The Magic Spring
Once in a small village near the mountains lived an old farmer and his wife. They
had no children. They were very old. One morning the old farmer woke up early. He
took his axe and went to the mountains. He wanted to cut some firewood. He climbed
the mountain very slowly. The sun was up. It was hot. The old man felt tired and slept
under a tree. A small animal touched the old man’s right foot. He jumped up in fear and
looked around. He saw a squirrel running towards a small hole. “Please stop”, cried
the old man: “Please come back.” But the squirrel had disappeared. The old man was
afraid. Suddenly he felt thirsty. “Oh! How thirsty I am!” said the old man. “How I wish
I could get a mouthful of cold water!” But there was no water anywhere. “Mr.Squirrel,
my friend, I’m very thirsty,” the old man cried out. “Give me something to drink.
Please give me some water.” Suddenly he heard a bubbling noise: a spring of water
was coming from the squirrel’s hole! “How wonderful!” said the old man. He knelt
down by the spring, took some water in his hands, and drank it. “How sweet!” he said.
“How cool!” Suddenly he felt very sleepy. He lay down on the grass. “What a strange
place!” he said and soon fell asleep.
After some time the old man woke up. It was late in the evening. “What a long
sleep it was!” said the old man. He jumped up and started running home. “Is the old
woman worrying about me?” he asked himself. On his way he picked up the bundle of
firewood. It was a heavy load. But he carried it easily. He felt young and strong. “How
young I feel!” he said. He ran home quickly. His wife was waiting for him at the gate.
“Hello, old woman,” he called out to her. “I’m hungry. Give me something to eat.” But
the old woman was puzzled. “Who is this young man speaking as if he was my husband?”
she said to herself. “What’s wrong with you?” he said. “Don’t stare at me like that. I’m
your husband.” The old woman could not believe her eyes. It took some time for both
the husband and the wife to understand what had happened. Then the wife said, “Tell me
the exact place. I want to drink from the magic spring and be young like you.”
The next day, the old woman got up early in the morning and set out for the spring.
The farmer stayed at home. “Come back soon,” he told his wife. “Don’t be late.” He
was very happy. He was once again young and strong. “Now my wife is going to drink
at the magic spring. How young she will be!” he said to himself. It was late afternoon.
The wife did not come back. The farmer waited and waited. Still she did not come. So
he too set out for the mountains. He ran as fast as he could. He called out her name.
“Please answer me”, he cried. “Come back to me.” But there was no answer. “O, how
unhappy I am!” cried the farmer.
At last he reached the magic spring. “Where are you?” he shouted. “Don’t hide
from me.” Then he heard a tiny cry. He turned round. There, on the grass, he saw a tiny
baby. It waved its tiny hands and made some baby noises. The farmer looked closely at
the baby. His wife’s clothes were wrapped around her. And she had his wife’s face.
Then he knew what had happened. She drank too much water from the spring. “What a
pity!” he said. He took his baby-wife in his arms, carried her home, and looked after
her lovingly.
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