The Rejuvenating Lake

Long, long ago, there lived an old man and an old woman in a village. They were very old, barely able to drag their feet, but they lived in harmony and always helped each other.

Sometimes, they would sit by the fire to warm themselves:
- "We’ve become so frail," the old man would say. "The roof has been leaking for days now, and I don’t have the strength to patch it up."
- "Don’t be sad," the old woman would reply. "A leaky roof isn’t the worst thing. What’s worse is that we might die any day now, and I’d really like to live a little longer."

One day, the old man went to the mountains to gather firewood. As he walked, he thought: "I remember how much my old woman loved to eat mushrooms. Maybe I should go look for some?"

He slung a bundle on his back and headed deeper into the forest. As he walked, he spotted mushrooms here and there, picking them as he went. He walked and walked until he got lost. The day was hot, and the sun was blazing mercilessly. "If only I could have a sip of water right now," thought the old man. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a stream gurgling somewhere in the thicket, its droplets tinkling against the stones.

The old man made his way through the bushes and saw water flowing down a rocky cliff, forming a small pool at the base.
- "Ah, I’ll drink some cold water now!" the old man rejoiced.
He dropped his bundle, sat by the shore, and scooped up some water with his hand:
- "Oh, this water! Oh, how delicious!" he exclaimed. "So cool! So sweet! I’ve never tasted water like this in my life!"

After drinking, he felt as though his back no longer hurt and his head no longer drooped. He stood up, but his legs felt strange—they wanted to jump and run. The old man felt joyful: "What a wonderful forest! What a bright sun! Ah, life is good!"

Little did he know that he hadn’t drunk ordinary water but the water of youth, and that he was no longer an old man but a young lad. If only he had looked into the water! But he didn’t. He picked up his bundle and ran down the mountain path back to his old woman.

When he reached the house, he shouted:
- "Old woman, old woman, I’m back! I got a little lost, so I’m a bit late."
The old woman turned her head and grumbled:
- "Hey, young man, what are you barging into my house for, and why are you talking nonsense?"

The old man opened his mouth in surprise.
- "What’s wrong with you, old woman?" he said. "Have you lost your mind? It’s me!"
- "Ha-ha-ha!" laughed the old woman. "Do you think just because I’m old, you can fool me?"
- "You must have been napping during the day," the old man said angrily. "Wipe your eyes!"
- "I wasn’t napping," the old woman retorted, offended. "I see what I need to see. Answer me now: who are you and what do you want?"

The old man was baffled—he couldn’t understand what had happened to his old woman.
- "Don’t you recognize me? It’s me, your old man," he said again.
- "What old man?" the old woman exclaimed, wide-eyed. "You’re just a young lad! Oh, you’ve made me laugh!"
- "Who’s young?" the old man asked, confused. "Come closer and take a better look!"

The old woman came closer.
- "Strange," she said. "You’re wearing my old man’s kimono…"
- "It’s not his, it’s mine!" the old man snapped. "Whose kimono do you think I should be wearing?"
- "And your voice sounds just like my old man’s," the old woman mused.
- "What do you think?" the old man pressed. "Whose voice should I have?"
- "And your face… it looks just like my old man’s when he was young," the old woman said, completely bewildered.
- "Like when he was young?" the old man said in disbelief. "Old woman, you’re talking about a hundred years ago!"

The old woman stared at him, unable to look away. The old man felt uneasy. He walked over to the water basin and looked into it: a young man smiled back at him.

- "Hey, old woman," the old man muttered. "What’s happened to me?"
- "I don’t understand either," the old woman replied. "It’s you, but it’s not you!"
The old man looked into the water again and slapped his forehead.
- "I get it, I get it!" he cried. "I drank water from a pool in the forest. That must have been the water of youth, and it’s made me young again!"

The old man began jumping and dancing around the house.
- "Oh, it’s me! Oh, it’s me!" he rejoiced. "I’m young again! I’m not afraid of sickness or death anymore!"

Then he said to the old woman:
- "Don’t be sad! Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the mountains and find that pool. You’ll become young and beautiful again, and we’ll live happily and joyfully once more."
- "Why should I wait until morning?" the old woman said, offended. "You became young today, and I’m supposed to stay old until tomorrow?"
- "It’s too late now," the old man tried to persuade her. "Who goes to the mountains at night? And we won’t find the pool in the dark. Wait until morning!"
- "Wait, wait… I don’t want to!" the old woman insisted. "I’ve waited so many years—I’ve grown old."

The old man didn’t listen to her anymore. He lay down and fell into such a deep sleep that he didn’t hear anything.

In the morning, he saw that the old woman was gone.
- "Hey, old woman, where are you?" he shouted. But no one answered.
The old man realized that his wife hadn’t waited for him and had gone to the mountains herself.
"Alright, let her go," thought the old man. "She must not have the strength to wait. She’ll come back as beautiful as she used to be."

The sun rose from behind the mountains and set behind them again. It grew dark, but the old woman still hadn’t returned.
- "She must have gotten lost in the forest," the old man decided. "I’ll have to go look for her."

He got ready and headed to the mountains. As he walked, he called out for the old woman. Suddenly, he heard a baby crying somewhere in the thicket.

The old man was puzzled: where did a baby come from? He pushed through the bushes and came to the pool. There, lying on some rags, was a baby, crying its heart out. The old man looked closer and realized that the rags were actually the old woman’s kimono.

Then the old man understood: his wife had been too greedy. She couldn’t tear herself away from the water of youth, and so she had turned into a small child. The old man picked up the baby and carried it home. And so, he had to nurse his old woman back to health.

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The Rejuvenating Lake

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