Many years ago, a princess by the name of Alecta lived in Sparta with her son, Alec. Alec did not have an earthly father. Hephaestus, the kindly blacksmith god, was his other parent.

When Alec turned of age, his mother took him to the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle was a priestess of Apollo who shrouded herself in mystery. No man knew her name, nor whether she was from Attica, Thrace, Sparta, or some other land. She spoke in a voice both harsh and melodious as she cried:

Go to Etna, son of Hephaestus! Your father awaits you there.

Alec obeyed the Oracle at once, and arrived at Etna soon after. There he was greeted by two little nymphs, who brought him a message from his father, kind Hephaestus.

"Your father needs you to bring him seven of the stars that rise over the Garden of the West. Queen Hera is in a rage against Agathe, Lord Zeus' newest and most beautiful wife, and Lord Hephaestus must create the most beautiful necklace on the earth to pacify her."

"Here is a sword, to protect yourself on the dangerous road to the Garden of the West, and an enchanted bag, to hold the stars. This bag is the same that held the head of the wicked Gorgon, but you are the first to wield this sword. May your deeds with it be mighty."

And so, Alec bid farewell to the nymphs and went on his way. However, the goddess Aphrodite had heard all that had gone on. Her selfish, greedy heart desired a necklace of stars for herself, and she didn't care how she got them. She resolved to keep a close eye on unsuspecting Alec, to ensure that he obtained her object.

On the treacherous road to the Garden, Alec encountered many evils. He slew the wicked robber Diakopti, who faked hospitality to weary travelers, then crushed in their heads with his bare hands. He escaped from an angry karpoi, or grain spirit, while traveling through a grain field. He even had a close shave with twisted Echidna, when he passed by her mountain cave. All the while Aphrodite watched over him with a keen eye.

Upon arriving in the Garden, he encountered the four nymphs who guarded that misty land in the West. Any traveler who sought a treasure of the nymph's home had to meet them at some point. While they normally did not trust any strange person, they welcomed Alec, due to Aphrodite's intervention.

The nymphs, at his request, showed Alec the way to the point where Heaven once met Earth, and strong Atlas now stands. Alec had but to take his sword and thrust it into the night sky with all his might, and he would receive the stars he sought. The nymphs warned him to do it quickly, for if he tarried for too long, or tried to complete the task after dawn, the stars would be imperfect, or they might not fall at all. The youngest nymph, Adra, went with Alec as a guide to ensure that he would obey the nymphs' instructions.

Eventually, Alec and Adra reached the place where Heaven is closest to Earth. 

"Quickly, hero," Adra cried, "Do as we instructed you to do quickly, for it is nearly dawn!"

Sure enough, the distant eastward horizon was beginning to glow with Helios' light. Alec reached upward, and thrust forward his sword with all his might.

As Alec pulled his sword away, he felt the sky begin to writhe with agony. Great red explosions rocked the place where he and Adra stood; finally, seven bright, beautiful, perfect stars fell out of the rent in Ouranos' flesh that Alec's sword had made. Alec stood, dumbfounded and awestruck at the sights he had seen.

Adra was the first to recover her senses. "Quickly! Gather up the stars and put them in your bag before the sun is risen."

Alec swiftly obeyed her, but as he moved to put the last star in the bag, the tiniest soupcon of a ray of the sun passed over it! Unfortunately, neither of the two realized the mistake, and blithely believed their mission to be a success.

Alec returned to Mount Etna, where he gave the sword and the stars back to the kind little nymphs.

The elder, Kala, brought the stars to Hephaestus, while the younger, Glykys, restored the sword to the armories of Olympus. Finally, the weary Alec journeyed home.