By Ivy Lo
Once upon a time, there was a curious and beautiful girl named Pandora. She lived in a mystical world amongst the Greek gods and goddesses. Then one day, Zeus decided to send Pandora down to Earth with a mysterious box.
"Pandora, can you make me a promise? When you go to Earth, you will not open this box," asked Zeus. Pandora nodded and reassured Zeus and the other gods that she would not open the box. Hearing about this, the other gods were worried. Pandora was a good girl, but she was curious about the world.
Knowing Pandora's nature, one of the gods, named Apollo, tried to warn her again, "Pandora, never open the box! Zeus warned us that something terrible would happen if anyone were to open it. Guard it well." To this, Pandora nodded in reassurance again and descended to Earth.
Upon arrival, Pandora met Epimetheus, who instantly became blinded by her beauty. Epimetheus approached her and asked, "Who are you? Why are you carrying that box?"
"My name is Pandora. I come from the land of the gods, and this box is a gift from Zeus," replied Pandora.
"A gift from Zeus? That box must be trouble! My brother Prometheus warned me that you should never accept a gift from Zeus," explained Epimetheus. He took the box from Pandora's hand and walked to his workshop. He looked around the cluttered room and hid the box on the highest shelf, far out of reach.
Not long after, Prometheus returned home and spotted Pandora. Anger boiled within him as he rushed into Epimetheus' workshop.
"Did you forget? I warned you should not accept gifts from Zeus! Can you not see that he sent her to make us fight over her?" Prometheus explained.
"But Pandora is not a gift from Zeus! She is a person. The gift from Zeus was a box, which I have already hidden far out of reach!" replied Epimetheus.
Prometheus paused to think, and warned"Alright, fine. I will believe you, but we must keep that box hidden. Nothing good will come from it."
Some days later, Pandora became more and more curious about the box.
I need to see the box, but I will not open it as I have promised Apollo, thought Pandora. So she waited for a time when both brothers were away, and she wandered into Epimetheus' workshop. Pandora searched every corner of the room, and eventually spotted the box on the highest shelf, but she could not reach it.
She climbed on a stool and stood on the tips of her toes. Pandora reached for the box when suddenly, she heard the door creek open. Epimetheus had returned home! Pandora rushed to put the box back in place but lost her balance.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Pandora as she watched the box fly out of her hands. The lid had fallen off, and out came roars and screams. Awful things came from the box; some slithered while others crawled.
Pandora rushed to close the box, but it was too late. All of the awful things were out.
Sources:
Hamilton, V., & Moser, B. (1988). In In the beginning: Creation Stories from around the world (pp. 139–147). essay, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers.
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