Daphne was Apollo's first love. This was not caused by accident, but by Cupid's malice. Apollo saw the boy playing with his bow and arrows; and being himself delighted with his recent victory over Python, he said to him: “What have you to do with weapons of war, impertinent boy? Leave them for hands worthy of them. snake which spread its venomous body over hectares of plain! Be content with your torch, my child, and light your flames, as you call them, wherever you want, but do not dare meddle with my weapons. The boy from Venus heard these words and replied: “Your arrows can hit everything else, Apollo, but mine will hit you. » Saying this, he placed himself on a rock of Parnassus and drew from his quiver two arrows of different making, one to excite love, the other to repel it. The first was gold and pointed, the second blunt and finished in lead. With the lead rod he struck the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus, in the heart, and with the golden rod Apollo. Immediately the god fell in love with the young girl, and she abhorred the idea of ​​loving. His pleasures lay in forest sports and in the spoils of the hunt. the lovers sought her, but she rejected them all, wandering through the woods and caring neither for Cupid nor for Hymen. Her father often said to her: “My daughter, you owe me a son-in-law, you owe me grandchildren. She, hating the idea of ​​marriage as a crime, with her beautiful face tinged with blush, threw her arms around her father's neck and said: "Dearest father, grant me this favor, so that I may always remain single, like Diane. ". He consented, but said at the same time: "Your own face will forbid it... middle of paper... all his limbs; his chest began to be enclosed in tender bark; his hair became leaves. his arms became branches, his foot buried in the earth, like a root, his face became the top of a tree, retaining only its beauty, Apollo remained stunned and felt the flesh tremble under the new bark. he kissed the branches and lavished kisses on the wood. The branches retreated from his lips. “Since you cannot be my wife,” he said, “you will certainly be my tree. I will decorate you with you. my harp and my quiver; and when the great Roman conquerors bring triumphant pomp to the Capitol, you will be woven into crowns for their foreheads And as eternal youth is mine, you too will be ever green, and your leaf will know no. rot." The nymph, now transformed into a laurel, bowed her head in recognition..