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26
Losing Hylas
Jason ordered his men to stop at the next island, they found to repair the ship. After landing on a small island, everyone set out to find food and fresh water. Hercules and his good friend Hylas went into the forest to cut down trees to get wood to fix the Argo. Though the island did not have any people on it, the two men thought that they heard singing.
The two men went deeper and deeper into the forest, searching for tall and strong trees to cut down. As they walked, the sound of singing grew louder and louder — it was beautiful. Hercules warned Hylas to be careful, " There are many powerful ghosts in this world/* he said.
Still, Hylas was curious about the singing and wanted to find out where it was coming from. While Hercules was cutting down a tree, Hylas wandered deeper into the forest until he found a pool of water. He listened closely and it seemed that the singing was coming from deep within the water.
Bending down near the edge of the pool, Hylas stared down into the water. The sound of singing grew stronger, and he saw the faces of three beautiful women rise up under the water. Hylas felt like he was in a dream and reached his hand into the water to touch the beautiful faces. The women put out their hands and held his and sang a soft song that made Hylas feel happy and sleepy. Slowly, they pulled Hylas down into the water.
Hercules had heard the singing change and had run to find his friend. He arrived at the pool just in time to see Hylas' feet sink below the water. Hercules jumped into the pool and searched for his friend, but neither Hylas nor the women could he found.
For two days, Hercules waited by the pool for his friend. Finally, he returned to the Argo and told the other men the sad, strange story. The men had a funeral for Hylas and then left the strange island.