Part 3

"Yes," said Uncle Henry, "and also like Caruso, _Arion_ decided to go home for a visit. Well, on the way to Lesbos the sailors decided to murder _Arion_ and get all the money he was taking home with him. He had gone on a regular pirate ship you see. The pirates were all ready to kill _Arion_, but he begged so hard to play just one little melody on his lute before he died that the pirate sailors said, 'Yes, he might play just one.' You would hardly believe it, but the melody that _Arion_ played was so catchy and tuneful that it attracted a number of dolphins, who began to dance and turn somersaults about the ship. Then _Arion_ watched his chance--and jumped over-board--and one of the friendly, music-loving dolphins carried him back to Lesbos on his back."

"My, but I'm glad he got away from those awful pirates!" cried Betty with heartfelt fervor.

"It's too bad the horrid sailors got his money after all," said Peter. "If they hadn't he might have got something nice for the dolphin to eat when he got to that place where he lived."

"The dolphin fared better than that," Uncle Henry assured the children. "It pleased the sea god _Neptune_ so much to have one of his creatures save a poet's life that he had that dolphin put in the sky among the stars, and we see him there now as the constellation _Delphinus_."

"What's next?" demanded Peter when the story of _Delphinus_ was finished.

"The next three," said Uncle Henry, shaking his head sadly, "are the last."

"The last?!!" chorused the Society of Star-Gazers incredulously.

"Well, maybe not absolutely the last," admitted Uncle Henry, "but the last for this Summer. There is a whole dozen more of the Star People in our northern sky, but we can't see them until next Winter."

"Why?" inquired Betty anxiously.

"It's a long story," said Uncle Henry. "Sometime I'll tell you all of it, beginning with the fact that the pole of the earth always points to the north star, where the little bear's tail is fastened, you remember. I promise to show you all the rest of the star animals and people when I come home for my Christmas vacation. Will that do, if I show you a wonderful eagle to-night--and a sea goat and a water carrier to finish up with?"

The children were disappointed, but they trusted Uncle Henry. He wouldn't stop showing animals and people until he had to; they all knew that.

Peter said,

"We'll have a whole dozen to look forward to next Christmas. Sort of a present from Uncle Henry. Come on, Uncle Hen, let's find the eagle and the sea goat and water carrier!"

The others agreed with Peter.

"The eagle, or _Aquila_," said Uncle Henry, "is easy to find because of a very bright star, called _Altair_, which is right in his neck. You will find it near the arrow, or _Sagitta_, between the end of the serpent's tail and _Delphinus_. (17) Does anybody see _Altair_?"

"I do," said Betty, "it's right between two other stars that aren't so bright."

"Right," said Uncle Henry. "Put down pebbles to represent all three, Betty, and we'll find the rest of the eagle, or _Aquila_, as it would be in Latin."

When the three pebbles were in place they stood in this relation to _Sagitta_ and _Delphinus_:

"Now," said Uncle Henry, "draw a line downward through the three stars and a little more than twice as far again and what do you see?"

"Another star," said Paul.

"Put it in," said Uncle Henry, "and then draw another line from the upper of the first three stars in the direction of the handle of the 'milk dipper' in _Sagittarius_, the archer. Continue this about four times the length of the line that joins the first three stars together and you will find two fairly bright stars close together. That's right, Paul; put in the star you find about halfway down the line, too. Now draw a line from the two fairly bright stars back in the direction of the tail of the sea-horse, or _Delphinus_, until it almost meets the first line you drew. There you will find another fairly bright star. Now it is easy to finish the eagle's skeleton."

When the eagle's skeleton was finished Peter thought it looked more like a big arrowhead than an eagle, but when Uncle Henry had drawn the outline of _Aquila_, the Society of Star-Gazers admitted the resemblance to the bird.

"Now where's that sea goat?" inquired Peter.

"Follow the line of the first three stars we found in _Aquila_ downward, and just a little way beyond where it ends in the tip of the eagle's wing you will see two rather faint stars, close together. (18) They are at one corner of a 'cocked hat' such as you make out of newspaper when you play soldier--sort of a Napoleon's hat. It is upside down. When you find it and put down pebbles for stars I'll show you how the good imaginations the ancient people had turned the cocked hat into a sea goat."

This shows how _Capricornus_ the sea goat looked when the children and Uncle Henry had finished him. I leave it to you to decide whether or not he looks more like a cocked hat.

