The next day , when the Argonauts were about setting sail , down came these terrible giants , stepping a hundred yards at a stride , brandishing their six arms apiece , and looking formidable , so far aloft in the air . Each of these monsters was able to carry on a whole war by himself , for with one arm he could fling immense stones , and wield a club with another , and a sword with a third , while the fourth was poking a long spear at the enemy , and the fifth and sixth were shooting him with a bow and arrow . But , luckily , though the giants were so huge , and had so many arms , they had each but one heart , and that no bigger nor braver than the heart of an ordinary man . Besides , if they had been like the hundred-armed Briareus , the brave Argonauts would have given them their hands full of fight . Jason and his friends went boldly to meet them , slew a great many , and made the rest take to their heels , so that if the giants had had six legs apiece instead of six arms , it would have served them better to run away with . Another strange adventure happened when the voyagers came to Thrace , where they found a poor blind king , named Phineus , deserted by his subjects , and living in a very sorrowful way , all by himself : On Jason 's inquiring whether they could do him any service , the king answered that he was terribly tormented by three great winged creatures , called Harpies , which had the faces of women , and the wings , bodies , and claws of vultures . These ugly wretches were in the habit of snatching away his dinner , and allowed him no peace of his life . Upon hearing this , the Argonauts spread a plentiful feast on the sea-shore , well knowing , from what the blind king said of their greediness , that the Harpies would snuff up the scent of the victuals , and quickly come to steal them away . And so it turned out ; for , hardly was the table set , before the three hideous vulture women came flapping their wings , seized the food in their talons , and flew off as fast as they could . But the two sons of the North Wind drew their swords , spread their pinions , and set off through the air in pursuit of the thieves , whom they at last overtook among some islands , after a chase of hundreds of miles . The two winged youths blustered terribly at the Harpies -LRB- for they had the rough temper of their father -RRB- , and so frightened them with their drawn swords , that they solemnly promised never to trouble King Phineus again . Then the Argonauts sailed onward and met with many other marvelous incidents , any one of which would make a story by itself . At one time they landed on an island , and were reposing on the grass , when they suddenly found themselves assailed by what seemed a shower of steel-headed arrows . Some of them stuck in the ground , while others hit against their shields , and several penetrated their flesh . The fifty heroes started up , and looked about them for the hidden enemy , but could find none , nor see any spot , on the whole island , where even a single archer could lie concealed . Still , however , the steel-headed arrows came whizzing among them ; and , at last , happening to look upward , they beheld a large flock of birds , hovering and wheeling aloft , and shooting their feathers down upon the Argonauts . These feathers were the steel-headed arrows that had so tormented them . There was no possibility of making any resistance ; and the fifty heroic Argonauts might all have been killed or wounded by a flock of troublesome birds , without ever setting eyes on the Golden Fleece , if Jason had not thought of asking the advice of the oaken image . So he ran to the galley as fast as his legs would carry him . `` O , daughter of the Speaking Oak , '' cried he , all out of breath , `` we need your wisdom more than ever before !
We are in great peril XXXXX a flock of birds , who are shooting us with their steel-pointed feathers .
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