Wilde: The Fisherman and His Soul

Text / Wilde

Every night the young fisherman would go out to sea to catch fish and cast his net into the sea.

When the wind blew from the land, he could catch nothing, or at most a small spot, because it was a fierce black-winged wind, and even the great waves jumped up to welcome it. But when the wind blew on the shore, the fish floated up from the deep sea and swam into his net, where he took the fish he caught to the market to sell.

Every night he went out to sea to fish, and one night, when he was collecting the net, the net was so heavy that he almost failed to tow the net onto the boat. He laughed and said to himself, "I must have caught all the fish swimming, or I have caught some monster that people think is a miracle, or I have put it into the net, or it is the terrible thing that the great queen likes." He pulled the thick rope tightly with all his might until the long blood vessels in his arms bubbled up, like the stripes of blue-colored glaze wrapped around a pot vase. He dragged the string hard again, and as he got closer, the flat cork floating circle drew nearer and closer, and the net finally rose out of the water.

However, there was neither a single fish in the net, nor any monsters, or anything terrible, except for a sleeping little mermaid lying inside.

Her hair was like a wet golden fleece, and each strand was like a thin gold thread in a glass. Her body was as white as ivory, and her tail was the color of silver and pearls. Silver and pearl were her tail, and emerald green seagrass wrapped around it; her ears were like shells, and her lips were like coral. Cold waves pounded her chest, and sea salt glittered on her eyelids.

How beautiful she was, and the young fisherman was filled with amazement when he saw her. He reached out and pulled the net to his side and leaned down and took her in his arms. When he was next to her, she cried out like a frightened seagull and woke up, looking at him in horror with amethyst eyes, still struggling to escape. But he hugged her tightly and was not willing to let her go.

When she saw that she could no longer escape, she began to cry and said, "I beg you to let me go, I am the only daughter of the king, my father is old, and he has no other relatives around him." ”

But the young fisherman replied, "I will not let you go unless you promise me that whenever I call you, you will come and sing for me, because the fish like to listen to the mermaid's song, so that my net will be full." ”

"If I promised you, would you really let me go?" The mermaid cried.

"I will definitely let you go," replied the young fisherman.

So she made the assurances he had hoped for, and cursed her with the mermaid oath. He let go of his arm from her, and she trembled with an inexplicable fear and sank into the sea.

Every night whenever the young fisherman went out to fish, he would summon a mermaid, and she would emerge from the sea and sing to him. Dolphins swam around her, and seagulls hovered above her head.

She sang a beautiful song. Because she was singing the story of her companions. They drove the cattle from cave to cave, carrying calves on their shoulders; she also sang of the half-human, half-fish sea gods, who had long green beards and furry chests, and blew spiral-shaped conchs whenever the king passed; she sang of the king's palace, which was all made of city smelting, the roof was made of seductive emerald blue, and the road was paved with glowing pearls; she sang to the garden in the sea, where there were huge coral fans dancing all day, and the fish swam around like silver birds. Autumn peonies cling to the rocks, and pink caryophyllus sprouts young buds in the yellow sand. She sang about the great white whales from the bottom of the North Sea, with their spiked icicles hanging from their chains, and she sang about the banshees who could tell moving stories, and their stories were so wonderful that the blind people of the past had to plug their ears with wax so as not to hear the stories they told and jump into the sea and lose their lives; she also sang about the shipwrecks with high masts, the frozen sailors clinging to the sail cables, and the blue-flowered fish swimming in and out through the open hatches; she sang about the little snails, who were great travelers. Pasted on the keel of the boat swam the world over and over; she sang of the squid that lived on the edge of the cliff, stretching out their long black arms, ready for night to fall whenever they wished; she also sang of the Nautilus, which had a small boat of her own carved out of opal and sailed with a silk sail; she sang of the male mermaids who played the harp, who could make the sea monsters fall asleep; she sang of a group of little children who caught the slippery dolphins and rode on them with a laugh; and she sang of the mermaids again Lying in the white foam, they stretched out their arms and waved at the sailors; she sang about the sea lions with crooked bodies and the seahorses with fluttering manes.

As she sang, all the tuna came up from under the water to listen to her singing, and the young fisherman cast a net around them, killing them all, and the fish outside the net were caught by him with a harpoon. When his boat was full, the mermaid smiled at him and sank into the water.

However, she did not want to swim close to him and let him touch her. He called out to her and pleaded with her, but she just wouldn't; whenever he tried to catch her, she swooped into the water like a seal, and he never saw her again that whole day. Day after day, he felt her singing grow more and more beautiful. Her singing voice was so beautiful that even he often forgot about the fishing net and the work in his hand, and even forgot his own business. Tuna swam in droves, with scarlet fins and protruding golden eyes, but he didn't pay attention to them. His harpoon was also idle, and the inside of his wicker basket was empty. With his mouth open and his eyes wide with amazement, he sat dumbfounded on the boat and listened, all the while hearing the vast sea fog enveloping him, the wandering moon sprinkling his brown body with a silvery glow.

One night he summoned her and said, "Little mermaid, little mermaid, I love you, let me be your bridegroom, because I love you so much." ”

But the mermaid shook her head. "You have a man's soul," she replied, "and if you are willing to give away your soul, then I will fall in love with you." ”

The young fisherman said to himself, "What use is my soul for me?" I can't see it, I can't touch it, I don't understand it. I have to take it away from me so that I will be very happy. Then he let out a cry of happiness, stood up on the colored boat, and held out his arm to the mermaid." "I will send my soul away," he said aloud, "you be my bride, I will be your bridegroom, at the bottom of the sea we live together, everything you sing in your songs will lead me to see, I will do whatever you want, we live together and never separate." ”

The little mermaid smiled happily and hid her face in her own hands.

"But how can I send my soul away?" The young fisherman exclaimed, "Tell me what I should do, oh, I will do it." ”

"Ahhh! "I don't know," said the Little Mermaid, "that our mermaid family has no soul. With that she sank to the bottom of the water and looked at him thoughtfully.