"When we have found _Capricornus_ the sea goat," said Uncle Henry, "it is easy to find _Aquarius_ or the water carrier. Just prolong the line that connects the goat's right foot with his tail until it runs close to a little triangle of three stars with another in the centre. (19) It looks a little like the head of the Serpent we found squirming in _Ophiuchus'_ hands, but it is the water-jar _Aquarius_ is carrying."

"Oh, I see it," cried Paul.

The other stars in _Aquarius_ were soon found and represented by pebbles. Then Uncle Henry drew the outline that finished the Water-Carrier, like this:

"Now we're all through?" inquired Betty.

"Until next Christmas," smiled back Uncle Henry.

"Can't we have just one more poem?" teased Paul.

"What shall it be about?" asked Uncle Henry, with the air of a man who could write a poem to order on any subject.

"One about the lovely swan," commanded Betty, "you haven't made one up about the swan."

Uncle Henry was in a quandary; he wanted to please everybody with the last poem. He lay down on his back and looked up at the sky for so long that the children thought he must have fallen asleep. Finally Uncle Henry began to recite,

"The eagle of Starland Got tired of his tree, And challenged the swan to a race.

'Come up from the water! Fly up and be free! To northward I'll beat you a chase.'

The swan thought of shivers And icebergs and frost-- He made up his mind to race South.

So they are still flying-- Their race can't be lost-- Till Gabriel blows with his mouth."

"What'll Gabriel blow?" inquired Peter when the hand-clapping had stopped.

"His trumpet, of course, silly!" answered Betty for Uncle Henry.

Just then the children heard a toot from an automobile horn that they all recognized, and the Society of Star-Gazers raced with Uncle Henry back up to "Seven Oaks Cottage."

"Sister" and "the Children's Father" had come back from their trip and had surprised everybody.

The summer sessions of the Society were over.

FIRST WINTER EVENING

THE "SOCIETY" LEARNS WHY ORION NEEDS A CLUB TO KEEP FRISKY TAURUS IN ORDER--AND WHY WE SAY "BY JIMINI!" WHEN WE GET EXCITED

Uncle Henry came, as he had promised, to spend his Christmas holidays with "Sister," "the Children's Father," Peter, Paul and Betty, in their city apartment.

The children's hope for fair weather in Christmas week was not disappointed either. The days were snowy and sunny and the nights frosty and clear.

Only one thing had worried the "Society of Star-Gazers"--what was to take the place of the smooth sand of the beach when Uncle Henry should begin to point out the sky people that were visible in the winter sky? There were pebbles, it was true, on the flat roof of the apartment house, but there was no sand.

The children were certain, however, that Uncle Henry would find a way, as he always did, and sure enough, when he arrived he brought, as one of his Christmas gifts to the children, a wonderful blackboard, an easel to stand it upon, and plenty of white chalk.

After dinner on the first night of Uncle Henry's visit, the Society of Star-Gazers was bundled up in warm coats and mufflers and he led the way to the roof, carrying the blackboard and his pocket electric flashlight.

Far above the lights of the city arched the great, blue-black bowl of the sky, filled with the sparkling patterns of stars that the children had learned to know as steadfast, unchanging friends.

"Uncle Henry," said Betty, "you've told us about enough animals to really fill a Noah's ark, but we've never heard anything about Noah himself. Isn't there any Mr. Noah in the sky?"

"Well, Betty," said Uncle Henry, "There isn't any constellation that's named for Noah, but he was a great hunter, and since there is a great hunter in the sky, we can call him Noah if we want to, even if his last name is _Orion_."

"Noah O'Ryan!" laughed Paul. "I know a boy named Michael O'Ryan."

"It's not the same spelling," said Uncle Henry, as he turned the flashlight on the blackboard while he wrote the word upon it, and underneath, made three large chalk dots, like this:

"Find those three stars," said Uncle Henry, "and you will have the _belt of Orion_. It ought not to be hard to find them, for there are no other stars like them anywhere in the whole sky. Those three stars have always attracted a lot of attention from people in all times and countries. In the Bible Job calls them 'the bands of Orion'; the Arabs called them 'the Golden Nuts'; the fierce Masai Tribe in Africa call them 'the three old men'; the ancient Chinese named Orion 'Tsan,' which means 'three'; and to the Eskimos these three stars appear to be the three steps that a Starland Eskimo cuts in a snowbank when he wants to climb to the top of it."

