One boy loved to swim. And even in the flood, when the river swelled and rose, he did not listen to his father and mother and ran away to swim. He undressed on the shore and jumped into the water. A stormy stream caught him and carried him away. The boy struggled with the current with all his strength, cutting through the waves, swimming in fathoms, but he saw that he did not have enough strength. He began to scream, call for help. The merman heard him. And it’s good that I heard it - the little swimmer had already choked and lost consciousness. When the merman arrived in time to the drowning man, he was already motionless, and the waves carried him further and further. In truth, the merman could not stand it when one of the people fell alive to him at the bottom. But he liked the little swimmer. It was a pity to drown the child, and he decided to save him.
The merman took the child in his arms and carried him to his beautiful palace at the bottom of the river. Never before had a living person come into his possession - this was the first time this had happened. He laid the water boy on the bed. Then he quietly walked away 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 there is a table, and on it there are a lot of toys, all made of crystal. The toys shimmered so temptingly and were so beautiful that the boy reached out to them - he wanted to play. But at that very moment he remembered his home and cried bitterly. The merman immediately ran up to him:
-What are you crying about, little one?
“I want to go home,” the boy sobbed.
“Is it really better at home than in my palace?” — the merman was surprised.
- Better! - the boy cried louder. The merman realized that all his consolations were in vain, and left. And the boy, having cried, fell asleep. Then the merman crept up to him and carried him to another room. The boy woke up, looked around and saw that he was lying in a silver room - the walls, the floor, and the ceiling were silver, there was a silver table with toys by the bed, and all the toys were made of pure silver. Such wealth! The boy looked at them enchanted. Then he took the silver toys and began to play. But he quickly grew tired of the fun. He remembered how fun it was to play with his brother and sister, and began to cry bitterly. The merman came running and asked:
-What are you crying about, little one?
“I want to see my brother and sister,” the boy answered and began to sob even more.
The merman could not console him and left. And the boy fell asleep. The merman again crept up to him on tiptoe and carried him to the 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 gold: the table, the chairs, and the toys. The boy was often told about magical treasuries where gold was kept. But he never dreamed of such wealth! Enchanted, the boy took up the toys. But they did not amuse him for long. The mother and father came to mind, and the boy began to cry again. The merman came running and asked:
-What are you crying about, my child?
- I want to go to my father and mother! The merman was surprised - after all, he didn’t know what a father and mother were.
“Are your father and mother dearer to you than pure gold?” - he exclaimed.
“More expensive,” said the boy. The merman withdrew and collected all the pearls that the depths of his underwater kingdom hid. He collected it and poured it out in front of the boy. The pile of pearls grew to the very ceiling, and the merman asked:
“Are your father and mother really more valuable to you than such a pile of pearls?”
The boy closed his eyes so that the shine of the treasures would not blind him.
- You are working in vain! - the boy answered. “You still won’t know the value of my father and mother.” They are dearer to me than anything in the world!
The merman realized that there was nothing he could do to console the boy, he waited until he fell asleep, carefully carried him sleepy out of the water and laid him on the shore. Here the poor piece of clothing was waiting for its owner. The merman filled her pockets with gold and pearls and disappeared.
The boy woke up and saw that he was lying on the shore near the water. And then I remembered about the water and underwater kingdom. At first the boy thought that he had dreamed all this, but when he reached into his pocket and pulled out gold and pearls, he realized that it was not a dream, but the real truth. The boy rushed home to his father and mother, to his brother and sister. There was no end to their joy! Moreover, everything in the house became
plenty, - after all, the boy brought pearls and gold from the underwater kingdom.
The boy still went to the river to swim, but only stayed in shallow water - a merman couldn’t get there.
And the merman returned to his underwater kingdom, saddened. He thought that he had chosen the most valuable treasures in his possessions. And suddenly it turned out that people had treasures more valuable than gold and pearls. People have father and mother, brothers and sisters. But the merman had no one! He became sad and cried for three days in a row; His sobs shook the shores, and the waves roared as if in a flood. And then the merman went to inspect every corner of his kingdom - maybe there were special treasures hidden somewhere that had not yet caught his eye.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru