Just south of its ragged edge lies this little island of _Crete_, of
which all the world is talking to-day.
It looks as if one of the fragments of Greece had broken off and floated
away a short distance, and was waiting for the tide to come some day and
carry it back to its old home.
And that is just what happened long, long ago; and it seems now as if the
tide had set in, which is going to float it back to its old moorings by
its motherland.
The island of Crete originally belonged to Greece. It is one of the most
classic spots in the world. For there, on and about Mount Ida, Jupiter,
the great god of Greek mythology, is supposed to have spent his boy-hood.
And Homer sung about this island, too. And he has described its _ninety
cities_--which surprises us very much when we reflect that the island is a
narrow strip of land only one hundred and fifty miles long; so that the
ninety cities must have been set close together, like a string of beads!
However this may be, it has just three towns now, which are making history
for Europe in a very remarkable fashion; and are more talked about to-day
than London, Paris, and St.
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