As the story goes ...

Once up a time, a long time ago, there were two brothers named Epimetheus and
Prometheus. They were good gods. They had good hearts. They were good friends.
One day, Prometheus got in trouble with Zeus. Because he had a kind heart,
Prometheus gave man fire. Zeus was furious. Zeus had announced that man did not
deserve fire. Prometheus had ignored him. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus
to a rock for many years. Then Zeus went after his brother, the gentle, kind-hearted
Epimetheus.
Zeus ordered the gods' handyman, the maker of things - Hephaestus - to make Zeus a
daughter. Hephaestus made a woman out of clay, a beautiful woman. He brought her
to life, and then brought her to Zeus. Zeus named his lovely new daughter Pandora.
Zeus knew that Epimetheus was lonely. Zeus gave Pandora in marriage to the good
hearted Epimetheus.
Zeus gave the newlyweds a gift. Some say it was a jar. Some say it was a box.
Whatever it was, it was locked. It came with a note. The note said: DO NOT OPEN."
Attached to the note was a key. It was all very curious.
You can guess what happened next. It was Pandora whose curiosity got the better of
her. One day, she used the key to open the box. As she raised the lid, out flew all the
bad things in the world today - envy, sickness, hate, disease. Pandora slammed the lid
closed, but it was too late.
Epimetheus heard her weeping. He came running. Pandora opened the lid to show him
it was empty. Quickly, before she could slam the lid shut, one tiny bug flew out. He
gave Pandora a big buggy smile in thanks for his freedom and flew away. That tiny
bug was named Hope. And Hope made all the difference in the world.
Home > The Story: Opening Pandora's Box
The Story: Opening Pandora's
Box
'Opening Pandora's Box' is a metaphor for our time. It is a
story about how one of two brothers,Epimetheus, is seduced by appearances and his
own desires. He did not have the forethought to look into the true nature of what he
saw, or to understand the implications of his actions beyond himself. The moral of the
story is that once the Earth is opened, she cannot be closed, and what we spoil we spoil
forever. Mining the last remaining wildernesses and the critical ecosystems of our Earth
is irreversible. The other brother, Prometheus, in the story, warns us that hindsight is
too late and hoping for the best is ignorant and impotent. What the story recommends is
foresight: from this come the gifts of a true civilisation and right relation towards the
Earth, our source of life.

Once upon a time in ancient Greece there were two brothers, grandsons of Gaia,
Mother Earth: Prometheus (whose name means 'forethought' or 'foresight')
and Epimetheus (whose name means 'afterthought' or hindsight').
Zeus, belonging to the next generation, who became king of the gods in Olympus, hid
fire from human beings. Prometheus, closer to the source, stole that fire back from the
gods, concealing it in a stalk of fennel, and gave it to humans. He also taught humans
all the civilising arts, such as writing, mathematics, agriculture, medicine and science.
But Zeus, in revenge for the theft of the fire, played a cruel trick on humans. He ordered
the gods - who did not dare refuse him - to create a beautiful woman in the image of a
goddess. Hephaestus, the smith god from beneath the Earth, made her from Earth
mixed with water;Athena, goddess of wisdom, taught her crafts and weaving; Aphrodite,
goddess of love, gave her irresistible charm; Hermes, god of imagination, gave her a
deceitful nature, and mischievously called her 'Pandora' ('pan' meaning 'all'
and 'dora' meaning 'gifts'), because 'all her gifts' had been given her by the gods,
showing her to be a parody of the only true Giver of All Gifts, who was Gaia, Mother
Goddess Earth.
Now Prometheus, looking in advance into the nature of things, warned his brother not to
accept any gift from Olympian Zeus, the new patriarch, who was reversing the order of
life. But when Zeus tempted Epimetheus with Pandora, he forgot his brother's warning,
and took the gift from Zeus with great delight. After all, she looked so promising: she
was clothed in a silver robe and an embroidered veil; she wore on her head a crown of
gold garlanded with flowers and new grown herbs and patterned with the many
creatures of land and sea. Gods and mortals were seized with wonder. How could mere
humans withstand such temptation?
There was an urn, a mighty jar (only later called a box), which had always been
forbidden to be opened, for the sake of the whole world. It contained powers beyond
human capacity to understand and control. These are 'all the gifts' of life and death,
which Gaia alone can give, as 'Mother of All.' But Pandora, not knowing what she was
doing, seeing it, opened it, and out came all the troubles known to mortals: sicknesses
by day and by night, old age, harsh toil and death. Only Hope did not fly out, remaining
under the lip of the jar, as Zeus had allowed Pandora to put the lid back just in time. Yet,
before this, the people on Earth lived in peace, free from the suffering that now plagues
them.

