Page 274 - Adventures in shadow-land

dite to make his wooden thing a live creature.

Don’t you think she would do as much for wood
as she did for marble ?”

"W e could ask her/' said Cymodoce. “ I
have some influence with her. I was so well ac­

quainted with her son, the pious— ’ ’
“ Oh bother him/” said Arethusa, who had been

a mountain nymph originally, and was apt to be a
little brusque.

** I don’t believe she'd be good for much if she
did come alive," said Panope, looking down,
“ I’ve heard that match of Pygmalion's didn't

turn out very well. I saw the marble woman once.

She was pretty enough, but so stiff, and she walked
as though she weighed a ton, and hadn’t a word
to say- for herself. And as for this wooden thing,

the woodenness would always remain in her mind

and manners. But we can try. Come, if you
lik e;” and the three slipped into the sea and went
swimming after the merman, but he never saw

them. He had caught sight of his wooden god­
dess, and had no eyes for the real ones. He

thought he had never seen his idol looking so
beautiful, so lifelike. tlShe wood 1” he thought