Way down, deep under the earth, where the sunbeams never danced, lived a king named Pluto. His kingdom was vast and quiet, full of shadows and sparkling gems, but Pluto was a little lonely. He wished for a queen to share his grand, silent palace.

Up on the bright, sunny Earth, lived a cheerful young lady named Proserpina. Her mother was Ceres, the kind goddess who made all the flowers bloom, the grass grow green, and the fruits turn juicy and sweet. Proserpina loved to skip through meadows, her laughter mixing with the buzz of bees as she gathered armfuls of colorful wildflowers.

One sunny afternoon, as Proserpina was picking the prettiest daffodils near a sparkling stream, Pluto rumbled up from his kingdom below in his dark, magnificent chariot. He saw Proserpina, her hair like sunshine and her smile as bright as a poppy, and he thought she was the most wonderful sight he had ever seen. In a flash, he decided she must be his queen!

Before Proserpina could even gasp, the ground gently opened, and Pluto carefully swept her into his chariot. Whoosh! Down they went, into the shadowy realm of the Underworld.

When Proserpina didn't return home, her mother Ceres was filled with a giant sadness. "Proserpina! My darling daughter, where are you?" she cried, searching every field and forest. Ceres was so heartbroken that she forgot to tell the plants to grow. The flowers drooped, the leaves on the trees turned brown and fell, and the fields became bare. The world grew cold and gray because Ceres was too sad to care for it.

The people on Earth became worried and hungry. They prayed to Jupiter, the great king of all the gods, for help. Jupiter saw how sad Ceres was, and how the Earth was suffering. He sent a message to Pluto: "You must let Proserpina return to her mother."

Pluto was sad to think of his kingdom being quiet again, but he knew he had to listen to Jupiter. Before Proserpina left, he offered her a beautiful, shiny red fruit – a pomegranate. "Just a little something to eat for your journey," he said kindly. Proserpina, feeling a bit peckish, ate just six tiny, juicy seeds.

What Proserpina didn't know was that if you ate any food in the Underworld, you were bound to return there.

When Proserpina finally reached the surface and ran into her mother's joyful arms, Ceres was overjoyed! But then she learned about the pomegranate seeds. Oh dear!

Jupiter, being very wise, came up with a fair plan. "Because Proserpina ate six seeds," he declared, "she will spend six months of every year with Pluto as Queen of the Underworld. For the other six months, she can live up on Earth with her mother, Ceres."

And so, it was settled. Every year, when Proserpina goes down to be with Pluto, Ceres misses her so much that she lets the world grow cold and sleepy. That’s when we have autumn and winter. But when Proserpina returns to the sunshine, Ceres is so happy that she makes all the flowers burst into bloom, the trees grow green leaves, and the fruits ripen. That’s when we welcome spring and summer! And Proserpina, who became a kind and fair queen in the Underworld, always looked forward to both her time in the quiet, jeweled kingdom below and her sunny days in the meadows above.

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