The Girl and the Pomegranate

Part One · The Flower

Persephone loved flowers. Her mother, Demeter, was the goddess of the harvest. Wherever Demeter walked, plants grew.

One morning, Persephone found a new flower. It had a hundred blossoms on one stem. She picked it.

The ground cracked open. Out came a golden chariot. Hades, the king below the earth, took her down.

Persephone was sad in the dark place. She did not eat or drink. She missed the sun.

Part Two · The Winter

Demeter heard a faint cry. She searched for nine days and nights with two torches.

Nobody had seen her girl. Demeter grew so sad that nothing would grow.

Leaves dropped from the trees. The wheat withered. For the first time, the world had winter.

The people were hungry. Zeus saw that the world needed help. He sent Hermes to bring Persephone home.

Part Three · The Seeds

Hades listened. "Have a bite before you go," he said. He held a pomegranate, red and full of seeds.

Persephone was so hungry. She ate six of the shiny seeds. Then she rode up to her mother.

Demeter ran to hug her. "Did you eat anything below?" she asked. "Only six seeds," said Persephone.

So each year Persephone must go below for six months. When she is away, it is winter.

When she comes home, spring begins. The ice melts, and flowers open. Demeter is glad again.