Early the next morning, when the sun was not even above the top of the mountain, the young fisherman came to the priest's house and knocked on the door three times in a row.

The janitor looked out from the opening, and when he saw the person coming, he pulled down the door and said, "Please come in." ”

The young fisherman came in, knelt on the fragrant rush mat on the floor, and exclaimed to the priest who was reading the Bible: "Father, I am in love with a mermaid, and my soul hinders me from fulfilling my wishes." Tell me how I can send my soul away from me, because I really don't need it. What use is my soul for me? I can't see it, I can't touch it, I don't understand it. ”

But the priest pounded his chest and said, "Oh, alas, are you crazy?" What poisonous weed did you eat? Because the soul is the noblest part of man, given to us by God, we should use it noblely. There is nothing more precious in the world than the human soul, and nothing on earth can compare with it. It was worth as much as all the gold in the world, and much more valuable than the kings' rubies. So, My child, don't think about it anymore, because it's an unforgivable sin. As for the Mermaid family, they were already lost, and whoever was with them would be lost. Like the beasts of the earth, good and evil, Christ did not die for them. ”

After hearing the priest's stern advice, the young fisherman's eyes filled with tears. He stood up and said to the priest, "Father, the shepherds live in the forest, and they are all very happy, and the male mermaids sit on the rocks and play their golden harps. Let me be with them, I beg you, because they live like flowers. As for my soul, if it creates a barrier between me and what I love, what good will my soul do me? ”

"The love of the flesh is evil," said the priest aloud with a frown, "and the pagan things that God encounters that displease him as he wanders through the world he has created are all evil. The shepherds of the forest should be cursed, and so should the singers of the ocean! I also heard their singing at night, and they were trying to lure me out of my lecturing class. They knocked on mine, the window, laughing out loud. They whispered stories of toxic joy into my ears. They seduced me with all kinds of temptations, and when I was praying, they came to tease me. They are not saved. For there is neither heaven nor hell in their hearts, and they do not praise the name of God.

"Father," cried the young fisherman, "you don't know what you're talking about yourself. Once I caught the king's daughter with a fishing net. She was more beautiful than the morning star, whiter than the bright moon. I am willing to surrender my soul for her flesh; for her love, I would rather not have heaven. Please tell me about your request, and let me leave in peace. ”

"Go for it! Go ahead! The priest cried out, "Your lover is hopeless, and you will collapse with her." The priest threw him out of the door without saying a word of blessing to him. The young fisherman came to the market, and he walked slowly, with his head bowed, with a sad face.

When the merchants saw him coming, they whispered to each other, and one of them came up to him, called his name, and said to him, "What are you going to sell?" ”

"I'm going to sell you my soul," he replied, "and I beg you to buy it from me, for I already hate it." What use is my soul for me? I can't see it, I can't touch it, I don't know it. ”

But the merchants began to laugh at him, saying, "What is the use of the human soul for us?" It wasn't even worth half a silver coin. Sell your body to us as slaves, and we'll dress you in a blue-purple dress, put a ring on your finger, and let you go and be a clown to the great queen." But don't say anything more about the soul, because it is useless to us and worthless to our work. ”

The young fisherman said to himself, "How strange is this!" The priest told me that the value of the soul was comparable to the gold of the whole world, but the merchants said that even half a broken silver coin was not worth it. ”

So he left the market, went to the beach, and began to think about what he should do.

At noon, he remembered one of his companions, an umbrella-gatherer who had told him how remarkable her sorcery was when there was such a young witch who lived in a cave at the entrance to the bay. So he ran, and he couldn't wait to get rid of his soul. He was running wild on the beach, a mist of dust rising behind him. The young witch knew of his arrival by tickling her palms, and she laughed and spread out one of her red hairs. She stood at the opening of the hole, a red hair draped down, wrapped around her face, holding in her hand an open branch of wild celery.

"What are you missing?" What are you missing? She asked aloud, and at this moment he was breathlessly stepping up the cliff and leaning over to salute her. Let the fish get into your net when the wind is not going well? I have a little reed, and as soon as I blow it up, the carp swims into the bay. But it comes at a price, pretty kids, it comes at a price. What are you missing? What are you missing? Do you want a storm to blow the ship over so that you can blow a chest full of treasures ashore? My storm outweighs the wind, for the people I serve are stronger than the wind, and with a sieve and a bucket of water I can send the great ship to the bottom of the sea. But it comes at a price, pretty kids, it comes at a price. What are you missing? What are you missing? I know of a flower that grows in the valley, and no one but me knows of this flower. It had purple leaves, a star on its heart, and its juice was as white as milk. As soon as you touch the queen's tightly closed lips with the flower, she will follow you to the ends of the earth. She will get up from the king's bed and follow you all over the world. But it comes at a price, pretty kids, it comes at a price. What are you missing? What are you missing? I was able to pound the toad in a bowl and make a thin soup of what I had mashed, and stir it with a dead man's hand. Sprinkle the soup on your enemy, and when he falls asleep, he will turn into a black poisonous snake, and his mother will kill it. With a wheel I can pull the moon out of the sky, and I can let you see death in the crystal ball. What are you missing? What else are you missing? But you have to repay me, beautiful child, you have to repay me. ”

"All I want is a small thing," said the young fisherman, "but the priest got angry with me and blew me out." It was just a small thing, and the businessmen also made fun of me and rejected me thousands of miles away. That's why I came here to find you, and although people say you're evil, I'll pay you whatever your offer is. ”

"What do you really want?" The witch walked up to him and asked.

"I'm going to give away my soul," replied the young fisherman.

The witch's face turned pale and trembled, hiding her face in the blue shoes. "Pretty child, pretty boy," she murmured, "that's a terrible thing." ”

He shook his brown hair and laughed. "My soul is of no use to me," he replied, "and I can neither see it nor touch it, nor understand it."

