Then he laughed -- Ho ! ho ! ho ! -- with a thunderous roar that was echoed from the mountains , far and near , as if they and the giant had been so many rejoicing brothers . When his joy had a little subsided , he stepped into the sea ; ten miles at the first stride , which brought him mid-leg deep ; and ten miles at the second , when the water came just above his knees ; and ten miles more at the third , by which he was immersed nearly to his waist . This was the greatest depth of the sea . Hercules watched the giant , as he still went onward ; for it was really a wonderful sight , this immense human form , more than thirty miles off , half hidden in the ocean , but with his upper half as tall , and misty , and blue , as a distant mountain . At last the gigantic shape faded entirely out of view . And now Hercules began to consider what he should do , in case Atlas should be drowned in the sea , or if he were to be stung to death by the dragon with the hundred beads , which guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides . If any such misfortune were to happen , how could he ever get rid of the sky ? And , by the by , its weight began already to be a little irksome to his head and shoulders . `` I really pity the poor giant , '' thought Hercules . `` If it wearies me so much in ten minutes , how must it have wearied him in a thousand years ! '' O my sweet little people , you have no idea what a weight there was in that same blue sky , which looks so soft and aerial above our heads ! And there , too , was the bluster of the wind , and the chill and watery clouds , and the blazing sun , all taking their turns to make Hercules uncomfortable ! He began to be afraid that the giant would never come back . He gazed wistfully at the world beneath him , and acknowledged to himself that it was a far happier kind of life to be a shepherd at the foot of a mountain , than to stand on its dizzy summit , and bear up the firmament with his might and main . For , of course , as you will easily understand , Hercules had an immense responsibility on his mind , as well as a weight on his head and shoulders . Why , if he did not stand perfectly still , and keep the sky immovable , the sun would perhaps be put ajar ! Or , after nightfall , a great many of the stars might be loosened from their places , and shower down , like fiery rain , upon the people 's heads !
And how ashamed would the hero be , XXXXX , owing to his unsteadiness beneath its weight , the sky should crack , and show a great fissure quite across it !
after as beneath by for if into than that upon