She had called it ugly , above a hundred times ; but , in spite of all that she had said against it , it was positively a very handsome article of furniture , and would have been quite an ornament to any room in which it should be placed . 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 her face in it . As the child had no other looking-glass , it is odd that she did not value the box , merely on this account . The edges and corners of the box were carved with most wonderful skill . Around the margin there were figures of graceful men and women , and the prettiest children ever seen , reclining or sporting amid a profusion of flowers and foliage ; and these various objects were so exquisitely represented , and were wrought together in such harmony , that flowers , foliage , and human beings seemed to combine into a wreath of mingled beauty . But here and there , peeping forth from behind the carved foliage , Pandora once or twice fancied that she saw a face not so lovely , or something or other that was disagreeable , and 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 sideway glimpse at it . The most beautiful face of all was done in what is called high relief , in the centre of the lid . There was nothing else , save the dark , smooth richness of the polished wood , and this one face in the centre , 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 , which looked almost as if it needs must burst out of the carved lips , and utter itself in words . Had the mouth spoken , it would probably have been 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 , nor by any other such contrivance , but by a very intricate knot of gold cord . There appeared to be no end to this knot , and no beginning . Never was a knot so cunningly twisted , nor with so many ins and outs , which roguishly defied the skilfullest fingers to disentangle them .
And yet , XXXXX the very difficulty that there was in it , Pandora was the more tempted to examine the knot , and just see how it was made .
above amid as at by if in than to with