"If I told you, what would you give me?" The witch standing on a high place looked at him with beautiful eyes and asked.

"Five gold coins," he said, "and my fishing nets, the wicker house where I live, and the colored boatS I drive." All you have to do is tell me how to get rid of my soul and I'll give you everything I have. ”

She laughed at him and whipped him with that poisonous celery. "I can turn autumn leaves into gold," she replied, "and I can also weave the bleak moonlight into the silver I like." The people I serve are richer than all the kings of the world and possess a kingdom as big as they are. ”

"So what am I going to give you?" He cried out, "If your price is neither gold nor silver." ”

The witch stroked his hair with her slender white hand. "You've got to dance with me, pretty boy," she said softly, still smiling at him.

"Is that all there is to it?" The young fisherman asked in surprise and stood up.

"That's all there is," she said, smiling at him.

"Then when the sun goes down, we'll go to a secret place to dance," he said, "and when the dance is over you'll have to tell me what I want to know." ”

The witch shook her head. "When it's time for the full moon, wait until it's full," she said softly. Then she looked around and listened. A blue bird screamed and flew up from its nest and circled around the dunes, while three spotted birds jumped over the gray weeds and whistled at each other. There is also the sound of waves below washing smooth pebbles. So she stretched out her hands and pulled him to her own side, bringing her dry lips close to his ears.

"You must come up to the top of the mountain tonight," she said softly, "and today is the Sabbath, and 'he' will come here." ”

The young fisherman looked at her in astonishment, at her smiling face with white teeth. "What's that 'he, he's that he? He asked.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, "you have to come tonight, standing under the branches of the cherbees tree, waiting for me to come." If a black dog comes running towards you, you whip it with a wicker and it will walk away. If an owl speaks to you, don't answer it. When the moon is round, I will come to you, and we will dance together on the grass. ”

"But will you promise me that you will tell me how to send my soul away?" He said this.

She came to the sun, and the wind gently blew her red hair. "I swear by the hooves of a goat," she replied.

"You are the best of the witches," cried the young fisherman, "and I will go to the top of the hill tonight to dance with you." Actually, I would rather ask you for gold or silver, but since you need such a price, and it is just a matter of heart, then you will get what you want. After saying that, he took off his hat and saluted her, bowed deeply, and ran back to the city with joy.

The witch watched him leave from a distance, and when his figure had disappeared she returned to her hole, took a mirror from the carved cedar box, placed it on a shelf, and lit verbena on the shiny charcoal in front of the shelf, so that she could see the mirror through the smoke ring. "He was supposed to be mine," she murmured, clenching her fists in a huff, "I'm as pretty as she is." ”

That night, after the moon had risen, the young fisherman climbed to the top of the hill and stood under the branches of the goose-eared maple tree. Beneath his feet lay a circular sea, like a round target of polished metal, and the shadow of a fishing boat swayed in the cove. A large owl with a pair of yellow sulfur-like eyes called out his name, but he ignored it. A black dog ran toward him and barked at him. He hit it with a wicker, and the dog ran away wailing.

At midnight the witches flew from the sky like bats. Before they could stand on their heels on the ground, they cried out, "Oh! There's a guy we don't know! They sniffed around with their noses, talking to each other, and making code names. Finally came the young witch, her red hair fluttering in the wind. She wore a velvet dress embroidered with peacock eyes, and a small green velvet hat was worn on her head.

"Where is he?" Where is he? The witches screamed at the sight of her and asked, but she just smiled, ran under the goose-eared tree, took the young fisherman's hand, led him to the moonlight, and began to dance.

They spun round and round, and the young witch danced so high that he could see her crimson heels clearly. At this moment, the sound of horses galloping hooves was heard at the dancers, but when he did not see the shadow of the horse, he felt so frightened.

"Hurry up a little faster," cried the witch, and she put her arm around his neck, her breath pounding hot in his face. "Hurry up, hurry up again!" She cried out, and he felt as if the ground beneath his feet had all swirled, and he felt so uncomfortable that a great fear struck him, as if something evil was watching him, and finally he noticed a man in the shadow of the rock, someone he had never seen before.

It was a man, dressed in a black velvet costume, in the Spanish way. His face had an odd pale color, but his lips looked like a proud rose. He looked so tired that he leaned back and caressed the hilt of the short sword weakly. On the grass beside him lay a feather hat and a pair of gold-rimmed riding gloves embroidered with very novel pearl ornaments. A short coat lined with black bottles hung from his shoulders, and his delicate snow-white hands were covered with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped blue over his eyes.

The young fisherman looked at him as if he had been hit by some magic. Finally the eyes of the two men met, and no matter wherever he danced, he seemed to feel that the man's eyes had been watching him. He heard the young witch laughing, so he put his arms around her waist and led her in a frantic circle.

Suddenly, a dog barked in the woods, and the dancing men stopped, and a pair of dance partners walked over, knelt down, and kissed the man's hand. As people did so, a smile fell on his proud lips, like a bird with its wings against the surface of the water, making the water smile. However, his smile was tinged with contempt, and he still looked at the young fisherman vigorously.

"Come on! "We both went to see him," the witch whispered, and pulled him over, a forced desire prompting him to do what she had asked him to do, and he went with her. But as he approached him, not knowing why, he drew a cross on his chest and called out the holy name.

As soon as he had finished doing this, the witches all screamed like eagles and flew away, and the pale face that had been looking at him was twisted with pain. The man walked toward the grove and whistled. A pony with a silver braid ran up to pick him up. As he stepped into the saddle, he turned his head and looked sadly at the young fisherman.

The red-haired witch also wanted to fly away, but the fisherman grabbed her wrist and squeezed it tightly.

"Let go of me," she cried out, "let me go." Because you called out names that shouldn't be called and made marks that we shouldn't see. ”

"No," he replied, "I won't let you go unless you tell me the secret." ”

"What secret?" The witch said, struggling like a wild cat, biting her foaming lips.

