with the prize, then, King Pelias, you must
hasten down from your lofty throne, and give
me your crown and sceptre."

"That I will," said the king, with a sneer.
"Meantime, I will keep them very safely for
you."

The first thing that Jason thought of doing,
after he left the king's presence, was to go to
Dodona, and inquire of the Talking Oak what
course it was best to pursue. This wonderful
tree stood in the centre of an ancient wood. Its
stately trunk rose up a hundred feet into the air,
and threw a broad and dense shadow over more
than an acre of ground. Standing beneath it,
Jason looked up among the knotted branches
and green leaves, and into the mysterious heart
of the old tree, and spoke aloud, as if he were
addressing some person who was hidden in the
depths of the foliage.

"What shall I do," said he, "in order to win
the Golden Fleece?"

At first there was a deep silence, not only
within the shadow of the Talking Oak, but al]
through the solitary wood. In a moment or two
however, the leaves of the oak began to stb

[[290]]

p289 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p290w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p291

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