This is a tale of 'mythic inversion' - a patriarchal reversal of an earlier goddess myth -
where the original awe and respect due to Gaia is inverted. Mother Earth was herself
celebrated as the Giver of All Gifts in an earlier time when her order was supreme,
as Hermesrecognises in the play upon her name. Now Zeus, not Gaia, has become the
creator, and creates a woman who is the parody of the goddess she is designed to
resemble: Pandora was a 'beautiful evil,' a false treasure, an inverted image of the
feminine. Her superficial outer image is attractive to those who, like Epimetheus, have
lost the foresight to see into the depths of things. Instead of giving, she takes - as we do
- releasing evils we do not understand and cannot take back.
Pandora's Box
Text only version

Has your curiosity ever got you into trouble? Have you ever been so desperate to know a
secret that you took no notice of a warning? All through history there are stories of people
being told not to open doors, caskets, cupboards, gates and all sorts of other things and, in so
many of the stories, the people just did not listen. One person who did not listen was
Pandora. Her story comes from Ancient Greece and her curiosity brought a whole heap of
trouble!

In ancient Greece there were two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus. They upset
the gods and annoyed the most powerful of all Gods, Zeus, in particular. This was not the first
time humans had upset Zeus, and once before, as punishment, he had taken from humans the
ability to make fire. This meant they could no longer cook their meat and could not keep
themselves warm.

However, Prometheus was clever and he knew that, on the Isle of Lemnos, lived Hephaestos,
the blacksmith. He had a fire burning to keep his forge hot. Prometheus travelled to Lemnos
and stole fire from the blacksmith. Zeus was furious and decided that humans had to be
punished once and for all for their lack of respect.

Zeus came up with a very cunning plan to punish the two brothers. With the help of
Hephaestos, he created a woman from clay. The goddess Athene then breathed life into the
clay, Aphrodite made her very beautiful and Hermes taught her how to be both charming and
deceitful. Zeus called her Pandora and sent her as a gift to Epimetheus.

His brother Prometheus had warned him not to accept any gifts from the gods but Epimetheus
was completely charmed by the woman and thought Pandora was so beautiful that she could
never cause any harm, so he agreed to marry her.

Zeus, pleased that his trap was working, gave Pandora a wedding gift of a beautiful box.
There was one very, very important condition however, that she must never opened the box.
Pandora was very curious about the contents of the box but she had promised that she would
never open it.

All she could think about was; what could be in the box? She could not understand why
someone would send her a box if she could not see what was in it. It seemed to make no
sense at all to her and she could think of nothing else but of opening the box and unlocking its
secrets. This was just what Zeus had planned.

Finally, Pandora could stand it no longer. When she knew Epimetheus was out of sight, she
crept up to the box, took the huge key off the high shelf, fitted it carefully into the lock and
turned it. But, at the last moment, she felt a pang of guilt, imagined how angry her husband
would be and quickly locked the box again without opening the lid and put the key back
where she had found it. Three more times she did this until, at last, she knew she had to look
inside or she would go completely mad!

She took the key, slid it into the lock and turned it. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes
and slowly lifted the lid of the box. She opened her eyes and looked into the box, expecting
to see fine silks, gowns or gold bracelets and necklaces or even piles of gold coins.

But there was no gleam of gold or treasure. There were no shining bracelets and not one
beautiful dress! The look of excitement on her face quickly turned to one of disappointment
and then horror. For Zeus had packed the box full of all the terrible evils he could think of.
Out of the box poured disease and poverty. Out came misery, out came death, out came
sadness - all shaped like tiny buzzing moths.

The creatures stung Pandora over and over again and she slammed the lid shut. Epimetheus
ran into the room to see why she was crying in pain. Pandora could still hear a voice calling to
her from the box, pleading with her to be let out. Epimetheus agreed that nothing inside the
box could be worse than the horrors that had already been released, so they opened the lid
once more.

All that remained in the box was Hope. It fluttered from the box like a beautiful dragonfly,
touching the wounds created by the evil creatures, and healing them. Even though Pandora
had released pain and suffering upon the world, she had also allowed Hope to follow them.
PANDORA'S BOX
PANDORA AND THE GREAT BOX
Long, long ago, when this old world was in its infancy, there was a child named
Epimetheus
who never had either father or mother. In order that he might not be lonely,
another child,
fatherless and motherless like himself, was sent from a far country to be his
playfellow. Her name was Pandora.
The first thing that Pandora saw when she entered the cottage where Epimetheus
dwelt was a great box. And almost the first question which she put to him, after
crossing the threshold, was
this:
"Epimetheus, what have you in that box?"
"My dear little Pandora," answered Epimetheus, "that is a secret, and you must
be kind
enough not to ask any questions about it. The box was left here to be kept safely,
and I do not myself know what it contains."
"But who gave it to you?" asked Pandora." And where' did it come from?"
"That is a secret, too," replied Epimetheus.
"How provoking!" exclaimed Pandora, pouting her lip. "I wish the great ugly
box were out of the way!"
"0 come, don't think of it any more,!' cried Epimetheus. "Let us run out of
doors, and play
with the other children."
It is thousands of years since Epimetheus and Pandora were alive. Then,
everybody was a
child. Children needed no fathers and mothers to take care of them; because
there was no danger or trouble of any kind, and there were no clothes to be
mended, and there were always plenty of things to eat and to drink.
Whenever a child wanted his dinner, he found it growing on a tree; and if he
looked at the tree in the morning, he could see the blossom of that night's supper;
or at eventide he saw the tender bud of tomorrow's breakfast. It was a very
pleasant life indeed. No labor to be done, no lessons to be studied; nothing but
sports and dances and sweet voices of children talking or singing.
What was most wonderful of all, the children never quarreled among themselves;
neither had they any crying fits; nor, since time first began, had a single one of
them ever gone into a corner and sulked. Oh, what a good time was that to be
alive in! The truth is, those ugly little winged monsters called Troubles, which
are now almost as numerous as mosquitoes, had never yet been seen on the earth.
Perhaps the very greatest uneasiness which a child had ever felt was Pandora's
vexation at not being able to discover the secret of the mysterious box.
"Whence can the box have come?" Pandora continually kept saying to herself
and to
Epimetheus. "And what on earth can be inside of it?"
"Always talking about this box!" said Epimetheus at last, for he had grown tired
of the
subject. "I wish, dear Pandora, you would try to talk of something else. Come, let
us go and
gather some ripe figs, and eat them under the trees for our supper. And I know a
vine that has the sweetest and juiciest grapes you ever tasted."
"Always talking about grapes and figs !" cried Pandora, pettishly.
"Well, then," said Epimetheus, who was a very good-tempered child, "let us run
out and have a merry time with our playmates.
I am tired of merry times, and don't care if I never have any more!" answered
pettish little
Pandora. "And, besides, I never do have any. This ugly box! I am so taken up
with thinking about it all the time. I insist upon your telling me what is inside of
it."
"As I have already said fifty times over, I do not know!" replied Epimetheus,
getting a little vexed himself. "How, then, can I tell you what is inside?"
"You might open it," said Pandora, "and then we could see for ourselves."
"Pandora, what are you thinking of?" exclaimed Epimetheus.
His face showed so much horror at the idea of looking into a box which had been
given to
him on his promise never to open it, that Pandora thought it best not to suggest it
any more. Still, she could not help thinking and talking about the box.
"At least," said she, "you can tell me how it came here." "It was left at the
door," replied
Epimetheus, "just before you came, by a person who looked very smiling and
who could hardly keep from laughing as he put it down. He was dressed in an
odd kind of cloak, and had on a cap that seemed to be made partly of feathers, so
that it looked almost as if it had wings."
"What sort of staff had he?" asked Pandora.
"Oh, the most curious staff you ever saw!" cried Epimetheus" It was like two
serpents
twisting around a stick and was carved so naturally that I at first thought the
serpents were
alive."
"I know him," said Pandora thoughtfully. "Nobody else. has such a staff. It was
Quicksilver, and he brought me here as well as the box. No doubt he intended it
for me; and most probably it contains pretty dresses for me to wear, or
something very nice for us both to eat!"
"Perhaps so,' answered Epimetheus, turning away. "But until Quicksilver comes
back and
tells us so, we have neither of us any right to lift the lid of the box."
"What a dull boy he is!" muttered Pandora, as Epimetheus left the cottage.
THE KNOT OF GOLDEN CORD
For the first time since her arrival, Epimetheus had gone out without asking
Pandora to
accompany him. He went to gather figs and grapes for himself, or to seek
whatever amusement he could find with other children. He was tired to death of
hearing about the box, and heartily wished that Quicksilver had left it at some
other child's door where Pandora would never have set eyes on it.
How she did babble about this one thing! The box, the box, and nothing but the
box! It was
really hard that poor Epimetheus should have a box in his ears from morning till
night; especially as the little people of the earth in those happy days knew not
how to deal with troubles. Thus a small-trouble made as much disturbance then
as a far bigger one would in our own time.
After Epimetheus was gone, Pandora stood gazing at the box. She had called it
