And there lies my faithful mastiff at the threshold . Cerberus ! Cerberus ! Come hither , my good dog ! '' So saying , Pluto pulled at the reins , and stopped the chariot right between the tall , massive pillars of the gateway . The mastiff of which he had spoken got up from the threshold , and stood on his hinder legs , so as to put his fore paws on the chariot wheel . But , my stars , what a strange dog it was ! Why , he was a big , rough , ugly-looking monster , with three separate heads , and each of them fiercer than the two others ; but fierce as they were , King Pluto patted them all . He seemed as fond of his three-headed dog as if it had been a sweet little spaniel , with silken ears and curly hair . Cerberus , on the other hand , was evidently rejoiced to see his master , and expressed his attachment , as other dogs do , by wagging his tail at a great rate . Proserpina 's eyes being drawn to it by its brisk motion , she saw that this tail was neither more nor less than a live dragon , with fiery eyes , and fangs that had a very poisonous aspect . And while the three-headed Cerberus was fawning so lovingly on King Pluto , there was the dragon tail wagging against its will , and looking as cross and ill-natured as you can imagine , on its own separate account . `` Will the dog bite me ? '' asked Proserpina , shrinking closer to Pluto . `` What an ugly creature he is ! '' `` O , never fear , '' answered her companion . `` He never harms people , unless they try to enter my dominions without being sent for , or to get away when I wish to keep them here . Down , Cerberus ! Now , my pretty Proserpina , we will drive on . '' On went the chariot , and King Pluto seemed greatly pleased to find himself once more in his own kingdom .
He drew Proserpina 's attention to the rich veins XXXXX gold that were to be seen among the rocks , and pointed to several places where one stroke of a pickaxe would loosen a bushel of diamonds .
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