Echo was a nymph who lived on Mount Olympus.
She loved to talk, and all the other goddesses and nymphs thought that she
was annoying, so she was considered an outcast.
Hera got angry with Echo for chatting so much, so Hera silenced her forever.
Echo always had to have the last word, so Hera gave it to her. Echo
could only repeat the last words that others had spoken.
Meanwhile, Narcissus, who was a "pretty boy", was sitting by a pond, brushing
his long blond hair. Echo saw Narcissus and fell in love at first sight.
Unfortunately Echo could only follow Narcissus around, gaping at him.
"What can I do for you," Narcissus finally asked.
"For you, for you...” Echo put down some flowers that she had been carrying
around.
Narcissus was very vain. He did not want love, and he did not like
being followed by Echo. Echo was very sad about all this. She
was so depressed that she grew pale and thin.
"Stop following me around! Look at yourself," Narcissus said to her.
"Look at yourself, look at yourself..."
Narcissus look into the pool. He liked what he saw so much that he
fell in love with himself.
Echo still grew paler and thinner. Slowly, she was wasting away.
She was so sad that she went to live in a cave. Then, she became nothing,
just an echo.
Hera regretted her temper, and sent her handmaids to get Echo. They
yelled, "Echo, Echo!"
All that they heard was, "Echo, Echo..." Soon, they came upon a pretty
white flower leaning over a pond. The handmaids wondered what it was,
and they heard, "Narcissus, Narcissus…”