ugly over a
hundred times; but in spite of all that she had said against it, it was a very
handsome article of furniture. It was made of a beautiful kind of wood with dark
and rich veins spreading over its
surface, which was so highly polished that little Pandora could see herself in it.
The edges and corners of the box were carved with most wonderful skill. Around
the edges there were figures of graceful men and women, and the prettiest
children ever seen. But here and there, Pandora once or twice thought that she
saw a face not so lovely, or something or other which stole the beauty out of all
the rest. Nevertheless, on looking more closely and touching the spot with her
finger, she could discover nothing of the kind. Some face that was really beautiful
had been made to look ugly by her catching a sideways glimpse at it.
The most beautiful face of all was carved in the center of the lid. There was
nothing else
except the dark, smooth richness of the polished wood, and this one face in the
center with a garland of flowers about its brow. Pandora had looked at this face
a great many times and
imagined that the mouth could smile if it liked, or be grave when it chose, the
same as any living mouth. The features, indeed, all wore a very lively and rather
mischievous expression.
Had this mouth spoken, it would probably have said something like this:
"Do not be afraid, Pandora! What harm can there be in opening the box? Never
mind that
poor, simple Epimetheus! You are wiser than he, and have ten times as much
spirit. Open the box, and see if you do not find Something! very pretty !"
The box, I had almost forgotten to say, was fastened not by a lock but by a very
fine knot of gold cord. There appeared to be no end to this knot, and no
beginning. Never was a knot so
cunningly twisted with so many ins and outs. And yet, by the very difficulty that
there was in it, Pandora was there tempted to examine the knot, and just see how
it was made. Two or three times already she had stooped over the box and taken
the knot between her thumb and forefinger, but without trying to undo it.
"I really believe," said she to herself, "that I begin to see how it was done. Nay,
perhaps I
could tie it up again after undoing it. Even Epimetheus would not blame me for
that. I need not open the box, and should not, of course, without that foolish
boy's consent, even if the knot were untied."
It might have been better for Pandora if she had had a little work to do so as not
to be so
constantly thinking of this one subject. But children led so easy a life before any
Troubles came into the world that they had a great deal too much leisure. They
could not be forever playing at hide-and-seek among the flower-shrubs, or at
blind-man's buff with garlands over their eyes, or at whatever other games had
been found out while Mother Earth was in her babyhood. When life is all sport,
toil is the real play. There was nothing to do. A little sweeping and dusting about
the cottage, I suppose, and the gathering of fresh flowers and arranging them in
vases and poor little Pandora's day's work was over. And then, for the rest of the
day, there was always the box!
After all, I am not quite sure that the fascinating box was not a blessing to
Pandora in its way It supplied her with so many ideas to think of, and to talk
about, whenever she had anybody who would listen to her! When she was in
good humor, she could admire the bright polish of its sides and the rich border of
beautiful faces that ran all around it. Or, if she happened to be ill-tempered, she
could give it an angry push, or kick it with her naughty little foot. And many a
kick did the mischievous box receive, you may be sure! But certain it is if it had
not been for the box, little Pandora would not have known half so well how to
spend her time as she now did.
GUESSING WHAT WAS IN THE BOX
For it was really an endless employment to guess what was inside. What could it
be, indeed? Just imagine, my little hearers, how busy your wits would be if there
were a great box in the
house, which you might suppose contained something new and pretty for your
Christmas or New Year's gifts. Do you think that you should be less curious than
Pandora? If you were left alone with the box, might you not feel a little tempted
to lift the lid? But you would not do it. Oh, fie!
No, no! Only, if you thought there were toys in it, it would be so very hard to let
slip an
opportunity of taking just one peep!
I know not whether Pandora expected any toys; for none had yet begun to be
made, probably, in those days, when the world itself was one great plaything for
the children that dwelt upon it.
But Pandora was certain that there was something very beautiful and valuable in
the box, and therefore she felt just as anxious to take a peep as any little girl
would have felt.
On this particular day, however, her curiosity grew so much greater than it
usually was that at last she approached the box. She was more than half
determined to open it, if she could. Ah,
naughty Pandora!
First, however, she tried to lift it. It was heavy; much too heavy for the slender
strength of a child like Pandora. She raised one end of the box a few inches from
the floor, and let it fall again with a loud thump. A moment afterwards she
almost thought that she heard something stir inside the box.
She listened as closely as possible. There did seem to be a kind of stifled murmur
within! Or was it merely the singing in Pandora's ears? Or could it be the
beating of her heart? The child
could not be sure herself whether she had heard anything or not. But, at all
events, her curiosity was stronger than ever.
Her eyes fell upon the, knot of gold cord !
"It must have been a clever person who tied this knot," . said Pandora to herself.
"But I think I could untie 'it, nevertheless. I believe I will at least try to find the
two ends of the cord."
So she took the golden knot in her fingers and looked into it as sharply as she
