Page 123 - Blue Feather Book 2

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“Old woman,” the girl asked, “why aren’t you at home with your family? It’s getting late”
Demeter did not answer.
“If you have nowhere to go, please come with me, to my house. We have
need of a nursemaid for my newborn brother.”
Demeter was touched by the girl’s concern. She followed her to her home and tended to the baby, who was called Demophon. In a short time, Demeter’s sorrows were lessened by the baby’s smiles. She grew attached to little Demophon and wished to bestow upon him the gift of immortality.
As Demeter began the ceremony to give Demophon eternal life, the baby’s mother rushed into the room and saw her lowering Demophon into an open flame and began to scream.
“No, no!” Demeter cried as the woman took Demophon away. “You shouldn’t have done that! You misunderstand what I am trying to do.”
Demeter stood in front of Demophon’s family and unveiled her fine robes and let her golden hair spill around her shoulders. Everyone gasped as they looked upon Demeter, for at that moment they realized she was a goddess.
“I must leave you,” Demeter told them. “I must continue my search for my own daughter, Persephone. But before I leave, I will bless your fields and they will continue to give you a bountiful harvest.”
Demeter continued her sad journey alone. Everywhere she traveled, people begged her to bless their crops, but she refused.
The people finally appealed to Zeus for help. Zeus heard their pleas and grew afraid that Demeter’s actions would eventually leave mankind without any source of food. Without their crops the people would starve. No people meant no offerings for the gods. Who would honor them if not the lowly humans?
Zeus decided to take action. He commanded Hades to release Persephone. He sent Hermes, the messenger god, to retrieve her from the underworld. “As long as she has not eaten anything while in the underworld she can still return to her mother,” Zeus told Hermes.
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