To her surprise this hole began to grow wider and wider, and deeper and deeper, and a rumbling noise came out of it.  Louder and louder it grew, nearer and nearer it came, just like the tramp of horses’ feet and the rattling of wheels.

Proserpina was too frightened now to run away, and soon she saw a wonderful thing.  Two black horses, with smoke coming out of their nostrils and with long black tails and flowing black manes, came tearing their way out of the earth, and a splendid golden chariot was rattling at their heels.

The horses leaped out of the hole, chariot and all, and came close to the spot where Proserpina stood.

Then she saw there was a man in the chariot.  He was very richly dressed, with a crown on his head all made of diamonds which sparkled like fire.  He was a very handsome man, but looked rather cross and discontented, and he kept rubbing his eyes and covering them with his hand, as if he did not care much for the bright sunshine.

As soon as he saw Proserpina, the man waved to her to come a little nearer.  “Do not be afraid,” he said.  “Come! would you not like to ride a little way with me in my beautiful chariot?”

But Proserpina was very frightened, and no wonder.  The stranger did not look a very kind or pleasant man.  His voice was so gruff and deep, and sounded just like the rumbling Proserpina had heard underneath the earth.

She at once began to cry out, “Mother, mother!  O Mother Ceres, come quickly and save me!”

[Illustration:  He caught her in his arms and sprang into the chariot.]

But her voice was very shaky and too faint for Mother Ceres to hear, for by this time she was many thousands of miles away making the corn grow in another country.

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.”