Day 3 – Day 368

The third labour was to capture the Ceryneian Hind. This animal is big and fast, having golden antlers and brass hooves. The hind also snorts fire. This is no ordinary deer. I’ve heard it called a reindeer and that it comes from Hyperborea or the land beyond the North Wind, or the North Pole. There were a number of other, similar deer who pulled a cart or sleigh across the sky. Some people say these deer were pulling Artemis, but I’m not sure about that. I found the hind grazing in some woods near Thebes, but she ran away northwards and she ran and she ran. I was getting cold and I had to buy some red wool clothes including a rather fetching wool hat, and plenty of warm stockings to keep my feet warm. I couldn’t shave and then the snow came and landed on my beard and my hat. I was carrying a bag with my food supplies, clothes, and water. I caught up with the hind when she was resting in a farmyard. I jumped on the hind’s back but she kicked me off. However, she didn’t go far away and was hopefully thinking of sleeping. I had to get something really heavy to try and weigh her down. I noticed when she breathed fire, her nose really lit up from the heat and traced a red path through the gloom. A farm wagon was nearby that was normally pulled by two horses. I waited until the hind was asleep and slipped the horse harnesses over her antlers and head. I placed the straps on her and the adjustable collar before she was fully awake. She shook the wagon as if it was made of cloth and we flew off. I was shouting ‘Hold, Hold, Hold’ but that did no good. As we passed a group of children, my bag of food, including oranges for Vitamin C, and my spare stockings flew out of the wagon and landed amongst them. They waved and shouted ‘thank you and please come back again this time next year.’ I managed to turn the wagon around so that we ran back towards Tiryns. We continued for a few days, but just as we neared Mycenae the hind caught an antler on a low branch and she tripped over, causing the wagon to crash. When I crawled out of the wreckage, the hind had broken free of the harnesses and had gone, all that remained was a small piece of gold antler that broke off in the accident. I spent a year chasing after that animal, but all I had to show for it was a piece of antler. I added it to the lion hair and the Hydra tooth.