67 THE GIRL WHO WAS CHANGED TO A SUNFLOWER

Clytie was a beautiful water-maiden who lived far down in the deep sea-caves. Her hair shone like gold in the green sea.

“Your hair is as bright as Apollo's golden chariot, ”her mother said one day. Clytie was playing with the shells on the floor of the sea-cave, and her yellow hair floated around her pretty head.

“Who is Apollo? ”asked Clytie.

“He is the sun-god, ”said her mother, “He lives above the sea. Every day he drives the chariot of the sun straight across the sky.”

“Why does he do that? ”asked Clytie.

“He brings the bright sun and the day into the world, ”said her mother.

“When he begins his journey, it is morning in the sun-land. When he is high up in the heavens, it is noon.

“When he drives down the western sky, it is evening, and when he leads the sun horses away to rest, it is night.”

“Some day, ”said Clytie, “I shall go up to the sun-land to see Apollo, the sun-god.”

So one day, when Clytie had grown to be a tall maiden, she left the sea-caves. She went up to the bright sun-land, and walked in a beautiful meadow by the sea.

Apollo, the great sun-god, was just getting into his golden chariot. He was very tall and beautiful.

The wild horses of the sun pranced and neighed and pulled at the reins. But Apollo held them with his strong hands and drove the chariot across the sky.

Clytie watched the sun-god all that day. When night came she did not go back to her cool sea-home.

The next day she watched again.

“I want to live in this beautiful sun-land, ”she said, “It is dark in the deep sea-caves. How can I bear to go back to them? Oh, how I wish I could always watch Apollo in his golden chariot! ”

For nine days Clytie stood in the meadow. She tasted neither food nor drink. Her golden hair hung over her shoulders, and her face was always turned to the shining chariot of the Sun.

She watched it as it started in the east. She lifted her head to see it as it climbed high in the heavens. She turned to look at it as it drove down the west.

Then a strange thing happened. Clytie changed. She was no longer a beautiful maiden, but she was a tall and slender plant.

Her pretty face became a flower. Her bright golden hair turned to yellow petals that looked like the rays of the sun.

Every morning the flower turned to see the sun rise. It lifted up its golden head to see the sun at noon and turned to watch the sun set in the west.

For Clytie was changed to a sunflower.

(Greek Legend)

Word list

chariot: a two-wheeled open horse vehicle

heavens: the sky

pranced: jumped

slender: thin, skinny

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Where did Clytie live?

2) Why was Clyde's hair floating around her head?

3) Who was Apollo?

4) How did Clytie feel about Appolo?

5) What direction did the flower turn to look at the sunset?

6) How was Clytie like a flower before she turned into one?

B) Using adjectives—This story includes many adjectives, which are descriptive words. They make your writing more interesting for the reader. Here are some of the adjectives from the story. Use ten of these adjectives to write your own short story.

beautiful tall shining pretty deep golden strange

strange western cool strong bright wild slender

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) ______ Clytie lived on the top of a mountain.

2) ______ Apollo is the sun God.

3) ______ Clytie wanted to see Apollo.

4) ______ Clytie was changed to a violet.

5) ______ Clytie's hair turned to leaves.