"You know," he replied.

Her grass-green eyes were darkened by tears, and she said to the fisherman, "You can mention anything to me, except this." ”

He smiled and grabbed her hand tighter.

She saw that she couldn't run away, so she whispered to him: "In fact, I am as beautiful as the daughter of the sea, and as cute as the girls who live in the blue waters." She courted him as she turned her face toward his face.

But he frowned and pushed her away, and said to her, "If you can't do what you promised me, then I'm going to kill you as a false witch." ”

Her face instantly turned gray, like the flowers of the yosho wood, and trembled. "That being the case," she murmured, "this is your soul, not mine." Just do what you say. After saying that, he took a small knife with a green snakeskin handle from his belt and handed it to him.

"What good is this thing for me?" He asked him incomprehensibly.

She paused in silence for a moment, and an expression of fear struck her face. Then she wiped the hair hanging from her forehead backwards and said to him with a strange smile: "The shadow of the human body that people call it is not actually the shadow of the body, but the shadow of the soul." You stand on the beach with your back to the moon, and then cut the shadow around your feet with a knife, that is the body of your soul, tell your soul to leave you, and it will do as you say.

The young fisherman trembled. "Is this true?" He asked in a low voice.

"It's true, I wish I hadn't told you about it," she exclaimed, holding his knees and crying.

He pushed her away, leaving her in the thick grass, and he went to the top of the hill, slipped the knife into his belt, and began to go down the hill.

His soul called out to him inside him, saying to him, "Hey! I have lived with you for so many years and have always been your servant. Please don't let me leave you, have I done something bad to you? ”

The young fisherman laughed. "You haven't done anything to be sorry for me, it's just that I don't need you anymore," he replied, "and the world is vast, with heaven and hell, and the gloomy houses in between." Go where you like to go! Don't bother me anymore, because my lover is calling me. ”

His soul pleaded bitterly with him, but he ignored it, but simply jumped from rock to rock, as fast as a wild goat, and finally he ran to a flat land and came to the honey-colored beach. ，

He stood on the beach, his back to the moon, his bronze limbs and strong muscles, looking like a statue completed by the Greeks, and many white arms stretched out from the foam of the sea beckoning him, and some hazy figures rising from the waves saluted him, and in front of him lay his shadow, that is, the body of his soul, and a bright moon hung in the honey-colored sky behind him.

Then his soul said to him, "If you really want to drive me away, you must first send me a heart." The world is cruel, let your heart go with me. ”

He shook his head and smiled. "If I give you my heart, what will I do to love my lover?" He shouted.

"No, show mercy," said his soul, "give me your heart, for the world is so cruel that I am a little afraid." ”

"My heart belongs to my lover," he replied, "so don't delay, just get out of here quickly." ”

"Shouldn't I just love?" His soul asked.

"You go, because I don't need you anymore." The young fisherman roared, and he drew the small knife with the green snakeskin hilt and cut his figure around his feet, and the shadow stood up in front of him, looking at him, in a way that was no different from his own.

He flinched backwards and plunged the knife into his belt, and an inexplicable fear struck him. "Go away," he murmured, "and don't let me see your face again." ”

"No, we will surely meet again," said the soul, its voice low, like the sound of a flute, and it did not even move its lips as it spoke.

"How can we meet again?" The young fisherman exclaimed, "You won't follow me to the depths of the ocean too, will you?" ”

"I come here once a year to call out to you," said the soul, "and maybe you will have a time when you need me." ”

"What else do I need you to do?" The young fisherman shouted, "But do as you please." When he had finished, he plunged headlong into the water, and the half-man, half-fish sea gods blew their trumpets, and the little mermaids swam up to meet him, and put their arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth.

At this time, the soul stood alone on the beach, looking at them. When they sank into the water, they wept and walked through the swamp.

After a year, the soul returned to the beach, calling to the young fisherman, who floated up from the bottom of the sea and said to it, "Why are you calling me?" ”

The soul replied, "Come closer, and I'll talk to you, because I've seen so many wonderful things." ”

So he got a little closer, still crouched in the water, holding his head in his hands, and listened.

The soul said to him, "When I leave you, I will turn to the East to travel." Everything that comes from the East is very clever. I traveled for 6 days, and on the morning of the 7th day I came to a hill located on the land of the Tatar state. I sat in the shade of a tamarind tree and hid from the sun. The ground was dry and cracked, roasted by the heat. People walked back and forth up and down the plains like flies crawling over polished copper plates.

"At noon, a cloud of red dust rose from the horizon. When the Tatars saw it, they opened their bows and jumped on their ponies and galloped in that direction. The women screamed and ran into the cart, hiding behind the woolen curtain.

"At dusk the Tatars returned, but there were five fewer of them, and many of them were wounded. They put their horses on the cart and hurried to the cart. Three jackals came out of the hole and watched behind them. Then they took a few breaths of air with their noses and ran in the opposite direction.

"When the moon rose, I saw a fire burning on the plain, and I ran in that direction. A group of merchants sat around a fire on a carpet. Their camels were tied to stakes behind them, and the black men who were slaves were setting up nitrobar tents on the sand and building high walls with the Overlord tree. ”

"As I approached them, the head of the merchant stood up, drew his knife, and asked me what I was doing.

"I replied that I was the prince of my country, and that I had run out of the Tatars because they were going to capture me and make me a slave. The head man smiled and pointed out to me the five heads hanging from the long bamboo poles.

"Then he asked me who was a prophet of God, and I told him it was Muhammad.

After hearing the false prophet's name, he bowed deeply, took my hand, and told me to sit by his side. A black slave brought me some mare's milk from a wooden bowl, as well as a piece of roasted lamb.

"At dawn we were on the road again. I rode on a red camel and walked next to the head man, an errand runner running in front of us with a spear. The soldiers walked on either side of us, and the mules followed with their goods. The caravan had forty camels, but the number of mules was two or forty.

"We went from the land of the Tatars to the realm of the cursed moon people. We saw eagle-headed, sphinx-bodied monsters guarding their gold on white rocks, and scaly dragons sleeping soundly in their caves. When we crossed the mountains, we didn't even dare to come out of the atmosphere, and the snow would fall and crush our bodies, and everyone had a gauze tied in front of their eyes. As we crossed the valley, the dwarves shot arrows at us from the holes in the trees, and at night we heard the wildlings beating drums and playing music. When we climbed over the monkey tower, we put some fruit in front of the monkeys, and they wouldn't hurt us. When we came to the snake tower, we used a copper bowl to give them some hot milk to drink, and the snake let us pass smoothly. We made three trips to the banks of the Oxoms River. We crossed the river on a raft with bulging brown leather pockets, and the hippos were furious at us as if they were going to eat us all. When the camels saw them like that, they shuddered.

"The sheriffs of every city-state levied taxes on us, but they didn't want us to enter their gates. They threw us bread from the wall, and honey corn cakes made of fine flour, and dough cakes filled with dates, and exchanged each hundred baskets of food for one amber bead for ours.

"As soon as the villagers saw us approaching, they put poison in the well and fled to the top of the hill. We fought with the Magdas, who were born old and grew younger and younger year by year, and when they grew into children, they would die; we fought with the Laktroys, who claimed to be the sons of tigers and painted themselves yellow and black; we fought with the Orantes, who buried the dead on top of trees and lived in dark holes, fearing that their god, the sun, would kill them; we fought with the Krininians, and they worshipped crocodiles. Put green glass earrings on it and feed it with butter and live chickens; we fought with Aga Zhongbai, who had dog-like faces; we fought with the hippans with horse's feet, who ran faster than horses. In the battle, one-third of our caravans were killed, and another third died of starvation. The rest whispered to me, saying that I had brought them bad luck. I grabbed a horned venomous snake from under a rock and let it bite me. They saw that I was not poisoned at all, and they became frightened.

"By the fourth month we had arrived in the city of Iller, and by the time we reached the grove outside the walls it was night, and the air was very dull, because the moon had traveled to the Scorpion Palace. We plucked ripe pomegranates from the trees, cut them open to drink the sweet juice inside, and then we lay on the carpet and waited for dawn.

"We got up at dawn and knocked on the gates of the city. The gates are made of red bronze and are inscribed with sea dragons and winged flying dragons. The sentry looked down from the battlements and asked what we were doing. The caravan's interpreter told us that we had come from syria with a lot of goods. They took a few of us hostage, told us that we would not open the gates until noon, and told us to wait patiently.

"At noon, they opened the gates of the city. When we entered the city, people ran out of the house in groups to see us, and a convener went all over the city to inform people of our arrival with conch. We stood in the bazaar, and the black slaves opened the flower cloth wrap and opened the carved maple box. When they had done all this, the merchants laid out all sorts of strange objects, from batik linen from Egypt, from floral cloth from Ethiopia, to purple sponges from the city of Thiel, to heaton's blue curtains, to cold amber cups, to fine glass and wonderful pottery. At the top of a house there was a group of women watching us. One of them wore a gold-plated leather mask.

"On the first day it was the monks who came to trade with us, the nobles who came the next day, and the craftsmen and slaves who came on the third day. This was their habit of treating merchants, as long as the merchants stayed in the city.

"We stayed here for a month, and by the time the moon was short, I was bored, so I wandered around the streets of the city and came to the garden of the shrine in Honjo. Monks dressed in yellow robes quietly walked through the greenery, and on the black marble paved road stood a rose-colored monastery dedicated to their gods. The doors are painted with gold powder, and on them stand out glittering bulls and peacocks in gold ornaments. The roof is paved with sea-green porcelain tiles, and small bells hang from the eaves that protrude. Whenever the white pigeons flew by, they flapped the bell with their wings, making the bell lock clang.

"In front of the temple there is a clear water pool paved with striped agate. I lay down beside the pool and caressed the wide leaves with my pale fingers. One of the monks came toward me and stood behind me. He wore straw shoes on his feet, one made of soft snakeskin and the other made of bird feathers. He wears a black felt monk's hat on his head, which is decorated with a crescent moon made of silver. Seven yellow stripes were woven from his robe, and his weir hair was smeared with antimony powder.

After a while, he spoke to me and asked me what I wanted.

"I told him that my request was to see God.

"'God has gone hunting,' said the monk, and looked at me strangely with his little slanted eyes.

"I replied, 'Tell me which woods he's in, and I'm going to ride a few horses with him.'

"He combed the soft tassels on the edges of his robe with his long fingernails." God is sleeping,' he murmured.

"I replied, 'Tell me which bed it is, and I'm going to take care of him.'"

"'God is having a feast,' he said aloud.

"I replied, 'If the wine is sweet, I will drink with him, and if the wine is bitter, I will drink with him.'"

He lowered his head curiously, took my hand, dragged me up, and led me into the monastery.

"In the first house, I saw a statue sitting on a jade throne bordered with large oriental pearls. The statue is carved from ebony wood and is as large as a real person. On its forehead was a ruby, and thick oil dripped from its hair and fell to its thighs. Its feet were stained red with the blood of newly slaughtered lambs, and a copper belt was tied around its waist,

"I said to the monk, 'Is this God?' He said to me, 'This is God,'

"'Take me to God,' I shouted, 'or I'll kill you.'" I also touched his hand, and it withered in an instant.

"The monk pleaded with me, 'Ask my master to heal his servant, and I will take him to God.'

So I blew a breath on his hand, and his hand grew again, and he led me into the second house, trembling uncontrollably. Here I saw a statue standing on top of a lotus flower made of emeralds, and there were many huge emeralds hanging from the lotus. The statue was carved from ivory and was twice the size of an ordinary person. On its forehead was a piece of topaz, its chest was smeared with myrrh and minced cinnamon, and it held a curved emerald jade staff in one hand and a round crystal in the other. He wears brass boots on his feet and a plaster cast circle around his thick neck.

