautiful beyond praise; but that of Apollo was divine, beyond anything that had been heard on earth, and the muses proclaimed him victor. Then the foolish Marsyas. who had boasted that he was greater than the gods, was put to death. The fauns, nymphs, and dryads wept so bitterly for their friend that their tears formed the river Marsyas, or Marysas which flows on for ever as a warning to all boasters- —so runs the legend!