Had they been faithful to their trust , all would have gone well . No grown person would ever have been sad , nor any child have had cause to shed a single tear , from that hour until this moment . But -- and you may see by this how a wrong act of any one mortal is a calamity to the whole world -- by Pandora 's lifting the lid of that miserable box , and by the fault of Epimetheus , too , in not preventing her , these Troubles have obtained a foothold among us , and do not seem very likely to be driven away in a hurry . For it was impossible , as you will easily guess , that the two children should keep the ugly swarm in their own little cottage . On the contrary , the first thing that they did was to fling open the doors and windows , in hopes of getting rid of them ; and , sure enough , away flew the winged Troubles all abroad , and so pestered and tormented the small people , everywhere about , that none of them so much as smiled for many days afterwards . And , what was very singular , all the flowers and dewy blossoms on earth , not one of which had hitherto faded , now began to droop and shed their leaves , after a day or two . The children , moreover , who before seemed immortal in their childhood , now grew older , day by day , and came soon to be youths and maidens , and men and women by and by , and aged people , before they dreamed of such a thing . Meanwhile , the naughty Pandora , and hardly less naughty Epimetheus , remained in their cottage . Both of them had been grievously stung , and were in a good deal of pain , which seemed the more intolerable to them , because it was the very first pain that had ever been felt since the world began . Of course , they were entirely unaccustomed to it , and could have no idea what it meant . Besides all this , they were in exceedingly bad humor , both with themselves and with one another . In order to indulge it to the utmost , Epimetheus sat down sullenly in a corner with his back towards Pandora ; while Pandora flung herself upon the floor and rested her head on the fatal and abominable box . She was crying bitterly , and sobbing as if her heart would break . Suddenly there was a gentle little tap , on the inside of the lid . `` What can that be ? '' cried Pandora , lifting her head . But either Epimetheus had not heard the tap , or was too much out of humor to notice it . At any rate , he made no answer . `` You are very unkind , '' said Pandora , sobbing anew , `` not to speak to me ! '' Again the tap !
It sounded like the tiny knuckles of a fairy 's hand , knocking lightly and playfully on the inside XXXXX the box .
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