"I said to the monk, 'Is this God?' He replied, 'This is God.' ’

"'Take me to God,' I shouted, 'or I'll kill you,' and I touched his eyes, and he was blind at once.

"The monk pleaded with me, saying, 'Ask my master to heal his servant, and I will lead him to God.'

So I blew a breath into his eyes, and he immediately regained his sight again, and he trembled again and led me into the third house. yes! It turned out that there were no statues, nor statues of any kind, but a round metal mirror placed on a stone altar.

"I said to the monks, 'Where is God?'

"He replied, 'There is no God here, only this mirror that you see, because it is the mirror of wisdom, which reflects everything in heaven and on earth, but the face that is only looking in the mirror is not reflected, so the person who looks in the mirror may be wise.' There are many other mirrors, but those are mirrors of opinion. Only this side is the mirror of wisdom. Those who have this mirror know everything in the world, and nothing can be hidden from them, and those who do not have this mirror have no wisdom. So, we see it as God, and we worship it. So I looked in the mirror, and it was exactly the same as what he was talking about.

"I did a strange thing, but what I did was nothing, because I hid the Mirror of Wisdom, in a valley a day's journey from this place. I only beg you to let me enter into you again, to be your servant, so that you will be wiser than all the wise, and the wisdom will belong to you. Let me enter your body, and there will be no one smarter in the world than you. ”

Yet the young fisherman laughed. "Love is better than wisdom," he cried, "and the little mermaid loves me." ”

"No, there is nothing better than wisdom," said the soul. "It is better to love," replied the young fisherman, and when he had finished, he sank to the bottom of the sea, and the soul wept again and walked through the swamp.

The second year passed, and the soul came to the beach again, calling out to the young fisherman, who came out of the water and asked, "Why did you call me?" ”

The soul replied, "Come closer, and I will speak to you, for I have seen many wonderful things." ”

So he stepped closer and crouched in the shallow water, holding his head with his hands. Listen.

The soul said to him, "After I leave you, I will turn around and travel south." Everything that comes from the South is precious. I walked along the road towards the city of Essett for a full 6 days, a red and dusty road that even pilgrims did not want to take, and on the 7th day, I looked up, ah! The city lies at my feet because it is in the valley.

"There were nine gates into the city, and in front of each gate stood a bronze horse, and whenever the Boduin came down from the mountain, the nine horses roared in unison. The walls are covered in copper, and the roof of the watchtower is made of brass. Each tower stood a shooter with a bow and arrow. At sunrise he strikes a gong with an arrow; at sunset he blows the trumpet.

"I was about to enter the city when the guards stopped me and asked me who I was. I replied that I was a Muslim and was about to rush to the city of Mecca, where there was a green curtain with the Koran embroidered by the angels in silver letters. My words filled them with curiosity and let me in.

"It's a big bazaar in the city. You really should go with me. In those narrow streets, countless wonderful paper lanterns dance like large colorful butterflies. When the wind blows through the roof, these lanterns float together, like some colorful soap bubbles. The merchants all sat on the silk carpets in front of their stalls. They had straight black beards, their headscarves were adorned with gold coins, and long strings of amber and carved peach cores slid over their cool fingers. Some of them sell maple and pine oil, others from the islands of the Indian Sea, and thick red rose oil, and myrrh and small nail-shaped cloves. As soon as someone walked up to them and spoke to them, they threw frankincense into the charcoal brazier one by one, making the air smell suddenly. I saw a Syrian man holding a thin stick like a reed, wisps of ash smoke rising from the stick, and the smell of the stick when burning was the same as the smell of pink almond blossoms in spring. Others are selling silver hand copper inlaid with milky blue Turkish gemstones and ankle rings made of small pearls strung with copper wire, as well as gold tiger claws, gold-plated cat paws, leopards with gold seat frames, and emerald earrings with piercing eyes, and an empty emerald ring in the middle. The sound of guitar music came from the teahouse, and the opium smokers looked at the pedestrians with their pale smiles.

"Seriously you should come with me." The liquor seller carried a large black leather bag on his shoulder and used the back to squeeze a passage through the crowd. Most of them sell a liquor called Syraz, which is as sweet as honey. They sold wine in small metal glasses and sprinkled rose petals on top. In the market stood the fruit sellers, who sold all kinds of fruits, from ripe figs, with wounded purple fresh flesh, and melons with a bulging scent, yellow like topaz, and citrons, guavas, and white grapes one by one, round golden oranges and oval golden green lemons, and once I saw an elephant walking by. Its body is coated with silver vermilion and turmeric, and its ears are covered with a net made of vermilion wire. It came to a stall opposite and stood still, eating oranges, and the fruit seller just smiled. You can't imagine what a strange people they are. Whenever they are happy, they will go to the bird seller to buy a cage with a small bird, and open the cage to let the bird fly away, so that they will be happier, and when they are sad, they will beat themselves with thorns to make their sorrows bigger and bigger.

"One night I met some black slaves carrying a heavy palanquin through the bazaar. The palanquin is made of gilded bamboo pieces, the palanquin poles are scarlet, and the peacock decoration is made of brass. On the windows of the car hung thin veils embroidered with beetle wings and small pearls. As the palanquin passed, a pale-faced Segasian looked out of the palanquin and smiled at me. I followed it, and the black slaves picked up their pace and frowned. But I didn't care at all, I felt that there was a curiosity driving me.

Finally they stopped in front of a square white house. The house had no windows, only a small door like a tomb door. They put down their palanquins and knocked on the door three times in a row with a copper hammer. An Armenian in a green leather robe looked out through the doorway, and when he saw us, he opened the door and laid a carpet on the floor, and the woman in the palanquin came out. As she entered the room, she turned her head again and looked at me again and smiled. I've never seen anyone as pale as she was.

