Galant his

, a servant-maid of Alcmena, whose sagacity eased the labours of her mistre . When Juno resolved to retard the birth of Hercules, and hasten the labours of the wife of Sthenelus, she solicited the aid of Lucina; who immediately repaired to the house of Alcmena, and in the form of an old woman, sat near the door with her legs cro ed, and her fingers joined. In this posture she uttered some magical words, which served to prolong the labours of Alcmena, and render her state the more miserable. Alcmena had already pa ed some days in the most excruciating torments, when Galant his began to suspect the jealousy of Juno; and concluded that the old woman, who continued at the door always in the same unchanged posture, was the instrument of the anger of the godde . With such suspicions Galant his ran out of the house, and with a countenance expre ive of joy, she informed the old woman that her mistre had just brought forth. Lucina, at the words, rose from her posture, and that instant Alcmena was safely delivered. The uncommon laugh which Galant his raised upon this, made Lucina suspect that she had been deceived. She seized Galant his by the hair, and threw her on the ground; and while she attempted to resist, she was changed into a weasel, and condemned to bring forth her young, in the most agonizing pains, by the mouth, by which she had uttered falsehood. This transformation alludes to a vulgar notion among the ancients, who believed this of the weasel, because she carries her young in her mouth, and continually shifts from place to place. The Bœotians paid great veneration to the weasel, which, as they supposed, facilitated the labours of Alcmena. Ælian , De Natura Animalium , bk. 2 .— Ovid , Metamorphoses , bk. 9 , fable 6.