The children soon found _Orion's_ belt about a third of the way up the southeastern sky.

"Now," said Uncle Henry, "see who can find his shoulders first. Here is a piece of chalk for each of you. Put the shoulders in as soon as you see them."

Paul found _Orion's_ right shoulder, and Betty his left, and made large chalk dots to show how bright and beautiful the stars that mark the shoulders are.

"Oh, I see his feet!" exclaimed Betty delightedly.

"Put them in then," said Uncle Henry.

Then _Orion_ looked like this on the blackboard:

"I'll tell you this much more," said Uncle Henry, "and then you must finish _Orion_ by yourselves. He has a great club, raised, ready to strike, in his right hand, and he holds a lion's skin on his left arm, as a shield."

"What's he going to hit at?" inquired Peter, with his boy's joy in battle uppermost.

"At _Taurus_, the wild bull," said Uncle Henry. "You can see that _Taurus_ is very fierce, and would enjoy nothing better than to chase the twin star boys round and round the sky. He might not really want to hurt the boys, whose names are _Castor_ and _Pollux_, but _Taurus'_ horns are very sharp and he doesn't know how to play gently, so it keeps _Orion_ pretty busy getting between him and _Gemini_ and threatening the bull with his club."

"What's 'jimini,' Uncle Hen?" said Paul. "Sounds like our swear word."

"It _is_ the origin of it," said Uncle Henry. "The ancient Romans used to swear 'by _Gemini_,' and it has slowly been changed into your 'jimini.' _Gemini_ is the Latin word that means 'twins.' We'll find them after we finish up _Orion_ and _Taurus_, and then you'll see just how _Orion_ keeps protecting them from the bull."

"Hurry up, Uncle Hen!" urged Peter. "I'm dreadful excited!"

Uncle Henry did, and as a result _Orion_ looked like this:

"Ooh! he's got a sword, too!" cried Paul, as Uncle Henry added the three tiny stars below _Orion's_ belt, and drew the outline around them.

"Why didn't he use the sword on _Taurus_?" asked Peter.

"Because he knew _Taurus_ was only playing in his rough way," Uncle Henry replied.

"Well, we've heard a lot about that bull," said Betty. "Let's find him right away."

Uncle Henry said nothing, but took the chalk from Betty and drew a light line from _Orion's_ right foot to his left shoulder, and continued it upward about the same distance. (20)

"There," he said, "that point is just between the bull's horns and over his right eye. The right eye of _Taurus_ is a very bright star called _Aldebaran_. Anybody see it?"

"Oh, I do!" said Paul. "What, hasn't _Taurus_ any left eye, Uncle Hen?"

"He has," said Uncle Henry, "but he has it closed just now. He's winking it at _Orion_ as much as to say, 'Oh, I act fierce, but I wouldn't hurt those twins after all. I'm just playing.' Go ahead and put in the stars for the bull's head and horns as fast as you find them, youngsters."

The children did, and when Uncle Henry had showed them the fore legs and shoulder, which contains the beautiful little group of faint stars called the _Pleiades_, _Taurus_ looked like this:

"Now we want the twins!" cried Betty.

"All right," said Uncle Henry, "follow a line straight up the bull's left horn and a little more than the length of the horn beyond its tip and you will reach _Castor_, the head of the fainter twin." (21)

Peter and Paul began to show great interest, because they were twins themselves. They demanded that each be allowed to select one of the sky children and finish him completely, without Uncle Henry's assistance.

Paul, having first choice because he was twenty minutes younger than Peter, selected _Pollux_, and Peter had to be contented with the less bright _Castor_.

It was not a difficult task for either of the boys, after finding the twin star _Castor_, for the head of _Pollux_ is quite close beside it and the bodies of both star children stand side by side, with the feet just above _Orion's_ uplifted club.

When _Gemini_, the twins, were finished, the blackboard looked like this, and since the children's fingers were so stiff with the cold that they could hardly hold the chalk, Uncle Henry moved that the Society of Star-Gazers adjourn until the next evening.