"When the moon rose, I went back to that place to look for the house, but I couldn't find it. Seeing this, I knew who the woman was, and why she was smiling at me.

"You really should come with me." On the day of the New Moon Festival, the young emperor came out of his palace and went to the temple to pray. His hair and beard were dyed red with rose petals, his cheeks were smeared with a fine layer of gold powder, and his palms and the hearts of his feet were dyed yellow with red flowers.

"When the sun rises he walks out of the palace in a silver robe, and at sunset he returns to the palace in a golden robe. People are lying on the ground hiding their faces, but I don't do that. I stood in front of a stall selling dates and waited. When the Emperor saw me, he raised his painted eyebrows and stopped. I stood there silently, not bowing to him. People were amazed by my boldness and advised me to flee from the city. I ignored them, but went to the peddlers who sold foreign gods and sat down with them, who were hated here no matter what, waiting for me to do what I had done. After Che told them, they all painted a statue of me and asked me to leave them.

"That night, I was lying on a cushion in the Pomegranate Street Tea House, and the Emperor's guards came in and took me into the palace. After entering the palace, they closed each door one by one and added door locks. Inside there is a large courtyard surrounded by an arcade. The surrounding walls are made of white alabaster, and everywhere there are blue and green porcelain tiles. The columns are made of green marble. The floor is covered with a peach blossom color dali line. I've never seen anything like this before.

As I crossed the yard, two veiled women looked down from the balcony and cursed me, and the guards hurriedly walked, the tips of their spears making a noise on the polished floor. They opened an elaborate ivory door, and I found myself in the garden with seven jars of water. The garden is planted with tulips, ox's eye chrysanthemums, silver sparkling aloe vera, and a fountain hangs in the dim air like a slender crystal rod. Cypress trees are like burned torches. In such a cypress tree there was a nightingale singing.

"There is a small pavilion at the end of the garden. As we approached it, two eunuchs came out to meet us. They walked, their fat bodies swaying from side to side, and looked at me curiously with their yellow-eyelided eyes. One of them pulled the captain to his side and whispered something to the other. The other kept taking out the incense ingots and chewing them in his mouth, all of which he had taken in an artificial gesture from a lilac oval box.

A moment later the captain of the guards dismissed the guards. They went back to the palace, and the two eunuchs walked slowly behind them, plucking sweet mulberries from the trees and eating them as they walked. The older eunuch had turned back and looked at me with a malicious smile.

Then the captain motioned for me to go into the pavilion. Without any timidity, I walked forward, pulled open the heavy curtain, and I went in.

The young emperor rested on a colored lionskin bench, a white falcon perched on his wrist. Behind him stood a black cow wearing a copper hat, naked on his upper body, with a pair of heavy earrings hanging from his two pierced ears. On the table next to the bench was a large curved steel knife.

"When the emperor saw me, he frowned and said to me, 'What's your name?' Don't you know that I am the emperor of this city? But I didn't answer him.

He pointed to the steel knife with his finger, and the cowbies grabbed the knife at once and slashed at me with full force. The blade whizzed through my body, but it didn't hurt me in the slightest. But the man fell to the ground, and when he stood up, his teeth trembled with fear, and he himself lay down behind the bench.

The Emperor immediately jumped up and took a spear from the weapon rack, and he threw it at me. I grabbed the spear that flew over and broke the spear shaft into two pieces. He shot me again with the arrow, but I raised my hands, and the arrow stopped in the middle of the flight. Then he drew a short sword from his white leather belt and stabbed it into the throat of the negro, fearing that the slave would tell him unseemly things. The man twisted like a trampled snake, and bright red foam came out of his mouth.

"As soon as the man died, the Emperor turned to me, wiped the shining beads of sweat from his forehead with a small handkerchief of purple silk with lace, and said to me, 'Are you a prophet?' Is it something I shouldn't hurt, or the son of a prophet I can't hurt? I implore you to leave my city tonight, for as long as you are still in the city, I am no longer the master here. ’

"I replied to him, 'Give me half of your property and I'll go.' Give me half of your wealth and I'll be gone. ’

"He took my hand and led me to the garden. The captain saw me, and he was taken aback. When the eunuchs saw me, their knees trembled, and they fell to their knees in fright.

"There was a room in the palace, surrounded on eight sides by walls made of red cloud and spotted stone, and some lights hung from the copper-skinned ceiling. The emperor touched a wall, and the wall opened automatically, and we walked into a long corridor where many torches were lit. Among the wall fowl on both sides of the promenade, there are many huge wine tanks filled with silver coins. We came to the middle of the promenade, where the Emperor uttered a word that he could not normally hear, and a granite gate with a secret spring popped open at once, and he covered his face with his hand so as not to make his eyes glaze over.

"You wouldn't believe what a wonderful place this is. A huge turtle shell is filled with pearls, and the empty space of the giant moon stone is piled with red gemstones. The gold is stored in elephant skin boxes, and the gold powder is placed in leather bottles. There are also opals and green jade, opal in the crystal cup and blue jade in the jade cup. Round emeralds were neatly arranged on thin ivory plates, and in a corner were piled up in silk copper bags, some containing turquoise and others containing emerald. The horn cup made of ivory is filled with purple jade and brass horn cup is filled with chalcedony and carnelian chalcedony. Beams and pillars made of fir wood hang strings of yellow bobcat stones. On flat, flat, circular shields are piled carnelian jade, which resemble both the color of wine and the color of grass. But what I'm saying to you is only one-tenth of what's there.

