One rather uneventful day on Mount Olympus Apollo decided to go out for a walk. He had not been gone long when he spied a beautiful nymph, and decided to go after her. Seeing the god, the nymph, who's name was Daphne, ran. Apollo pursued her. Knowing she could not hope to out-run him forever, Daphne called out to her father, the river god Peneus, for help. Just as Apollo was reaching for Daphne her feet became roots, her body a trunk, and her hands and head branches covered with leaves. She had become a laurel tree. In longing for his lost love Apollo cut some of the leaves off the tree and fashoned a crown from them. From that day forth the laurel tree wass sacred to Apollo, and a laurel wreath was given out as the highest prize at competitions all over Greece.