No sooner did Proserpina begin to cry out than the strange man leaped
to the ground; he caught her in his arms and sprang into the chariot,
then he shook the reins and shouted to the two black horses to set
off. They began to gallop so fast that it was just like flying, and in
less than a minute Proserpina had lost sight of the sunny fields where
she and her mother had always lived.

She screamed and screamed and all the beautiful flowers fell out of
her apron to the ground.

But Mother Ceres was too far away to know what was happening to her
little daughter.

"Why are you so frightened, my little girl?" said the strange man, and
he tried to soften his rough voice. "I promise not to do you any harm.
I see you have been gathering flowers? Wait till we come to my palace
and I will give you a garden full of prettier flowers than these, all
made of diamonds and pearls and rubies. Can you guess who I am? They
call me Pluto, and I am the King of the mines where all the diamonds
and rubies and all the gold and silver are found: they all belong to
me. Do you see this lovely crown on my head? I will let you have it
to play with. Oh, I think we are going to be very good friends when we
get out of this troublesome sunshine."

"Let me go home," sobbed Proserpina, "let me go home."

"My home is better than your mother's," said King Pluto. "It is a
palace made of gold, with crystal windows and with diamond lamps
instead of sunshine; and there is a splendid throne; if you like