what was upon the table, and all the time they screamed and
laughed and mocked.

"Ah, now ye see," Phineus panted, "what it is to have wisdom
equal to the wisdom of the gods. Now ye all see my misery. Never
do I strive to put food to my lips but these foul things, the
Harpies, the Snatchers, swoop down and scatter or devour what I
would eat. Crumbs they leave me that my life may not altogether
go from me, but these crumbs they make foul to my taste and my
smell."

And one of the Harpies perched herself on the back of the king's
throne and looked upon the heroes with red eyes. "Hah," she
screamed, "you bring armed men into your feasting hall, thinking
to scare us away. Never, Phineus, can you scare us from you!
Always you will have us, the Snatchers, beside you when you would
still your ache of hunger. What can these men do against us who
are winged and who can travel through the ways of the air?"

So said the unsightly Harpy, and the heroes drew together, made
fearful by these awful shapes. All drew back except Zetes and
Calais, the sons of the North Wind. They laid their hands upon
their swords. The wings on their shoulders spread out and the
wings at their heels trembled. Phineus, the king, leaned forward
and panted: "By the wisdom I have I know that there are two
amongst you who can save me. O make haste to help me, ye who can
help me, and I will give the counsel that you Argonauts have come
to me for, and besides I will load down your ship with treasure
and costly stuffs. Oh, make haste, ye who can help me!"