The Golden Throne

Never before had such cries been heard on Olympus. Immediately, the gods came running, but they couldn’t understand what was happening. “Curse this throne!” shouted Hera.

“Well, get up if you don’t like it,” Zeus replied.

“Break the chains!” shrieked Hera.

“Which chains?” the gods enquired.

“The ones that have bound me to the throne!”

“She’s out of her mind,” said Zeus.

“But can’t you see that I’m tied?” asked Hera desperately.

“We can’t see anything,” came the reply.

“Look what a son I bore!” screamed Hera. “Not only lame and ugly, but disrespectful and cruel to his own mother!”

“Come now, you didn’t treat him any better yourself,” replied Zeus. “Give me your hand and let’s get this over with.”

“What hand? Can’t you see what the villain’s done to me?”

Zeus then tried to catch hold of her hand, but came up against something hard. Feeling its outline with his fingers, he realized that Hera was indeed bound with invisible chains to the throne.

“This is more difficult than I thought,” said Zeus. “Don’t just stand there watching, you others! Come over here and let’s see how we can set her free.”