Zeus sent for the twins, Apollo and Artemis, on their third birthday. He gave Apollo a golden bow and a quiver of golden arrows which could never be emptied. But he withheld Artemis' gift; he preferred her and wanted her to ask him for things. So taking Artemis onto his lap he asked her what gifts she would fancy. She responded, "I wish to be your maiden always, never a woman. And I want many names in case i get bored with one. I want a bow and arrow too-silver not gold. I need fifty ocean nymphs to sing for me, and twenty wood nymphs to hunt with me. And I want a pack of hounds, fierce, swift ones. I want the mountains for my special places and one city. She smiled at Zeus and said "May I have all these things? May I?" Zeus answered, "For a child like you, it is worthwhile. You shall have all you ask for and more. You shall have the gift of eternal chastity, and also the gift of changing your mind about it at any time, which will help you not to want it. And, finally, the greatest gift of all,: You shall go out and choose your own gifts so that they will have a special value."
Artemis kissed him and whispered her thanks into his ear and went running off to choose her gifts. She went to the woods and to the river and to the ocean stream and selected the most beautiful nymphs for her court. She visited Hephaestus in his smithy inside the mountain to collect her silver bow. Hephaestus said silver is much more difficult to work with then gold, it needs cool light; it should be made underwater. And he sent her deep beneath the sea to the Cyclopes. So Artemis and her nymphs swam underwater to have her silver bow and quiver of silver arrows made. Once the bow was finished she thanked them prettily and returned to land. Holding the silver bow high over her head , screaming with joy, she ran across field and valley and hill, followed by her nymphs with floating hair, laughing and singing. Next she went to Arcadia where Pan was feeding his hounds. He gave her his ten best dogs and Artemis was wild to try out her new gifts. Seeing a tree which had been struck by lightning and was still smouldering she had her nymphs break pine branches and thrust them into the cinders, for night was coming and she wanted light to shoot by. She was too impatient to wait until morning.