SECOND WINTER EVENING

IN WHICH THE DOGS OF ORION AND GEMINI FOLLOW THEIR MASTERS, PEGASUS ESCAPES AS USUAL, AND ANDROMEDA GETS A NICE SOFT BED OF HAY IN PLACE OF HER HARD OLD ROCK

"Uncle Hen," said Peter, when the Society was assembled round the blackboard, in overcoats and mittens, on the following night, "what is that very bright star that is down behind _Orion_? It looks sort of important to me."

"Right you are, Pete," answered Uncle Henry, looking where the boy pointed, "it _is_ important. It is the star _Sirius_, the brightest star in the whole sky. We'll begin with it and find _Orion's_ dog, or _Canis Major_, which is Latin for 'bigger dog.'"

"That's great!" exclaimed Paul, "you told us last Summer that we'd find him this Christmas-time."

"So I did," agreed Uncle Henry. "Well, you can always find _Orion's_ dog by drawing a line through _Orion's_ belt and extending it behind him until it meets _Sirius_. (22) You can't miss it because it's so bright. Everybody see it?"

Everybody did.

"Now," went on Uncle Henry, "extend the line that came from _Orion's_ belt, curving it slightly downward after it passes through _Sirius_, and you will have the dog's backbone. Put in the chalk dots as we find the stars, Pete. Now draw lines upward and downward from _Sirius_, at right angles to the backbone line and you will have the dog's forelegs and ears. At a point on the backbone about twice the length of the foreleg from _Sirius_, you will find another fairly bright star, and below it a little way another star. Connect these two and keep on with the line, at right angles to the backbone, and you will find one hind foot. The other is not far in front of it. Yes, that's right, Betty, there's a star in the tip of his tail, too. And the three stars near _Sirius_ make _Canis Major's_ nose."

The children soon finished the skeleton and Uncle Henry took the chalk and put the flesh upon it. Then the dog of _Orion_ looked like this:

"He's a faithful old fellow, isn't he?" said Betty, "to always follow Mr. _Orion_ around like that?"

"I'm not always sure," said Uncle Henry, "whether the dog of _Orion_ would always be so faithful if it wasn't for the rabbit that is always just ahead of him, almost under _Orion's_ feet."

"Oh, show us the rabbit!" cried Betty. Her father had promised her that when they all went to live in a house in the country, she should have a pair of them for her very own.

"All right, Betty," said Uncle Henry. "You can find _Lepus_, the rabbit, yourself. The three rather faint stars just below _Orion's_ right foot make the curve of his back. Join them together with a curved line and extend it forward and downward until it passes through two brighter stars. The lowest of these is in the fore-shoulder of the rabbit. Now draw lines backward from both of these brighter stars, at about right angles to the line that joins them, and you will find the rabbit's hind hip and hind foot. He is lying down for a moment to rest. You see he's been galloping away from _Canis Major_ for such a long time that he is tired."

"Poor little rabbit!" cried Betty, and her little face looked so pitiful in the light of the electric torch that Uncle Henry hastened to reassure her by saying that the big dog had never yet caught the rabbit, and by the very nature of things never could. Then she took heart to go on putting in the stars.

"Now," said Uncle Henry, "you can find the star in the rabbit's eye by drawing a line forward from the upper one of the brighter stars, and the star in his fore-foot by drawing another forward and downward from his fore-shoulder. That finishes his skeleton, all except his ears. They are made by finding four faint stars just under _Orion's_ left foot, and using two of them in each ear."

"Now can I draw his outline in, too?" asked Betty. "I want to make every bit of him myself."

"Of course you can!" exclaimed Uncle Henry indulgently.

"You've got to let me make all of the horse, then, when we come to him!" exclaimed Peter.

"In just a little while, Pete," said Uncle Henry, "we're making the rabbit now."

"All right," agreed Peter.

Betty had looked longingly at rabbits in pet stores so often that she really did very well at drawing the outline of the sky-rabbit.

We leave it to you to better it. You can't--unless you love rabbits more than she did.

Betty's brothers were quite astonished, and pleased the little girl immensely by clapping their hands when the rabbit was finished.

"Now let me do the horse!" demanded Peter.

"What'll be left for me to do?" inquired Paul wistfully, "if you let Pete do the horse?"

"That'll be all right, Paul," reassured Uncle Henry, "the sky horse is very large, but we'll give you two smaller animals to do yourself to make up for him--_Aries_, the ram, and _Canis Minor_, the smaller dog."

"Fine," agreed Paul. "I know all 'bout rams."

