Once upon a time there was an old fisherman who lived in a small village near a city.One day he went fishing as usual, but this time the experience was completely unusual.
He was walking in the mountains that day when he suddenly met a strange man.The man looked a little scary, but spoke very gently.He said to the old fisherman, “Come with me, I’ll take you somewhere.”
The old fisherman was a little scared, but he followed the man.They went over several mountains and came to an open valley.In the middle of the valley there was a big, clear lake, the water of which sparkled in the sunlight like a big mirror.
The strange man went into the lake and turned back to the old fisherman and said, “Come over here too.”And the old fisherman went down with him and walked to the edge of the lake.
The man said to him, “You cast your net here and see if you can catch any fish.”The old fisherman nodded and cast his net.After waiting a while, he pulled the net up and wow!There were exactly four fish in the net, each one a different color: white, red, blue, and yellow.
The old fisherman was amazed and thought, “How can there be such beautiful fish in this world?”
The man said to him, “From now on you can only come here once a day to catch a net, and you must not eat these fish yourself.You must send these fish to the palace, and the king will reward you with a lot of money.”
When he had finished speaking, the man stepped on the ground, which cracked open, and he jumped in at once, and then the crack in the ground closed up again, as if nothing had happened.
The old fisherman stood still, not reacting for half a day.After a while, he came back to his senses and hurriedly took the four fish back to the city and sent them to the palace.
The four-colored fish enter the palace
The king was very surprised to see such brightly colored fish for the first time.He asked his ministers, “Have you ever seen such a fish?”Everyone shook their heads and said they had never seen it.
The king was curious and wanted to taste it, so he had the fish taken to the kitchen and cooked.He also rewarded the old fisherman with forty gold coins as a thank you.
The cook took the fish and began to handle it.He cleaned the fish and put it in a pot ready to fry.
But just then, something strange happened!
One of the walls of the kitchen suddenly cracked open with a click, and out of it came a young woman wearing a green scarf and beautiful earrings.She had a cane in her hand and was very pretty.
She went to the pot, pointed the cane at the fish in the pot, and asked loudly, “Fish, do you still remember the old agreement?”
The fish in the pot actually looked up and answered in unison, “Remember!If you don’t keep your word, we won’t keep our word; if you keep your promise, we will keep it; if you betray your oath, we will rebel together!”
After saying this, the woman overturned the pot with a single stroke of her rattan staff, then turned and walked into the crack in the wall.The wall was immediately restored as if nothing had happened.
The cook was so frightened that he fainted, and when he woke up, the pot had been overturned, and all four fish were burnt, black as charcoal.
He rushed to tell the chancellor about this.The prime minister was shocked to hear this, and immediately sent someone to find the old fisherman and ask him to send four more of the same fish to the palace.
The old fisherman did not dare to neglect, immediately ran to the lake and played four fish, carefully sent into the palace.
This time, the prime minister personally watched the cook fry the fish.Sure enough, the pan was just getting hot when the wall cracked again and the mysterious woman reappeared.
She still asked the same thing, and the fish still answered exactly the same way.Then she overturned the pan again and disappeared into the crack in the wall.
The chancellor immediately reported this to the king.The king thought it was amazing and decided he wanted to see it for himself.
So he asked the old fisherman to bring him four more fish, and this time gave him four hundred gold coins as a reward.
As soon as the pot was hot, the wall cracked open again.But this time it wasn’t the beautiful woman who came out, but a tall, strong man.He held a green branch in his hand and asked in a gruff voice, “O fish, do you remember the old agreement?”
The fish in the pot still answered neatly, “Remember!If you do not keep your word, we also turn against you; if you fulfill your promise, we will also fulfill it; if you break your oath, we will also accompany you!”
Upon hearing this, the man raised a branch and viciously overturned the pot, then disappeared into a crack in the wall as well.
The king looked at the burnt fish in the pot and became even more puzzled.He decided to find out what was going on with the fish.
He summoned the old fisherman and asked him, “Where did you catch these fish?”
