Venus and Psyche

On Olympus Venus waited impatiently for Mercury to bring her news of Psyche's capture. Venus's chariot stood outside her palace, so she could go to Earth immediately upon hearing that Psyche was now hers. To insure that her son would not interfere, she had locked the door to his chambers. If he still wanted Psyche after she was done, he could have her. But she doubted Cupid would want a dead woman.

Just then, Mercury ran into her palace. "The deed has been accomplished. Psyche is on her way to your temple."

"Thank you, Mercury. You have been a true friend."

"I am delighted that I could be of service. Now please excuse me. I have a lot of gossip to catch up on."

"And to tell about me, I'm sure."

"But of course." Mercury smiled as he hurried out the door.

Never had Venus flown so rapidly through the air, but she wanted to be sitting in her throne chair at her temple when Psyche arrived.

Since the day Psyche had gone to the mountaintop, the people had returned to their worship of Venus. Her temple had been cleaned and scrubbed many times until it gleamed so brightly in the midday sun, no one could gaze on it directly. When people approached the temple, they did so with heads bowed, which Venus thought was appropriate.

Psyche arrived, head bowed as she approached Venus. When she was a respectful distance from the goddess, Psyche prostrated herself.

"Goddess," she began, but Venus stopped her.

"I don't want to hear a word you have to say. Stand up so I can look at you."

Psyche rose.

"Look at me!" Venus commanded.

Psyche raised her bowed head. Too afraid to look directly at the goddess, her gaze fixed on a point over Venus's left shoulder.

"Whatever did my son see in you? You are so ordinary looking. There are serving girls in your father's palace more beautiful than you. What did you do to Cupid that he would look at you and find you beautiful? Is there some wicked seer in this land who made a potion for you to give to my son?"

"My lady, I—"

"Shut up! Did I tell you that you could speak?"

Psyche shook her head.

"Good! Now, tell me this. There is an ugly rumor that you are carrying Cupid's child. Tell me this is not so."

"To say that would be a lie," Psyche said softly.

"Oh, my Juno!" Venus exclaimed. "You are pregnant? Yes or no? Are you pregnant with Cupid's child?"

"Yes," Psyche responded, this time looking directly at Venus.

"Oh no!" Venus screamed. "How could this have happened? Well, I know how it happened, but I don't believe my son would do this to me. Me, a grandmother? I'm much too young to have a grandchild. Much too young! And you will not turn me into a grandmother. You may call yourself the wife of Cupid, but no marriage ceremony took place in my temple, did it?"

Psyche shook her head.

"Then, I am not a grandmother and your child will be a bastard."

With those words, Psyche began crying softly.

"Oh, don't start crying just yet! Save your tears for what I am going to do to you!"

Venus called for the attendants of the temple and whispered something to them. They hurried away. Shortly they returned carrying heavy bags on their shoulders.

"The only way someone as sorry looking as you will ever get a husband is through hard work. This is a test to see just how diligent you are."

Venus motioned to the attendants. They opened the bags, and onto the floor, they dumped pile after pile of grains and seeds—wheat, barley, millet, lentils, beans, poppy, and vetch.

"Now," Venus ordered, "mix them all together!"

The attendants did so. When they finished, the pile had grown until it almost touched the domed ceiling.

"Your task, you piece of vermin, is to sort out the different kinds of grains and seeds and to put each in its own pile. Oh, yes. Have it done by the time the sun goes down. Now I have a wedding to attend." Venus went outside, got in her carriage, and flew off.

Psyche slumped to the floor. Why hadn't she been content with her life? Allowing people to stare at her had not been so awful, had it? What were a few moments of being looked at compared to the wrath of a goddess? She could not do what Venus asked even if she lived a hundred years. And so, Psyche lay there sobbing.

It just so happened that an ant was making its way across the floor at that very moment. Something appeared in its path. To the ant, whatever it was would not be an obstacle. If he could not find a way around it, then he would go over. If it was too high to go over, he would find a way under.

However, when the ant got close to the object, he stopped. He stared. He had not seen anything so beautiful since the day he had seen a tiny portion of Psyche's big toe. He looked closer. Could it be? Could it? Oh, my Jupiter! It was! Psyche's big toe! This was Psyche's foot!

But before the ant could jump up and down and start shouting with joy, he heard sobbing. Quickly, he hurried up to Psyche's head.

"Oh, dear lady. What is making you weep?"

"The goddess Venus has commanded me to separate all the grains and seeds into separate piles according to their kind, and to be done by sunset. That is impossible!"

"How cruel the goddess is to you," the ant replied. "She is jealous of your beauty. Wipe your eyes and do not worry. What is impossible to a mortal is merely routine for ants."

Quickly, he called for all the ants in the area, and that was thousands. "Do you remember when I told you I had encountered the most beautiful creature in the world?"

All the ants agreed that they did.

"She needs our help. There is no telling what the goddess Venus might do to her if she does not have this great mound of seeds and grains separated into their own piles by the time Sun goes to bed. Quickly, let us get to work!"

The ants swarmed over the huge mound. Grain by grain, seed by seed, they began carrying and sorting.

Although Sun had promised himself to stay out of the affairs of mortals, he could not let Psyche fail. He asked Night if she minded coming a little later. Night did not mind at all. Anything that was going to let her get a little more sleep was fine. So Sun delayed his going down until the ants had finished sorting the grains and seeds and putting them in piles of their own kind. Sun inspected each pile to make sure none of the ants had made a mistake and put a seed in a pile where it did not belong. But they were ants and would not have made a ridiculous mistake like that. Satisfied that all was as it should be, Sun resumed his journey downward. It was evening when Venus returned. She was a little tipsy from having drunk too much champagne at the wedding. However, she was not too drunk to see that all the seeds and grains had been sorted into their proper piles.

"Who did you put a spell on to do this for you? Don't tell me! It doesn't matter. Tomorrow I will give you a task no one can do for you. For now, come with me! You will spend the night in my palace so I will know where you are!"

Psyche slept that night under the same roof as Cupid. She did not know this. Cupid, still lying on his bed, heard his mother return. Someone was with her, someone to whom his mother spoke with more anger than he had ever heard from her. There was only one person with whom his mother could be that angry. For the first time since he had returned to his mother's house, Cupid sat up, his mind and body alert.

Could it be? Was Psyche there?

Chapter end