And Venus passed straightway to the house of Jupiter to beg from him
the service of Mercury, the god of speech. And Jupiter refused not
her prayer. And Venus and Mercury descended from heaven together;
and as they went, the former said to the latter, "Thou knowest, my
brother of Arcady, that never at any time have I done anything
without thy help; for how long time, moreover, I have sought a
certain maiden in vain. And now naught remains but that, by thy
heraldry, I proclaim a reward for whomsoever shall find her. Do thou
my bidding quickly." And therewith [83] she conveyed to him a little
scrip, in the which was written the name of Psyche, with other
things; and so returned home.

And Mercury failed not in his office; but departing into all lands,
proclaimed that whosoever delivered up to Venus the fugitive girl,
should receive from herself seven kisses--one thereof full of the
inmost honey of her throat. With that the doubt of Psyche was ended.
And now, as she came near to the doors of Venus, one of the
household, whose name was Use-and-Wont, ran out to her, crying, "Hast
thou learned, Wicked Maid! now at last! that thou hast a mistress?"
And seizing her roughly by the hair, drew her into the presence of
Venus. And when Venus saw her, she cried out, saying, "Thou hast
deigned then to make thy salutations to thy mother-in-law. Now will
I in turn treat thee as becometh a dutiful daughter-in-law!"

And she took barley and millet and poppy-seed, every kind of grain
and seed, and mixed them together, and laughed, and said to her:
"Methinks so plain a maiden can earn lovers only by industrious
ministry: now will I also make trial of thy service. Sort me this
heap of seed, the one kind from the others, grain by grain; and get
thy task done before the evening." And Psyche, stunned by the