And here , unless he could walk on the crests of the billows , it seemed as if his journey must needs be at an end . Nothing was before him , save the foaming , dashing , measureless ocean . But , suddenly , as he looked towards the horizon , he saw something , a great way off , which he had not seen the moment before . It gleamed very brightly , almost as you may have beheld the round , golden disk of the sun , when it rises or sets over the edge of the world . It evidently drew nearer ; for , at every instant , this wonderful object became larger and more lustrous . At length , it had come so nigh that Hercules discovered it to be an immense cup or bowl , made either of gold or burnished brass . How it had got afloat upon the sea , is more than I can tell you . There it was , at all events , rolling on the tumultuous billows , which tossed it up and down , and heaved their foamy tops against its sides , but without ever throwing their spray over the brim . `` I have seen many giants , in my time , '' thought Hercules , `` but never one that would need to drink his wine out of a cup like this ! '' And , true enough , what a cup it must have been ! It was as large -- as large -- but , in short , I am afraid to say how immeasurably large it was . To speak within bounds , it was ten times larger than a great mill-wheel ; and , all of metal as it was , it floated over the heaving surges more lightly than an acorn-cup adown the brook . The waves tumbled it onward , until it grazed against the shore , within a short distance of the spot where Hercules was standing . As soon as this happened , he knew what was to be done ; for he had not gone through so many remarkable adventures without learning pretty well how to conduct himself , whenever anything came to pass a little out of the common rule . It was just as clear as daylight that this marvellous cup had been set adrift by some unseen power , and guided hitherward , in order to carry Hercules across the sea , on his way to the garden of the Hesperides . Accordingly , without a moment 's delay , he clambered over the brim , and slid down on the inside , where , spreading out his lion 's skin , he proceeded to take a little repose . He had scarcely rested , until now , since he bade farewell to the damsels on the margin of the river . The waves dashed , with a pleasant and ringing sound , against the circumference of the hollow cup ; it rocked lightly to and fro , and the motion was so soothing that , it speedily rocked Hercules into an agreeable slumber . His nap had probably lasted a good while , when the cup chanced to graze against a rock , and , in consequence , immediately resounded and reverberated through its golden or brazen substance , a hundred times as loudly as ever you heard a church-bell . The noise awoke Hercules , who instantly started up and gazed around him , wondering whereabouts he was .
He was not long in discovering that the cup had XXXXX across a great part of the sea , and was approaching the shore of what seemed to be an island .
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