The children laughed gleefully. Paul had been butted over once by a ram when they were on a summer visit to their grandfather's farm.

"Well, Pete," said Uncle Henry briskly, "you'll find _Pegasus_, the horse, grazing clear on the other side of the star field. Somebody built a box stall for him over there, but he's so big and strong that he doesn't stay in it except when he feels like it. He's all the time leaping the fence and escaping. When you find him, you'll see that he's doing that very thing now. In fact, you'll catch him right in the act!"

"Oh, let's hurry then!" said Peter, "he might be out before we see him do it!"

"Everybody find the big dipper," directed Uncle Henry. "You remember how we found the pole star in the tip of the little bear's tail by drawing a line up through the 'pointer stars' of the dipper's bowl, on the side away from the handle? Well, do that again now, and follow the line through the pole star, passing behind _Cassiopeia_ in her chair, and continuing until your line passes through two fairly bright stars quite a distance apart. (23) A line connecting these stars marks the top edge of _Pegasus'_ box stall, which is called 'the square of _Pegasus_.'"

"_Cassiopeia_ is about halfway between the pole star and _Pegasus_. A line drawn from the pole star through the back of _Cassiopeia's_ chair will reach the two stars that form the lower corners of _Pegasus'_ box stall." (24)

"Oh, I see the square now," said Peter.

"Me, too," said Paul.

"It's very big, isn't it?" said Betty.

"Yes," agreed Uncle Henry, "and _Pegasus_ is big, too. He is upside down just now, with his head just above the western horizon. His nose points northward toward _Delphinus_ and his neck curves up from the side of the box stall that's away from the pole star. His fore feet curve up from the side of the square that is toward the pole star, and both feet point toward the swan."

"I see him now," cried Peter, and began putting in the chalk dots and lines for the framework of the box stall and the skeleton of _Pegasus'_ head and forelegs, which are all of him that can be seen. As Uncle Henry said, _Pegasus_ is just in the act of jumping out of his stall.

When Peter had finished drawing _Pegasus_, the horse of poets looked like this. Uncle Henry put in the arrows pointing from the pole star, and the skeletons of _Delphinus_ and the swan.

"It seems to me," observed Paul sagely, "that _Pegasus'_ box stall is a lot too small for him."

"That's why he is all the time jumping out and running away," explained Uncle Henry. "I told you that we should catch him in the act. He's always at it."

"Pete's had his turn; now I want to find the ram and the little dog," said Paul.

"If you'll wait just a little longer," said Uncle Henry, "I'd like to show Betty the last of the sky ladies, because she's right close to _Pegasus_."

Paul's face fell a little, but he said, "Ladies first, of course," as any gentleman would.

"I said she was a lady," said Uncle Henry, "but I'm not so sure that she is acting like one. In fact, she is in an attitude that few ladies would like to be seen in, at least not in the plain view of everybody who looks at the sky."

"What's she doing, Uncle Henry?" inquired Betty, in a tone that said, "I guess it can't be anything so _very_ bad."

Betty was herself fond of climbing trees, in spite of motherly disapproval of such tomboy activities.

"She's lying flat on her back, with her arms and legs sprawled out and her head resting against the corner of _Pegasus'_ box stall. I should think it might be very uncomfortable for her, unless she is lying on a pile of hay, for _Andromeda_ has been there a very long time in the same position. The ancient Greeks said that _Andromeda_ was chained to a rock. Let's not have her that way; it would be so disagreeable."

"She's probably asleep and doesn't notice, but we'll give her the hay," said Betty. "There's nobody to tell her not to lie down where she likes. How do we find her, Uncle Henry?"

"First look for her head," said Uncle Henry. "It is the same star we found forming the lower corner of _Pegasus'_ square on the side toward the pole star. _Andromeda's_ feet are just below the W-shaped _Cassiopeia_. A line drawn from the swan's beak through his tail, and extended across the sky, will reach the stars in the feet. (25) Another line drawn diagonally across the square of _Pegasus_ to _Andromeda's_ head and extended will pass along her body, and farther on, her left foot will be seen just above the line. You see her now, don't you, Betty?"

"Yes," said Betty, "and I think I see her arms."

"All right, draw her in," Uncle Henry encouraged.

Betty did, but didn't think she could draw well enough to outline the sleeping girl, so Uncle Henry did that. Then _Andromeda_ looked like this: