Zeus was frolicking one day along the Ionian Sea with one of his many mistresses, Malia. Because of their many encounters, Malia became with child. She bore a healthy daughter in the month of May. Flora, the goddess of flowers, blessed her and Zeus named the child Flora, in honor of the goddess.

Being of half god and half mortal, Flora exhibited an extreme amount of beauty and compassion. One would think of her as perfect in every way, but alas, this was not so. Flora had unusual spots made of gold that covered her body. Because of these spots, a young, poor hunter named Palenaka Feline would constantly torment her. Everyday, when she would accompany her mother to the marketplace, Palenaka would harass her relentlessly simply because of her spots. His sly remarks would dance in her head every night until the next day because Palenaka would only fill her head with more cruel remarks.

One night, when she could not bear anymore of his remarks, Flora cried in prayer to her father Zeus. "Father, for many days, I have endured the embarrassment and humiliation caused by Palenaka because of my looks. Dear father Zeus, king of the gods, I beseech you, please stop this daily torment?" Hearing his daughter cry so only made Zeus filled with sorrow and quest for revenge.

Zeus later approached Palenaka in the form of an elderly woman with leprosy. Palenaka, after seeing the old woman, began to taunt her the same way he would taunt Flora. Containing his anger no longer, Zeus appeared to Palenaka in his god form. With his voice booming in anger, Zeus spoke, "Palenaka, hunter of the Leo Parde woods, you have infuriated me far too much! You have tormented my daughter and even dared to harass the elderly. I refuse to allow you to continue these acts any longer. Your punishment for humiliating my daughter will be to endure the same fate for which you have tormented her with!" With a swift hand, darkness fell over Palenaka, causing him to fall down on all fours. Fur engulfed his body quickly with small spot formations forming in the mist of it. He could no longer speak, but growl in anger. "You shall be called a 'leopard' because of your cruelty to those with spots or leprosy. Mere mortal, no longer will you be the hunter, but now, as you did my daughter and hundreds of other animals, the hunted. " In terror and horror, Palenaka ran away in his new animal form.

Because of Zeus's swift judgment, Palenaka no longer bothered Flora. Filled with extreme happiness, Flora lived a joyous life and soon settled down with a mate, Fray-Kel. She had several children in which all of them bared her spots. Naming their spots after their father, the children called them "freckles".