But , as Jason was hastening down the palace steps , the Princess Medea called after him , and beckoned him to return . Her black eyes shone upon him with such a keen intelligence , that he felt as if there were a serpent peeping out of them ; and , although she had done him so much service only the night before , he was by no means very certain that she would not do him an equally great mischief before sunset . These enchantresses , you must know , are never to be depended upon . `` What says King Aetes , my royal and upright father ? '' inquired Medea , slightly smiling . `` Will he give you the Golden Fleece , without any further risk or trouble ? '' `` On the contrary , '' answered Jason , `` he is very angry with me for taming the brazen bulls and sowing the dragon 's teeth . And he forbids me to make any more attempts , and positively refuses to give up the Golden Fleece , whether I slay the dragon or no . '' `` Yes , Jason , '' said the princess , `` and I can tell you more . Unless you set sail from Colchis before to-morrow 's sunrise , the king means to burn your fifty-oared galley , and put yourself and your forty-nine brave comrades to the sword . But be of good courage . The Golden Fleece you shall have , if it lies within the power of my enchantments to get it for you . Wait for me here an hour before midnight . '' At the appointed hour you might again have seen Prince Jason and the Princess Medea , side by side , stealing through the streets of Colchis , on their way to the sacred grove , in the center of which the Golden Fleece was suspended to a tree . While they were crossing the pasture ground , the brazen bulls came towards Jason , lowing , nodding their heads , and thrusting forth their snouts , which , as other cattle do , they loved to have rubbed and caressed by a friendly hand . Their fierce nature was thoroughly tamed ; and , with their fierceness , the two furnaces in their stomachs had likewise been extinguished , insomuch that they probably enjoyed far more comfort in grazing and chewing their cuds than ever before . Indeed , it had heretofore been a great inconvenience to these poor animals , that , whenever they wished to eat a mouthful of grass , the fire out of their nostrils had shriveled it up , before they could manage to crop it . How they contrived to keep themselves alive is more than I can imagine . But now , instead of emitting jets of flame and streams of sulphurous vapor , they breathed the very sweetest of cow breath . After kindly patting the bulls , Jason followed Medea 's guidance into the Grove of Mars , where the great oak trees , that had been growing for centuries , threw so thick a shade that the moonbeams struggled vainly to find their way through it .
Only here and there a glimmer fell XXXXX the leaf-strewn earth , or now and then a breeze stirred the boughs aside , and gave Jason a glimpse of the sky , lest , in that deep obscurity , he might forget that there was one , overhead .
While as before by of than upon whether within without