So she took the gold cord in her fingers and examined it very closely.  Then she raised her head, and happening to glance at the flower-wreathed face, she thought it was grinning at her.  “I wonder whether it is smiling because I am doing wrong,” thought Pandora, “I have a good mind to leave the box alone and run away.”

But just at that moment, as if by accident, she gave the knot a little shake, and the gold cord untwisted itself as if by magic, and there was the box without any fastening.

“This is the strangest thing I have ever known,” said Pandora, rather frightened, “What will Epimetheus say?  How can I possibly tie it up again?”

She tried once or twice, but the knot would not come right.  It had untied itself so suddenly she could not remember in the least how the cord had been twisted together.  So there was nothing to be done but to let the box remain unfastened until Epimetheus should come home.

“But,” thought Pandora; “when he finds the knot untied he will know that I have done it; how shall I ever make him believe that I have not looked into the box?” And then the naughty thought came into her head that, as Epimetheus would believe that she had looked into the box, she might just as well have a little peep.

She looked at the face with the wreath, and it seemed to smile at her invitingly, as much as to say:  “Do not be afraid, what harm can there possibly be in raising the lid for a moment?” And then she thought she heard voices inside, tiny voices that whispered:  “Let us out, dear Pandora, do let us out; we want very much to play with you if you will only let us out?”

“What can it be?” said Pandora.  “Is there something alive in the box?  Yes, I must just see, only one little peep and the lid will be shut down as safely as ever.  There cannot really be any harm in just one little peep.”

All this time Epimetheus had been playing with the other children in the fields, but he did not feel happy.  This was the first time he had played without Pandora, and he was so cross and discontented that the other children could not think what was the matter with him.  You see, up to this time everybody in the world had always been happy, no one had ever been ill, or naughty, or miserable; the world was new and beautiful, and the people who lived in it did not know what trouble meant.  So Epimetheus could not understand what was the matter with himself, and he stopped trying to play games and went back to Pandora.

On the way home he gathered a bunch of lovely roses, and lilies, and orange-blossoms, and with these he made a wreath to give Pandora, who was very fond of flowers.  He noticed there was a great black cloud in the sky, which was creeping nearer and nearer to the sun, and just as Ejpimetheus reached the cottage door the cloud went right over the sun and made everything look dark and sad.