A long, long time ago, on the land of Greece, there lived a goddess of grains named Demeter. She had a very lovely daughter named Persephone. Demeter loved her daughter very much, and they often played in the vibrant fields full of golden grains and colorful flowers.
One day, Persephone was playing in the fields as usual. Suddenly, a large gap opened in the earth, and Hades, the king of the underworld, rushed out from underground. He had long been attracted by Persephone's beauty, so he forcibly abducted her to the dark underworld. When Demeter found that her daughter was gone, she was extremely worried. She searched everywhere in the fields, calling her daughter's name, but only empty echoes answered her.
Unable to find her daughter, Demeter went to Zeus, the king of the gods. She wept as she told Zeus about her misfortune and asked him to help get her daughter back. Zeus knew the whole story, but he didn't want to offend Hades easily either. However, seeing Demeter's heart - broken look, he still agreed to go and negotiate with Hades.
Zeus went to the underworld and had an exchange with Hades. Although Hades was very reluctant, he also knew that he could not openly defy Zeus's order. So he made a condition. Since Persephone had eaten four pomegranate seeds during her stay in the underworld, she must stay in the underworld for four months every year, and she could return to her mother at other times.
When Persephone returned to her mother, Demeter was overjoyed. She hugged her daughter tightly, with tears streaming down her face. From then on, whenever Persephone returned to the earth, Demeter would make the earth full of vitality, with grains growing and flowers blooming, which was spring. And when Persephone returned to the underworld, the earth would become cold and everything would wither, which was winter. Thus, the cycle of the four seasons began, which also explained the phenomenon of seasonal alternation in nature.
