There once was a small wood nymph named Echo. She was nice and had many friends but her one fatal was her mouth. She loved to talk. And some of the things she said were not compliments. One day she started going off about how much she didn't like Hera, the Greek goddess of motherhood.
"Oh that old bag!" she exclaimed. "Sitting on her throne and making demigods' lives miserable just because they offended her!" her friends tried to make her stop before the goddess heard but it was too late. The damage had been done. Hera descended from her home up on Mount Olympus and stood in front of little Echo.
Echo trembled before her. "Please, my Lady, I didn't mean what I said." Her voice trembled. "How can I make it up to you my Lady?" she asked, sure she could easily get out of this.
"The only words that come out of your mouth are words of cruelty. As punishment you shall have no voice of your own. You will only be able to repeat those of others." Hera smiled to herself, proud of the punishment she had set.
"No!" Echo cried in dismay. "Please, my Lady! I promise I shall never-" she broke off. When she opened her mouth to speak again, no sound would emerge.
"I hope you have learned your lesson." Hera said to the wood nymph.
"Your lesson." Echo repeated. Suddenly the harsh reality crashed down upon her. She would never have a voice of her own, condemned to an eternity of repeating the words of others. Overcome with despair, Echo ran away from the goddess and into the woods.
Echo remained in the woods for many years, mourning the loss of her beautiful voice. Then one day a handsome hunter was trekking through the undergrowth in search of food. Echo fell instantly in love with the man. So make her presence known, she crushed a twig under her foot. The loud crack seemed to be magnified by the silence of the forest.
"Hello?" the hunter called out. Looking for the source of the sound
"Hello!" came Echo's answering reply.
"Is anyone here?" the hunter asked one more time. Still turning around in confusion, unable to find the direction of the voice.
"Here!" cried eagerly as she emerged from her hiding place. The hunter spun around. As his eyes feel upon her face he began to laugh. She wished she could ask him what was so funny but she couldn't.
"My, what an ugly little wood nymph." He laughed. "Run along little nymph. Go bother someone else. No one is beautiful enough to be loved by me." He walked away, chuckling to himself. In despair, Echo threw herself among the rocks and died of a broken heart. Aphrodite, the goddess of love had seen everything, and was enraged by the way the hunter had acted. The goddess came down from Olympus to confront the hunter.
"Hello hunter." She said. "What is your name?" she asked him.
"Narcissus." Was his reply.
"Do you remember the wood nymph that crossed your path earlier today?" Aphrodite questioned him.
"Oh yes, I remember her." His voice was full of scorn. "What an ugly little creature. And to think she loved me." His expression was one of disgust as he said this.
"You talk about love with such hatred. And by dishonoring love you dishonor me, for I am the goddess of love and beauty." Narcissus' eyes widened at her words. "Now you shall never love anyone but yourself. This shall be your punishment." And with that she disappeared into a column of exotic flowers.
Narcissus dismissed this punishment immediately, for he had not believed a word she had said. The young hunter continued on his journey. He walked many miles until he stumbled upon a small puddle. Seeing the water, he realized his thirst and bent down to drink. At the bottom of the puddle Narcissus saw a face staring up at him. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He reached down to touch the face but as soon as his finger met the water it disappeared for a brief moment then came back. Narcissus sat there for a long time, minutes became hours and hours became days. After a while the hunter forgot to eat and drink and eventually starved to death.
Narcissus transferred this trait to his descendants and today we know this as narcissism. And what became of Echo you might ask. Today it is said that you can still hear her voice repeating the words of others.