Pomona

in Roman mythology, a beautiful wood nymph, who presided over fruit trees. Many a suitor sought her, but she would have none of them. Unlike her companions, who preferred the deep wood, she loved the open near the dwellings of man. The lemon, the lime, the grape, and especially the apple, were her delight. Diana loved to hunt with a javelin in her hand, but Pomona bore a pruning knife with which to trim and graft. This goddess of the orchard led streams by the roots of her favorite trees that they might drink. Her shy, modest ways and her final wooing by Vertumnus form a delightful chapter in the history of myths. Vertumnus was the god of the seasons. Knowing that Pomona would avoid meeting anyone who came as a suitor, he disguised himself as a reaper; then as a vine-dresser; then as a driver, ox-goad in hand; and again as a fisherman, or a discharged soldier. In this way he saw Pomona frequently and each time wished the more ardently to win her; but his suit advanced not at all, for Pomona did not recognize him as a lover and if she had would have fled his presence. At last Vertumnus disguised himself as an old, gray-haired woman leaning on a staff. The old woman was admitted readily to Pomona's garden, where she kissed the nymph and sat down to rest. She won Pomona's favor by praising her vines and fruit trees. Then she talked with her of marriage and advised the nymph to accept one of her many suitors. Then she began skillfully to praise Vertumnus, and finally told a heartrending tale of an unhappy lover, his tragic death, and the terrible fate of the cruel lady he had loved and whom the gods turned to stone that her form might be like the stony heart she had shown herself to possess. Just at the right moment Vertumnus threw off his disguise, and Pomona's heart was won.