In ancient times, in the province of Tango, in the village of Mizunoue, there lived a fisherman named Urashima Taro.
Every day he swam out to sea in the morning to fish, and returned home in the evening.
And then one evening he walks along the shore and sees: children gathered near the water. “What are they doing for fun?” - thought Urashima. He came closer, and it turned out that the guys had caught a young turtle and were chasing it along the sand. They had fun, they had fun, and then they began to torment the poor fellow: some would throw a stone, some would poke him with a stick. Urashima felt sorry for the turtle.
- Hey guys! - he turned to the children. - Release the turtle! After all, you will completely torture her! But they just laugh:
- Well, let it be! What do you care? Our turtle - we do what we want.
“You’d better give it to me,” Urashima asked.
- Look what you want! Catch it yourself!
- So it’s not for nothing that I’m asking. I'll pay for it.
- Paying is another matter. Give me money! Urashima gave the guys a few small coins, and in return received a turtle.
The happy children ran away somewhere, and Urashima was left alone with the turtle. He strokes her on the shell and says:
- Oh, you poor fellow! Well, did you like it? I heard that a heron lives for a thousand years, and a turtle even longer, but today you almost died. Okay, I arrived on time! Apparently, you really are destined for longevity. Well, swim for yourself, and make sure you don’t fall into the hands of the guys again.
With these words, Urashima released the turtle into the sea, and he himself went home.
The next day, as always, Urashima went to the sea to fish. Suddenly he hears someone calling out to him:
- Urashima-san! Urashima-san! Urashima got scared, looked at the waves and thought:
“Who could it be? There’s not a soul around: no boats, no people in sight.” But then a turtle emerged from the water very close by.
- Was it really you who called me? - Urashima asked in amazement.
“Yes, I am,” the turtle answered with a respectful bow. “Yesterday you helped me out of big trouble, you saved my life.” So I came to thank you. As a sign of deep gratitude, I ask you to welcome me to the palace of the Dragon God of the Seas. Have you ever seen him?
- No! — Urashima shook his head negatively. - After all, they say he is somewhere very far from here!
- Well, distance means nothing to you and me. Would you like me to take you to the palace?
“Thank you for the kind invitation, but I can’t keep up with you.”
“And you don’t need to swim on your own.” Sit on me and get there calmly.
- How can I fit on your little back?
- Don't worry, you'll sit down.
And then, before the fisherman’s eyes, the turtle’s shell suddenly began to grow. It became so large that a person could now easily fit on it.
Urashima climbed onto the back of the turtle, and they set off along the stormy waves of the ocean to the Dragon Palace.
They swam and swam, and finally a red gate appeared in the distance.
-What's that up ahead? - Urashima asked the turtle.
- And this is the Dragon Palace. Look, do you see the high roof?
- So, are we already there?
- Yes, I told you that you and I will get there quickly. Now go ashore. Let's go on foot.
The tortoise escorted Urashima to the gates of the palace, and there was a guard at the gate.
- Hey, gatekeepers! - the turtle shouted loudly. - Report that a guest has arrived from Japan, the generous fisherman Urashima Taro.
The gatekeepers reported, as ordered. The court dignitaries Tai, Hirame, Karei and other highly respected fish came out to meet Urashima. They began to bow ceremoniously and greet him:
- Welcome, venerable Urashima Taro! You showed us great honor by arriving here, in the underwater kingdom. Thank you too, noble turtle, for working hard and bringing the welcome guest.
They took Urashima to the inner chambers, and there he was met by the mistress of the palace herself, the beautiful daughter of the Sea Dragon, Otohime, with a large retinue of courtiers. She seated Urashima in a place of honor and made the following speech:
“We thank you, glorious Urashima, for deigning to come to us.” You have done a great service to our kingdom - you saved the life of a turtle. So we invited you to thank you in any way we can. Make yourself at home in this palace and relax.
Urashima realized that he was a welcome guest here, and his soul felt joyful and carefree.
- Thank you for the invitation! - he said. “I have never been to such a marvelous palace before.”
A treat was served here: various dishes and wine. And then the songs and merry dances began, and the feast began.
And when the fun died down, they went to inspect the palace. Otohime leads the guest and shows him the palace chambers: everything here is made of precious corals, pearls and lapis lazuli. Urashima looks at it and can’t stop looking at it - it’s so decorated here, so decorated that it’s impossible to tell.
But the real miracle was the palace garden! On its eastern side, as if in spring, delicate cherry and plum flowers were blooming, and a nightingale trill was heard from the thick emerald foliage. It was summer on the south side: the grass was growing wildly, the cicadas and grasshoppers were chirping. On the western side of the garden, crimson maple leaves rustled quietly and chrysanthemums bloomed magnificently - it was golden autumn there. And on the northern side of the garden it was winter: the trees were buried in snow, the rivers and streams were bound with ringing transparent ice.
Urashima Taro looked at all this with delight, forgetting about everything in the world. Like a magical dream, time flowed here imperceptibly. But Urashima soon came to his senses. He realized that he had left his mother and father at home, quickly got ready for the road and came to say goodbye to Otohime.
“I spent more than one day under your hospitable roof.” It was good here, but I need to go. Goodbye!
- Don’t leave us, stay a little longer! - the Dragon’s daughter began to beg him. But Urashima was adamant.
“Well, so be it, I won’t stop you,” Otohime agreed. - This is the only way I won’t let you go. Here, take it goodbye! “With these words, she presented Urashima with a beautiful box.
Urashima began to refuse, but the mistress of the palace didn’t even want to listen. He took the box, and Otohime said to him:
- Look, no matter what happens to you, never open it, otherwise there will be trouble!
Urashima said goodbye to the beautiful Otohime and, holding the box in his hands, sat down again on the turtle’s back.
The turtle took him to the seashore, said goodbye and swam away.
Urashima looked around. Everything seemed to remain the same, but, strangely, for some reason there were no people I knew!
- What could this mean? - Urashima was perplexed. In vague anxiety he hurried home. But even at home he was met by strangers. “Probably my parents moved somewhere during my absence,” he thought.
“I am Urashima Taro and lived in this house,” he addressed the people. — Tell me, where did my relatives move?
-Are you Urashima Taro? - they asked in surprise.
- Yes, I am the one!
- Ha-ha-ha! It turns out you are a joker! The fisherman Urashima actually once lived here, but it was about seven hundred years ago. How did you suddenly show up alive?..
Urashima was embarrassed and didn’t believe them:
- What seven hundred years there! Just two or three days ago I lived here with my father and mother. Why are you laughing at me? It would be better to tell the truth!
“We are telling the truth,” the villagers answer him. “We have a legend that a young fisherman Urashima once lived here. One day he went out to sea to fish and did not return home. They waited for him, his father and mother waited, but they never came - they died. It was a very long time ago. Are you a ghost who has come to visit your native places?
Urashima looked around helplessly. And in fact, everything seemed different to him than before. “Are people really right?” - thought Urashima, but was afraid to believe them.
As if in a dream, without knowing why, he wandered again to the seashore. Now he had neither home nor relatives. His soul felt heavy and gloomy.
And then Urashima suddenly remembered the box he was holding in his hands. “Why did the daughter of the Sea Dragon give me this wondrous casket? And why did she punish me to never open it? Maybe this is the answer to the whole mystery? I’ll open it!”
Urashima untied the cords of the box, lifted the lid and was just about to look inside when a purple cloud of smoke rose from it. It touched Urashima’s face, and at that same moment the blooming youth turned into a decrepit, wrinkled old man. In an instant his hair turned gray, his back bent, his legs trembled, in an instant a string of years flashed over him, his life flashed by and his breath froze in his chest.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru