Nature

Angebote / Angebote:

The seer Tiresias warned Narcissus' mother, the nymph Leiriope, to make sure her son would never know that he was a very handsome boy, lest he will die. So, she trained him to reject all lovers because of pillow talk. When he was still a young man, hunting stags through the forest, Narcissus was once pursued by a nymph whose name was Echo. She had fallen in love with him but could not tell him because she was mute except for repeating what she heard. She followed him stealthily. Hearing the noise of her footsteps, however, he stopped and shouted: "Is anyone here?" When Echo answered: "Is anyone here?" he called: "come!" echoed by "Come!", followed by "Why do you avoid me?", repeated by "Why do you avoid me?" He yelled: "Let us come together here." Echo repeated: "Let us come together here" and, at the same time, she rushed to embrace him. He pushed her off and ran away, shouting: "I will die before you ever lie with me." From this longer cry he heard only the last words repeated: "Lie with me." So, he ran faster and escaped from her in the woods. The Nymphs paid their respect to Narcissus at his funeral by offering a white flower with a red trim, which they called by his name, Narcissus. (See pp. 22-23)