The old fisherman answered truthfully, “I caught them from a lake in a valley outside the city.”
Upon hearing this, the king immediately organized a team and set off in great numbers to find that lake.Led by the old fisherman, they soon found the valley.
The sight before them stunned them all: the lake was clear and transparent, surrounded by green hills, and there were four colors of fish swimming in the lake-white, red, blue, and yellow.No one had ever seen such a strange place.
The king ordered to set up camp, intending to investigate the secrets of this lake properly.
The king visited the mysterious palace at night
At night, the king changed into civilian clothes, took his sword with him and quietly left the camp.He traveled alone for two whole days and two nights over the mountains, and finally on the morning of the third day, he saw a black building in the distance.
When he approached it, it turned out to be a luxurious palace.There were two gates at the entrance, one open and one closed.
The king walked up and knocked on the door, but no one answered.He pushed open the door and walked in, and found that the interior of the palace was very exquisitely arranged: the curtains were made of silk, the floor was covered with shiny carpets, the windows were hung with embroidered curtains, and there were four golden statues of lions, with their mouths spouting out pearly droplets of water, and there were all kinds of birds in the courtyard, and the birds were covered with golden nets.
The whole palace was empty, only the sound of the wind blowing the curtain.The king felt a little lost and sat in the doorway fuming.
Suddenly, he heard someone sighing in a low voice.The voice carried a verse:
“I hid everything, and you exposed yourself.
I lost my sleep, and in return I stayed up all night.”
The king followed the voice and found a curtain hanging over a door.He gently lifted the curtain and saw a young man sitting on a bed.The bed was only about a foot high, and the young man was well dressed, with a crown of pearls on his head and a handsome face, except for a black mole on his forehead.
The young man greeted the king politely, “Welcome to this place, I am the master here.But I am not well enough to get up and greet you now, so I beg your pardon.”
The king asked curiously, “Why do you live here alone?It looks like you are in a sad mood.”
The young man sighed and lifted up his shirt, revealing the lower half of his body.The king took a look and was stunned: the young man’s body had turned to stone from the waist down, leaving only the upper part still moving.
The king said sympathetically, “I came here to find out what happened to the four-colored fish in the lake.Maybe you can tell me your story?I will try to help you.”
The young man nodded and began to tell his experience ……
The Youth’s Secret
“I was originally a prince, living in a faraway country.Our country was rich and beautiful, and the people lived in peace.I also had a happy family and friends.
Until one day, while hunting in the forest, I met a witch.She told me that I could have the most powerful magic in the world, as long as I promised her one condition – never to break the pact between her and the fish in the lake.
I was too greedy and agreed to her condition.As a result, I got the magic, but I was also trapped in this palace because of it, and the lower half of my body turned into stone.
Those fish are actually my brothers and sisters.They made a deal with the witch to protect me.Every time someone tries to harm those fish, someone will come out and stop them.That woman and that man, they’re both elves who guard the fish.
If anyone breaks the agreement, we will no longer remain silent.”
The king was deeply moved when he heard this.He decided not to disturb the lake or eat the fish anymore.He ordered the old fisherman not to come back here to fish in the future.
The old fisherman lost his chance to make money, but he understood the king’s decision.After all, he was lucky to be alive to see these wonders.
From then on, that lake was never disturbed again.It lay quietly in the valley and became a place of mystery and beauty.
What does the story tell us?
This story is about Promises and Respect for Nature.
- Don’t make promises easily: Sometimes, we may make some seemingly simple promises for the sake of immediate benefits.But behind these promises may lie a great price.
- Respect life and nature: The fish in the lake are not ordinary fish, they are spiritual creatures.If we do not respect them, we may invite trouble.
- Honesty and trustworthiness are important: Both human beings and animals should keep their agreements with each other.Only by trusting each other can we live together peacefully.
- Curiosity can also bring danger: The king’s curiosity led him to discover the secret of the lake, but it also almost broke the balance between the fish and the guardian.So, sometimes it is important to learn to restrain your desires while learning the truth.
