Goddess Girls – Clotho the Fate

Joan Holub's Clotho the Fate is a Goddess Girls adventure for 8 year olds about the youngest of the three Fates, who would really love a home of her own.

What happens

Clotho is eleven, and she has the same job every night. She and her big sisters sit on a cloud or a star or a tree and set every newborn baby's destiny going. Clotho spins the thread. Lachesis measures it. Atropos snips it.

It's a funny sort of life. The Fates never sleep and never stay anywhere. So Clotho knits tiny animal finger puppets and sets them out wherever they're working, just to feel a bit more at home.

Her sisters have been hiding something from her, though. Mortals write to the Fates, and the letters are mostly complaints (some are really quite rude). Clotho's hurt. She wants to write back and explain. But Zeus has rules, and one of them says the Fates mustn't mix with mortals.

Then she nips into the Immortal Marketplace for some wool. Within minutes she's helping a girl called Cassandra in her family's bakery, being quizzed by Pandora and bumping into Athena, Aphrodite and friends. All while trying VERY hard not to say who she is.

There's an old mistake bubbling away too. Years ago, Clotho grabbed her knitting needles mid-spin and tangled a baby prince's thread. She's completely forgotten about it. The story hasn't.

It's a lovely mix of Greek myth and everyday girl stuff. Clotho's the youngest, and she's fed up with being treated like a baby. Who hasn't felt that? Her sisters always vote together, two against one.

If your child is the littlest in the family, they'll probably recognise a lot of this. And the puns are terrible in the best way (the Fates are "knot" supposed to meddle).

Because the Fates measure out lives, dying does come up. One angry letter blames them for a granny's death. It's all handled lightly and briefly.

What to read next

For another girl who's had enough of her family's rules, try Medea the Enchantress. Medea's dad the king has a rule for almost everything, and her aunt has just foreseen a thief coming to Colchis.