could. Almost without quite knowing what she was about, she was soon busily
trying to undo it. Meanwhile, the bright sunshine came through the open
window; as did also the merry voices of the children, playing at a distance, and
perhaps the voice of Epimetheus among them.
Pandora stopped to listen. What a beautiful day it was! Would it not be wiser if
she were to
let the troublesome knot alone and think no more about the box, but run and
join her little
playfellows and be happy?
All this time, however, her fingers were busy with the knot; and happening to
glance at the
face on the lid of the enchanted box, she seemed to see it slyly grinning at her.
"That face looks very mischievous," thought Pandora. "I wonder whether it
smiles because I am doing wrong! I have a great notion to run away!"
But just then, by the merest accident, she gave the knot a kind of twist the gold
cord
untwined itself as if by magic, and left the box without a fastening.
"This is the strangest thing I ever knew!" said Pandora.. "What will Epimetheus
say? And
how can I possibly tie it up again?"
She made one or two attempts to tie the knot, but soon found it quite beyond her
skill. It had untied itself so suddenly that she could not in the least remember
how the strings had been
doubled into one another; and when she tried to recollect the shape and
appearance of the knot, it seemed to have gone entirely out of her mind. Nothing
was to be done, therefore, but to let the box remain as it was until Epimetheus
should come in.
"But," said Pandora, "when he finds the knot untied, he will know that I have
done it. How
shall I make him believe that I have not looked into the box?"
And then the thought came into her naughty little heart, that since she would be
suspected of having looked into the box, she might just as well do so at once. The
enchanted face on the lid of the box looked at her bewitchingly, and she seemed
to hear, more distinctly than before, the murmur of small voices within. She
could not tell whether it was fancy or not; but there was quite a little tumult of
whispers in her ear--or else it was her curiosity that whispered: "Let us out dear
Pandora--pray let us out! We will be such nice, pretty playfellows for you! Only
let us out.
"What can it be?" thought Pandora. "Is there something alive in the box? Well!-
-yes!--I will take just one peep! Only one peep, and then the lid shall be shut
down as safely as ever! There cannot possibly be any harm in just one little peep
!"'
HOW TROUBLES CAME INTO THE WORLD
But it is now time for us to see what Epimetheus was doing. This was the first
time since his
playmate had come that he had tried to enjoy any pleasure in which she did not
take part. But nothing went right, nor was he nearly so happy as on other days.
He could not find a sweet grape or a ripe fig; or, if ripe at all, they were overripe,
and so sweet as to be distasteful. There was no gladness in his heart; he grew so
uneasy and discontented that the other children could not imagine what was the
matter with him. Neither did he himself know what ailed him, any better than
they did.
For at the time we are speaking of, it was everybody's nature and habit to be
happy. The
world had not yet learned to be unhappy. Not a single soul or body, since these
children were first sent to enjoy themselves on the beautiful earth, had ever been
sick or out-of-sorts.
At length, discovering that somehow or other he put a stop to all the play,
Epimetheus
thought it best to go back to Pandora. But, with a hope of giving her pleasure, he
gathered some flowers and made them into a wreath which he meant to put upon
her head. The flowers were very lovely --roses and lilies and orange-blossoms,
and a great many more, which left a trail of fragrance behind as Epimetheus
carried them along; and the wreath was put together with as much skill as could
be expected of a boy.
And here I must mention that a great black cloud had been gathering in the sky
for some time past, although it had not yet overspread the sun. But, just as
Epimetheus reached the cottage-door this cloud began to cut off the sunshine,
and thus to make a sudden darkness.
He entered softly; for he meant, if possible, to steal behind Pandora and fling a
wreath of
flowers over her head before she knew that he was there. But, as it happened,
there was no need of his treading so very lightly. He might have trod as heavily
as he pleased, as heavily as a grown man--as heavily as an elephant--without
Pandora's hearing his footsteps. She was too interested in what she was doing. At
the very moment of his entering the cottage, the naughty child had put her hand
to the lid, and was on the point of opening the mysterious box, when Epimetheus
saw her.
But Epimetheus himself, although he said very little about it, had his own share
of curiosity
to know what was inside. Seeing that Pandora intended to find out the secret, he
determined that his playfellow should not be the only wise person in the cottage.
And if there were anything pretty or valuable in the box, he meant to take half of
it to himself.
As Pandora raised the lid, the cottage grew very dark; for the black cloud had
now swept
quite over the sun and seemed to have buried it alive. There had, for a little while
past, been a low growling and muttering which all at once broke into a heavy
peal of thunder. But Pandora,
unmindful of all this, lifted the lid nearly upright and looked inside. It seemed as
if a sudden
swarm of winged creatures brushed past her, taking flight out of the box,. while
at the same
instant she heard Epimetheus calling as if in pain.
"Oh, I am stung!' he cried. I am stung! Naughty Pandora! why have you opened
this wicked box?"
Pandora let fall the lid, and, starting up, looked about her to see what had
happened to
Epimetheus. The thundercloud had so darkened the room that she could not very
clearly see what was in it. But she heard a disagreeable buzzing, as if a great
many huge flies, or giant mosquitoes, were darting about. And as her eyes grew
more accustomed to the imperfect light, she saw a crowd of ugly little shapes,
with bats wings, looking very spiteful and armed with terribly long stings in their
tails. It was one of these that had stung Epimetheus. Nor was it a great while
before Pandora herself began to scream in no less pain than her playfellow. An
ugly little monster had settled on her forehead, and would have stung her if
Epimetheus had not run and brushed it away.
Now, if you wish to know what these ugly things were which had made their
escape out of
the box, I must tell you that they were the whole family of earthly Troubles.
There were a great many kinds of Cares; there were more than a hundred fifty
Sorrows; there were Diseases, in a vast number of miserable and painful shape;
there were more kinds of Naughtiness than it would be of any use for us to talk
about.
In short, everything that has since troubled our souls and bodies had been shut
up in the
mysterious box and given to Epimetheus and Pandora to be kept safely, in order.
that the happy children of the world might never be harmed by them. But by
Pandora's lifting the lid of that miserable box, and by the fault of Epimetheus,
too, in not preventing her, these Troubles have gained a foothold among us, and
do not seem likely to be driven away in a hurry.
For it was impossible, as you will easily guess, that the two children should keep
the ugly
swarm in their own little cottage. The first thing that they did was to fling open
the doors and
windows in hope of getting rid of them: Sure enough, away flew the winged
Troubles all abroad
to torment the small people, everywhere.
And what was very strange, all the flowers and dewy blossoms on earth, not one
of which had before faded, now began to droop and shed their leaves, after a day
or two. The children who
before seemed always young now day by day grew older and came to be men and
women by-and-by.
WHAT HOPE DOES FOR US
Meanwhile the naughty Pandora and hardly less naughty Epimetheus remained
in their
cottage. Both of them had been grievously stung, and were in a good deal of pain,
which seemed the more unbearable to them because it was the very first pain
that had ever been felt since the world began. Besides this, they were in very bad
humor, both with themselves and with one another. Epimetheus sat down
sullenly in a corner with his back toward Pandora, while Pandora flung herself
upon the floor and rested her head on the fatal box. She was sobbing as if her
heart would break.
Suddenly there was a gentle tap on the inside of the lid. "What can that be?"
cried Pandora,
lifting her head.
But either Epimetheus had not heard the tap, or was too. much upset to notice it.
At any rate, he made no answer. "You are very unkind," said Pandora, sobbing
again, "not to speak to me!"
Again the tap! It sounded like the tiny knuckles of a fairy's hand, knocking
playfully on the
inside of the box.
"Who are you?" asked Pandora. "Who are you, inside of this naughty box?"
A sweet little voice spoke from within: "Only lift the lid, and you shall see."
"No, no," answered Pandora, again beginning to sob, "I have had enough of
lifting the lid!
You are inside of the box, naughty creature, and there you shall stay!"
"Ah," said the sweet little voice again, "you had much better let me out." I am
not like those naughty creatures that have stings in their tails. Come, come, my
pretty Pandora! I am sure you will let me out I"
And, indeed, there was a kind of cheerful witchery in the tone that made it
almost impossible to refuse anything which this little voice asked. Pandora's
.heart had grown lighter at every word that came from within the box.
Epimetheus, too, though still in the corner, had turned half round and seemed to
be in rather better spirits than before.
"My dear Epimetheus," cried Pandora, "have you heard this little voice?"
"Yes, to be sure I have," he answered. "And what of it?" "Shall I lift the lid
again?" asked
Pandora.
"Just as you please," said Epimetheus. "You have done so much mischief
already that perhaps you may as well do a little more. One other Trouble can
make no very great. difference." "You might speak a little more kindly!"
murmured Pandora, wiping her eyes.
"Ah, naughty boy!" cried the little voice within the box, in a laughing tone. "He
knows he
wants to see me. Come, my dear Pandora, lift up the lid. I am in a great hurry to
comfort you."
"Epimetheus," exclaimed Pandora, "no matter what happens, I will open the
box!"
"And, as the lid seems very heavy," cried Epimetheus, running across the room,
"I will help you!"
So the two children again lifted the lid. Out flew a sunny and smiling little
person, and
hovered about the room, throwing a light wherever she went. She flew to
Epimetheus and laid the lightest touch of her finger on the spot where the
Trouble had stung him, and immediately the pain was gone. Then she kissed
Pandora on the forehead, and her hurt was also cured.
After performing these good deeds, the bright stranger fluttered over the
children's heads, and looked so sweetly at them that they both began to think it
not so very much wrong to have opened the box, since otherwise their cheery
guest must have been kept a prisoner among those naughty imps with stings in
their tails.
"Pray, who are you, beautiful creature?" inquired Pandora. "I am to be called
Hope!"
answered the sunshiny figure. "And because I am such a cheery little body, I was
packed into the box to make up for that swarm of ugly Troubles which was to be
let loose."
"Your wings are colored like the rainbow!" exclaimed Pandora. "How very
beautiful !"
"And will you stay with us," asked Epimetheus, "for ever and ever?"
"As long as you need me," said hope, with her pleasant smile, "and that will be
as long as you live in the world. I promise never to leave you. There may be times
now and then when you will think that I have vanished. But again, and again,
and again, when perhaps you least dream of my being with you, you shall see the
glimmer of my wings on the ceiling of your cottage."


NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Characters:

Narrator
Zeus
Vulcano
Anna
Venus
Athena
Aphrodite
Diana
Messanger god
Prometheus
Epimetheus


SCRIPT:

(At Mount Olympus)


Narrator: One day, the almighty Zeus, upset with the brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus for
bringing fire to humankind, decided to punish mankind because they were mean, evil, and
arrogant. So he called his son Vulcano.

Zeus: My dear son, Vulcano. I want you to make a woman.

Vulcano: A woman? Why, father?

Zeus: Dont dare to question my decisions. Its an order, Vulcano!

Vulcano: But.. father, making a woman is harder than making an armor for Mars, or carve a statue
for Anna.

Zeus: Dont give me the details, just do it!

Vulcano: Very well. Ill start right away.

Narrator: So Vulcano started making a woman. And with his strong arms he made a woman as
beautiful as the goddess. One day Anna went to see her.

Anna: Shes is very beautiful, Vulcano. You did a wonderful job. I will give her a belt full of pearls
and a purple dress with precious stones.

Narrator: The sweet Venus also came to see her.

Venus: Anna was right. I truly admire your work. I will give her the gift of generosity, charity, and
patience.

Narrator: And Aphrodite and Athena came together to see her.

Athena: We needed to see her Vulcano. I also want to give her a gift. I give her wisdom.

Aphrodite: Shes is already beautiful, so I will give her the gift of love.

Narrator: And all the gods and goddess came to see her and gave her many gifts.

Diana: I give her jewelry, flowers, and a little bit of curiosity.

Apollo: I give you music.

Hermes: And I give you persuasion.

Narrator: After all the gods and goddes came to see her, Vulcano decided that it was time to take
her to his father.

Vulcano: Father, she is the woman you asked me to do.

Zeus: Shes perfect! And I can see that all the goddess already gave her gifts.

