Cupid by Julius Lester

sigh of relief. Then he alighted quietly on the balcony, hid next to the doors, and listened.
    "What did Apollo say?" Psyche asked eagerly.
    "The god said that I am to take you to the highest
mountain, where your husband—." The king faltered and stopped.
    "My husband? Please, Father. Go on. What about my husband?"
    "Your husband," the king continued in a broken voice, "an evil and destructive monster, will take you for his wife."
    Father and daughter were silent for a moment. Then Psyche started crying softly.
    "I am sorry I did not come to you at once and tell you," the king apologized. "But I was devastated and could scarcely speak."
    He put his arms around her and they both wept.
    Outside, Cupid fumed. "An evil and destructive monster. Is that what you think I am, Apollo? I'll show you what evil and destruction are!" But he stopped when he realized that Apollo had merely put his own little twist on what Cupid had asked him to say. It did not matter how Apollo described him as long as Psyche was going to be his and his alone!
    Immediately, Cupid flew from the palace. He had a lot to do.

Psyche's Wedding Day
    When Sun awoke the following morning, he knew immediately: something was wrong. Earth was not singing and welcoming him back to the land where Psyche lived,
something Earth had done since the day of her birth. But on this morning, as Sun rose over Earth's eastern edge, she was not singing but weeping:
    "Brother Sun! Brother Sun!" Earth called out as Sun's first rays began pushing darkness to its lair on the other side of the world. "Do not lend your light to this horrible day! Our Psyche, beloved Psyche, is being sent away to become the bride of an evil and destructive monster, and we will never see her again."
    Sun stopped rising. How was he supposed to live if he could not gaze upon Psyche each day? Unlike people who only saw her for a few minutes one afternoon each month, Sun saw her every day from the moment she awoke. Only the sight of her beauty at the beginning of each day gave him the strength to climb the sky. People did not understand how hard Sun had to work to make his way up to the very top of the sky without a ladder to walk on, or rope to climb with. Some days Sun was so out of breath and tired by the time he got over to the western part of the world, he went to bed wondering if he could get up the next morning. Many days he would not have except for the fact that he wanted to see Psyche.
    Sun knew there was nothing he could do to save Psyche, but that did not mean he had to watch. But how could he not? He saw everything that happened on Earth. He needed something between him and Earth, something big enough and thick enough that he could not see through it.
    The answer came immediately. He needed the help of Aeolus, the mortal who controlled the Four Winds. Sun aimed a strong beam into the cave where Aeolus lived with his wife, Cyane, and the Four Winds.
    "Greetings, my friend," Sun began when Aeolus came outside. "I don't know if you have heard the news, but this is a sad day. Psyche is to be married to an evil monster, and I can't bear to witness such a sad event."
    "That is sad indeed," Aeolus commiserated. "Her beauty brings joy to so many. Is there nothing we can do?"
    "For her, no. For me, perhaps. Because of where you live, you will be spared the sight of her leaving the kingdom. I need your help so I will be spared the sight, also."
    "I will do anything I can," Aeolus offered.
    "I am grateful. I was wondering if the Four Winds could bring together all the clouds and blow them over the Kingdom-by-the-Great-Blue-Sea? In that way I will be hidden behind the clouds and will not see what happens to Psyche."
    Aeolus hesitated. "I don't know. I'll have to talk to the Winds, because they are the ones who will have to do all the work. You are asking a lot."
    "I understand."
    "And Favonius, West Wind, had a big argument a while back with Aquilo, North Wind, and moved out."
    Aeolus went back inside