Taken from The Greek Gods, by Evslin, Evslin, & Hoopes.
No one celebrated the birth of Hephaestus. His mother, Hera, had awaited him with great eagerness, hoping for a child so beautiful, so gifted, that it would make Zeus forget his heroic swarm of children from lesser consorts. But when the baby was born she was appalled to see that he was shriveled and ugly, with an irritating bleating wail. She did not wait for Zeus to see him, but snatched the infant up and hurled him off Olympus.
For a night and a day he fell, and hit the ground at the edge of the sea with such force that both of his...
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