The Pomegranate Seeds
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a king who was well-known for his kindness and strength. His army consisted of men from all around the world who were also brave and honorable. Pluto, the leader of his army, was his most loyal and trusted soldier. The king adored Pluto and treated him as a son. Pluto, being an orphan, saw the king as his father.
Pluto would lead his army into many battles, each battle more gruesome than the last. The army would come home from their long months of war and fighting to be rewarded with riches upon riches. They would receive treasure chests full of diamonds, gold, silver, coins, necklaces, rings, rubies, and much more. Anything they desired the king would grant them. Pluto, being overwhelmed with so much treasure, became greedy. He always demanded more. After every battle, he would be the first to choose his riches and he would always take the most. The other soldiers realized this, and because they had more money than they knew what to do with, they all ended up giving Pluto their rewards.
Pluto became so selfish and greedy he started stealing from the king. Since he was the most trusted by the king, he knew where all of the kingdom’s riches were hidden. Every day, he would go into the vaults and fill up bags and bags of jewels. Soon, the king found out about the missing jewels and gathered a team of searchers to look through each house.
“Pluto!” said a man, “The king has asked us to search your castle to see if there are any missing jewels.”
“I assure you, you are wasting your time coming here.” replied Pluto.
“It is what the Your Majesty had ordered.” “Long live the king!” was the man’s response.
The men searched the house and found all of the missing jewels. They could not believe their eyes. There were room upon room of the most treasure they have ever seen. One of the men shackled Pluto and brought him to the king. The king asked why Pluto, his most trusted soldier, was brought to him in shackles. The men explained that Pluto was not to be trusted because he is the one who stole all of the king’s riches. The king decided to let Pluto keep his riches but he is to live alone in isolation for the rest of eternity, so he banished him to the underworld.
The underworld was a dark gloomy place where no one can escape its emptiness. Pluto became so lonely in his voided castle, that he started talking to his items. While strolling through his castle one evening, he came across a magic spell book. He took a seat in his library and began reading the book. He searched for a page with a spell that will help him escape, but he had no luck. He read the whole book three times but he could not find a way to leave the underworld. Pluto then whet back to a page he read while looking for a way out. The page had instructions on how to bring people down to the underworld. First he must plant a pomegranate bush. Then he must wait until it is fully grown and recite a spell. The bush would then ascend out of the underworld, and whoever picks the seeds from the plant will summon Pluto for just enough time for him to grab the person who picked the seeds. So Pluto planted the seeds and waited.
After what felt like forever, the bush was finally fully grown. Pluto recited the spell and the plant ascended to the real world. In the meantime, Pluto decided to make a creature that would retrieve those who tried to escape. With the spell book, he made a three-headed dog named Cerberus. The dog was loyal to Pluto and followed his every command.
A few months later, Pluto was being summoned out of the underworld. He rode on his chariot all the way to the top and squeezed through the small opening. There, he saw a girl about 15 years of age and he asked her;
“What is your name child? You have been picking flowers I see.”
She responded “My name is Ceres,” ”And yes, every day I come out to the fields to pick flowers.”
“You shall call me King Pluto, for I am the king of diamonds and all other precious stones. Every atom of the gold and silver that lies under the earth belongs to me, to say nothing of the copper and iron, and of the coal mines, which supply me with abundance of fuel. Do you see this splendid crown upon my head? You may have it for a plaything. O, we shall be very good friends, and you will find me more agreeable than you expect, when once we get out of this troublesome sunshine."
Pluto enchanted her mind with many tales of the underworld, and Ceres decide to go along.
“Only for a little while” she said.
Pluto laughed because he knew that once you eat something in the underworld, there is no escaping, but what he didn’t know is that Ceres knew that as well.
The chariot took them to the front of the castle, and Pluto opened the door for Ceres. He escorted her inside and gave her a long tour of all the rooms. Ceres was so amazed with all of the sites and the beauty of the castle. They came to one room, where a vicious three-headed dog came out to meet his master.
“Ah! What is this terrible beast doing in your castle?” screamed Ceres.
“He is my watch dog named Cerberus. He makes sure that no one enters or leaves my castle without my permission.” replied Pluto. “Come join me in the dining room Ceres, you must be hungry.”
“No thank you King Pluto, I have no desire to eat in the underworld.” said Ceres.
This made Pluto angry, “If you will not eat with me, then you shall be locked up in my dungeon until you decide to sit down to a meal.”
Pluto then locked Ceres in his dungeon and dined alone.
Days went by and Ceres still did not eat. Occasionally, Pluto would bring food up and leave it inside her cell. The cell was very dark and quiet and smelled of rotten eggs. Ceres would sit in the corner of her cell and sing from dawn till dusk, ignoring her hunger pains. After days with no food, Ceres decided to plan an escape.
That night, when Pluto opened the door to offer Ceres food, Ceres stood behind the door. When Pluto walked in, Ceres slammed the door on his face and he passed out on the floor. She then ran to the front of the castle where she was greeted by the snarl of Cerberus who was blocking the door. Ceres then grabs a chest full of jewels and throws 6 diamonds at the dog’s eyes. She runs out the door and escapes the dreaded underworld.
A few years later, Ceres has a child of her own and decides to name her Proserpina. “I promise not to let anything happen to you my dear Proserpina,” “As long as you stay away from the fields.”