The mighty Zeus, Father of the gods, has a bit of a thing for nymphs. He likes nothing better than to cavort with these pretty and beguiling nature goddesses, some of whom become his lovers, much to his wife Hera's extreme displeasure.

The insanely jealous Hera hopes to put a stop to Zeus's rampant philandering by catching him in the act. So she spies on him. Unfortunately, Hera's plan is disrupted by Echo, a mountain nymph. She engages Hera in a very long conversation, which, as well as being incredibly boring, distracts Hera from spying on Zeus.

In the meantime, the crafty Zeus has successfully managed to evade his jealous wife's withering gaze. As one can imagine, Hera is absolutely furious at this. Someone needs to pay for this outrage, but it can't be her cheating husband, as he's the father of the gods. Unable to punish the mighty Zeus, then, she takes out her anger and frustration on the hapless Echo instead.

Hera punishes Echo by depriving her of the power of speech, but with one exception: she'll only be able to repeat the last words that someone has just said. For an inveterate chatterbox like Echo, this is a very serious punishment indeed.