Hades

Deep, deep down under the ground lived a king named Hades. His home was a quiet kingdom. It was a sparkly kingdom. It was full of shiny, glittering gems and sleepy, silent rivers that flowed so softly. Shhh, shhh, shhh. Hades loved his sparkly home, but sometimes it felt too quiet. He was all alone and wanted a friend to share his treasures with. This is the story of Hades and Persephone, and how the seasons began.

One sunny, sunny day, Hades looked up. Up, up, up to the bright world where the flowers grew. He saw a lovely girl named Persephone. She was laughing and picking bright, happy flowers. Her smile was like a little sunbeam, so warm and bright. Hades wanted to show her his amazing, sparkly home. He invited her down, down, down to see his shiny gems and underground gardens. Persephone was curious and went to see all the pretty things. While she was there, she saw some yummy red seeds that looked like tiny jewels. Pop, pop, pop. She ate just a few. But up above, her mommy, Demeter, missed her very much. Demeter was so sad that she made all the flowers and plants go to sleep. The world got chilly and grey without Persephone's sunny smile.

Everyone agreed that Persephone should not be away from her mommy forever. So they made a happy plan. Because she ate the seeds, Persephone would spend part of the year with Hades in his sparkly kingdom. Then she would return to her mommy in the sunny world above. When Persephone is down below, the world has its quiet, sleepy time. This is fall and winter. But when she comes back up to her mommy, Demeter is so happy. She wakes up all the plants and brings back the warm sun and happy flowers. This is spring and summer. And that is why the world has its seasons, a time to rest and a time to play.