THE WENDY HUT
THE LEGEND OF THE HELIOTROPE, The word heliotrope really means any plant that turns towards the sun, such as the sun-flower, the marigold, etc., for, in the days of the ancient Greeks, Helios was the god of the sun. There is a strange story connected with Helios and these flowers. Leucothea and her sister Clytie were water nymphs, daughters of King Oceania. They lived in a beautiful cool river, but were allowed by the laws of Oceania to come out at night and dance upon the earth and in the woods, on condition they returned to the water at dawn. These water nymphs were not allowed to look upon Helios as he drove across the sky in all the glory of his golden chariot, the sun, but one morning they broke this command and stayed to watch the sun god pass by. They were dazzled by his beauty when he smiled and waved to them. But down in the river the sisters began to quarrel, for Leucothea said that Helios had smiled on her only. So jealous did Clytie become that she told Oceanus that Leucothea had remained upon the earth till noon and waved to Helios. So Oceanus shut Leucothea up in a cave, and Clytie darted away to earth. She never returned to the river, for she hoped Helios would take her to hie kingdom in the skies. But he did not look at her again. For nine days she watched for him, always turning her head in his direction, but he would not regard the little water nymph and at last she pined awa.v and became a flower—a sun-flower, for ever turning its head towards the golden Helios!
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Bibliographic details
Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1928, Page 20
Word Count
284THE WENDY HUT Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1928, Page 20
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