The Water Spirit

One boy loved to swim very much. Even during the flood, when the river swelled and rose, he disobeyed his father and mother and ran off to swim. He undressed on the shore and jumped into the water. The raging current caught him and carried him away. The boy struggled with all his might against the current, cutting through the waves, swimming with all his strength, but he realized he didn’t have enough energy left. He began to shout and call for help. The water spirit heard him. And it was good that he did—the little swimmer had already choked and lost consciousness. When the water spirit rushed to the drowning boy, he was already motionless, and the waves were carrying him further away. To tell the truth, the water spirit couldn’t stand it when someone from the human world ended up alive at the bottom of his river. But he took a liking to the little swimmer. He felt sorry for the child and decided to save him.

The water spirit took the boy in his arms and carried him to his beautiful palace at the bottom of the river. Never before had a living person entered his domain—this was the first time. The water spirit laid the boy on a bed. Then he quietly stepped back and hid, waiting for his guest to wake up.

The boy woke up, looked around, and saw that he was lying on a glass bed in the middle of a glass room. Near the bed stood a table filled with toys, all made of crystal. The toys shimmered so enticingly and were so beautiful that the boy reached for them—he wanted to play. But at that very moment, he remembered his home and began to cry bitterly. The water spirit immediately ran to him:

“Why are you crying, little one?”

“I want to go home,” the boy sobbed.

“Is your home really better than my palace?” the water spirit asked in surprise.

“Yes, it is!” the boy cried even louder. The water spirit realized that all his attempts to comfort the boy were in vain, and he left. The boy, after crying himself out, fell asleep. Then the water spirit crept up to him and carried him to another room. When the boy woke up, he saw that he was lying in a silver room—the walls, floor, and ceiling were all silver. By the bed stood a silver table with toys, all made of pure silver. Such wealth! The boy stared at them as if enchanted. Then he picked up the silver toys and began to play. But the fun quickly bored him. He remembered how joyful it was to play with his brother and sister, and he burst into tears. The water spirit ran in and asked:

“Why are you crying, little one?”

“I want to be with my brother and sister,” the boy replied, sobbing even harder.

The water spirit couldn’t comfort him and left. The boy fell asleep again. The water spirit crept up to him on tiptoes and carried him to a third room. When the boy woke up, he saw that he was lying in a golden chamber on a bed made of pure gold.

Everything there was golden: the table, the chairs, and the toys. The boy had often heard stories about magical treasure troves filled with gold. But such wealth had never even appeared in his dreams! Enchanted, he reached for the toys. But they didn’t amuse him for long. He remembered his mother and father, and the boy began to cry again. The water spirit ran in and asked:

“Why are you crying, my child?”

“I want to be with my father and mother!” The water spirit was surprised—he didn’t know what a father or mother was.

“Are your father and mother really more precious to you than pure gold?” he exclaimed.

“Yes, they are,” the boy said. The water spirit left and gathered all the pearls hidden in the depths of his underwater kingdom. He brought them and poured them in front of the boy. The pile of pearls grew as high as the ceiling, and the water spirit asked:

“Are your father and mother really more precious to you than such a pile of pearls?”

The boy squeezed his eyes shut to avoid being blinded by the brilliance of the treasures.

“You’re wasting your time!” the boy replied. “You’ll never understand the value of my father and mother. They are more precious to me than anything in the world!”

The water spirit realized that nothing could comfort the boy. He waited until the boy fell asleep, then carefully carried him out of the water and laid him on the shore. There, the boy’s poor clothes were waiting for their owner. The water spirit filled the pockets with gold and pearls and disappeared.

The boy woke up and saw that he was lying on the shore by the water. He immediately remembered the water spirit and the underwater kingdom. At first, he thought it had all been a dream, but when he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold and pearls, he realized it had been real. The boy rushed home to his father and mother, to his brother and sister. Their joy knew no bounds! And the house was now filled with plenty—after all, the boy had brought pearls and gold from the underwater kingdom.

The boy still went to the river to swim, but he stayed in the shallow waters—where the water spirit couldn’t reach him.

The water spirit returned to his underwater kingdom, saddened. He had thought he had chosen the most valuable treasures in his domain. But suddenly, he realized that humans had treasures more precious than gold and pearls. Humans had fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. But the water spirit had no one! He grew sad and cried for three days straight; his sobs shook the riverbanks, and the waves roared as if during a flood. Then the water spirit set out to inspect every corner of his kingdom—perhaps somewhere there were special treasures that had escaped his notice until now.

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The Water Spirit

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