The Horn Of Plenty

The King of Greece, whose name was Aeneus, had a daughter called Deianira. She was so beautiful that her fame spread throughout the world, and many princes came to woo her. Among these were two strangers named Hercules and Achelous.
Hercules was huge and broad shouldered, he was dressed in animal skin, and carried in his hand a big club. His untidy and curly hair hung down his neck, and his fierce eyes gleamed from behind his thick eyebrows.
The other stranger was Achelous, god of the Calydonian River. He was slender and graceful, and was dressed in a flowing green cloak. In his hand he carried a staff of plaited reeds, and on his head was a crown of water lilies. His voice was soft and caressing, like the gentle murmur of summer brooks.
"O King Aeneus," said Achelous, standing before the throne, "I am the King of Waters. If you will have me as your son-in-law, I will make the beautiful Deianira queen of my river kingdom."
"King Aeneus," said the mighty Hercules, stepping forward, "Deianira is mine, and I will not give her to this river-god."
"How dare you say that? You are just a human. Look at me; I am Achelous, the powerful King of the Waters! I move with majesty through the rich lands of my wide kingdoms. I make all fields, through which I flow, beautiful with grass and flowers. By my right I own Deianira."
Hercules was confident, and he answered. "If you want Princess Deianira then you must compete with me and win." Hearing this Achelous threw off his cloak and began to prepare for the struggle. Hercules also threw his club aside, and the two men got ready to fight for the princess.
They took their places and fought till Hercules by his strength overcame Achelous and pushed him to the ground. However, Achelous changed himself into a serpent, he twisted his body, and tried to escape. Hercules laughed, and cried out: "Ah, Achelous! Do you think that I fear you, and will let you escape though you have turned into a snake? Achelous struggled hard to escape. He tried another trick. He turned himself into an angry bull, and continued to fight. Hercules then threw his huge arms over the bull, seized his horns, and pulled one of the horns from Achelous' forehead.
The river-god returned to his shape. He roared aloud with rage, and hiding his head in his mantle, ran from the hall and plunged into the waters of his stream.
Then the Goddess of Plenty, and all the Wood-fairies and Water-fairies came forward to greet Hercules, singing and dancing. They took the huge horn of Achelous and heaped it high with the rich and glowing fruits and flowers of autumn. They decorated it with vines and with bunches of grapes, and presented it to Hercules and his beautiful bride Deianira.
And ever since that day the Horn of Plenty has stood for abundance and made people happy at Harvest-Time.
7
Achelous's eagerness to marry Deianira contributes to the plot of the story by
A.
showing that Hercules is not worthy of winning anyone’s love.
B.
proving that Achelous is the best choice for Deianira.
C.
making Hercules afraid to compete against Achelous.
D.
giving Hercules a chance to reveal his strength and determination.