Vulcano: Yes, they did.

Zeus: Very well, then now its my turn. Your name will be Pandora, which means the all gifted.
But I also give you this box, which you should take with you when you go down to earth.

Pandora: Its a strange but beautiful box, Zeus.

Zeus: Its more than that, Pandora. Its a very special box.

Pandora: Tell me more about it, please.

Zeus: As you can see Pandora, this box is extremely beautiful on the outside. Its made of pure
gold, and covered with diamonds and rubies.

Pandora: And its so heavy! What does it have inside?

Zeus: I can see that Diana gave you curiosity, Pandora.

Pandora: Just a little.

Zeus: Anyway, it contains diseases, death, and sorrow to humankind. All these things can make
them suffer, cry, and can even destroy them. That is why its so heavy.

Pandora: But.. Zeus!

Zeus: Listen to me, Pandora. You should never, ever open this box.

Pandora: I wont Zeus, I promise.

Zeus: Just remember, if you open it, all the diseases, sorrow, and pain will spread through the
earth. If they are kept inside, just as I told you, they will not harm anybody.

Pandora: I appreciate your gift. Its so beautiful and shiny that I cant stop looking at it.

Zeus: Now, its time for you to go down to earth. Vulcano, tell the messenger god to
come. Pandora is ready to leave.

Vulcano: Yes, father.

Narrator: The messager god came to take Pandora to earth. But before leaving Zeus said.

Zeus: Pandora, when you get to earth, you will marry Epimetheus, Prometheus brother.

Pandora: Very well, Zeus. You are my creator, and I will always obey you.

(On Earth)

Narrator: Meanwhile Epimetheus and Prometheus were talking about Zeus.

Prometheus: Zeus must be very angry with me.

Epimetheus: I know, you promise not to steal the fire, and you did.

Prometheus: Mortals needed it. Fire is useful for them.

Epimetheus: Yes, but now we must be very careful.

Prometheus: Zeus is very clever, I know that by now he must be thinking of something. He will
not forgive us. So, please brother, I warn you not to accept anything from him.

Epimetheus: Dont worry brother, I wont.

Prometheus: You have to promise me that you will not accept anything, even if its a gift sent in
friendship.

Epimetheus: I told you not to worry.

Narrator: A few days later the messanger god arrived at Epimetheus house with the young girl.

Epimetheus: What are you doing here?

Messanger god: Zeus sent me with this beautiful girl. Shes a gift for you.

Epimetheus: I dont understand. I know that Zeus is not happy for what my brother and I did.

Messanger god: Zeus has forgiven you. Thats why shes is here.

Epimetheus: Shes irresistibly beautiful. I accept her into my house, please tell Zeus thank you.

Messanger god: I will. And.. her name is Pandora. Take good care of her.

Epimetheus: Before you leave, tell me what is that box shes holding in her hand.

Messanger god: Its a gift Zeus gave her before coming to earth. She knows that she must not
think of opening it.

Epimetheus: But why? Whats inside?

Messanger god: She knows whats inside. Just remind her to keep her promise.

Epimetheus: I will.

Narrator: After the messenger god left earth, Epimetheus took Pandora to his house.

Epimetheus: This is where you will live from now on.

Pandora: You have a nice house. Earth is a strange place, but interesting.

Epimetheus: Give me the box, I will keep it in a safe place.

Narrator: Everything was perfect for a few days. But Pandora didnt have many things to do on
earth, and a lot of time to think. Besides, one of the goddess also gave her the gift of curiosity.

Pandora: I wonder whats inside the box? Maybe nothing will happen if I open it just a little. I
could take a quick look and then close it. No, I better not, I made a promise
This is hard for me, I have to open it, now!

Narrator: So she lifted the lid from the box, and she was horrified by what she saw.

Pandora: Oh no! This is terrible!

Narrator: A thik dark smoke came out from the box, and horrible evil ghosts started to fill the earth
and covered the sun. They were the ghosts of sickness, suffering, hatred, jealousy, greed,
violence, and started to fill the happy houses of mankind.

Pandora: What have I done! I have to cover the lid quickly.

Narrator: She tried hard to cover it, but it was too late. When the dark smoke disappeared,
Pandora looked inside the box.

Pandora: At least theres something remaining inside. But, its trying to come out!

Narrator: And inside the box there was the gift of Hope. Then she quickly closed the box.

Pandora: I closed it just on time!

Narrator: And the spirit of Hope comforts man in his distress.

The End