Sally Bailey, age 16, of Dover, Del., for her question:

WHAT WAS THE GOLDEN FLEECE?

The golden fleece comes from Greek mythology. Myth has it that the golden fleece was the golden wool of the sacred ram Chrysomalius. The fleece hung from a tree in the forest near the Black Sea and a fierce dragon who never slept guarded it.

King Pelias sent his nephew Jason to bring the fleece to him. He told Jason that finding the fleece would prove him worthy to inherit the throne.

Jason gathered a crew of young men for his expedition. They called themselves the Argonauts. They sailed in the ship Argo to Colchis, the land of the golden fleece.

The king of Colchis told Jason he could have the fleece if he would sow the teeth of a dragon and fight the crop of men that resulted. With the help of the king's daughter Medea, Jason did as he was asked and went to get the fleece.

Medea went to the dragon who guarded the fleece and she put the creature to sleep. Then she returned with Jason to present the fleece to King Pelias.