"When the Emperor took his own hand away from his face, he said to me, 'This is my treasure house, and half of it is yours, so do as I promised you.' I will also send you camels and camel herders, and they will do as you are told to take your treasure anywhere in the world you want to go. This had to be done tonight, because I didn't want the sun, who was my father, and saw that there would be a man in my city that I could not kill. ’

"But I said to him, 'All the gold here is yours, the silver is yours, the precious jewelry and the valuable things are all yours.' For me, I don't need these things. I won't ask you for anything, but I'd like the little ring on your finger. ’

"The Emperor frowned, 'It's just a lead ring,' he exclaimed, 'it's not worth much either.'" So take your half of your treasure and leave my city. ’

"'No,' I replied, 'I don't want anything but that lead ring, because I know what's written in it and what it's for.'"

"But the Emperor trembled and pleaded with me, 'Take all the treasures and leave my city.' You have given half of my wealth. ’

"But I did a strange thing, but it was nothing, because it was in that cave that I hid this ring of wealth, and it was a whole day's journey from here. It's only a day's journey, and the ring is waiting for you. Whoever possessed the ring would be richer than all the kings of the world. Go, get it in your hands, and the wealth of the whole world will go to you. ”

Yet the young fisherman laughed. "Love is more important than wealth," he cried, "and the little mermaid loves me very much." ”

"No, there is nothing more important than wealth," said the soul.

"Love is better," replied the young fisherman, and after saying that he plunged headlong into the depths of the sea, his soul weeping and walking through the swamp.

The third year passed again, and the soul came from the land to the sea, calling out to the young fisherman, and the fisherman came out of the water and said, "What are you calling me for?" ”

The soul replied, "Come closer, and I'll speak to you, for I've seen wonderful things." ”

So the fisherman approached and crouched in the shallow water, holding his head in his hands, listening.

The soul spoke, "In a city I know, there is a small inn located by a river. I sat there with the sailors, drinking wine of two different colors, eating bread made of barley, and small salted fish wrapped in cinnamon leaves with vinegar. Just as we were sitting and amusing, an elderly man walked in, draped in a leather blanket over his shoulders and holding a violin with two amber horns embedded in it. It was at this moment that he spread the blanket on the floor and plucked his strings to play his strings when a young girl in a veiled face ran in and danced in front of us. Although she wore a veil, her feet were bare. She was barefoot and bouncing around on a blanket, like the city where she was dancing was only a day away. ”

At this moment, when the young fisherman heard the soul's words, he remembered the situation when the little mermaid could not dance with him because she had no feet. So a great desire arose in his heart, and he said to himself, "Just one day's journey, I can still return to my lover." He smiled, then got up from the shallow water and strode toward the shore.

After coming to the dry shore, he smiled again and stretched out his arms to the soul. His soul, with a cry of joy, ran toward him and entered his body, when the young fisherman saw his own shadow appear on the sand stretching out in front of him, the body of his soul.

His soul said to him, "Let's not delay, let's go there at once, because the sea gods will be jealous, and there will be many monsters who will listen to them." ”

So they hurried on their way, and all night they hurried under the moonlight, and the next day they marched again against the scorching sun, and that night they came to the city.

The young fisherman said to his soul, "Is this the city she danced in that you told me?" ”

His soul replied, "Not this city, but another one." But we can go inside and have a look. ”

So they went into the city, through some streets, and as they passed the Jewels Street, the young fisherman saw a beautiful silver cup in a stall. His soul said to him, "Take that silver cup and hide it." ”

He took the silver cup and draped it in the slit of his robe, and they hurried out of the city.

After they had walked three miles out of the city, the young fisherman frowned and threw away the silver cup, saying to his soul, "Why did you tell me to pick up the cup and hide it?" Because that's a bad thing. ”

Yet his soul replied to him, "Don't be angry, don't be angry." ”

The next night they came to another city, and the young fisherman said to his soul, "Is this the city she danced in as you told me?" ”

His soul replied, "This is not that city, but another." But we have to go in. ”

They went into the city and crossed several streets. As they walked through Straw Shoe Street, the young fisherman saw a small child standing by a water tank. His soul said to him, "Go and beat that child." So he beat the children, beat them all to tears, and then they hurried out of the city.

They had walked three miles out of the city, and the young fisherman suddenly became angry and said to his soul, "Why did you tell me to beat that little boy, is that a bad thing?" ”

Yet his soul replied, "Don't be angry, don't be angry." ”

On the third night they came to another city, and the young fisherman said to his soul, "Is this the city where she danced as you told me?" ”

His soul replied, "Maybe it's the city, so let's go inside and have a look." ”

They went into the city and crossed several streets, but the young fisherman could not find the little inn by the river. The people of the city looked at him curiously, and he began to frighten, and said to his soul, "Let's go anyway, for the man who danced on a pair of white feet is not here." ”

But his soul replied, "No, let's stay, because it's too dark at night, and there will be robbers on the way." ”

He sat down and rested in the market, and after a while he passed a turbaned merchant with a Tartar cloth cloak and a horn lantern tied to the head of a knotted reed pole. The merchant said to him: "Why are you still sitting in the market, don't you see that the stalls are closed and everything is packed?" ”

The young fisherman replied, "I can't find that little inn in this city, and I have no relatives to stay here for the night." ”

"Aren't we all relatives?" The merchant said, "Aren't they all created by one God?" So just follow me, I have a guest room. ”

So the young fisherman stood up and followed the merchant to his house. When he entered the house through a pomegranate garden, the merchant brought him rose water on a copper plate, washed his hands, brought him ripe melons to quench his thirst, and filled him with a bowl of rice and a piece of roast lamb.

When all this was done, the merchant led him to the guest room and told him to rest. The young fisherman thanked him and kissed the ring on the merchant's finger, and then lay down on the dyed goat wool blanket. After covering his body with a black lamb's wool quilt, he fell asleep.

Three hours before dawn, when it was still dark, his soul awakened him and said to him, "Hurry up, go to the merchant's room, go to his sleeping room, kill him, take his gold, because we need it." ”

The young fisherman got up and crawled toward the merchant's room, with a machete at the merchant's feet and nine small golden packets on the plate beside the merchant. The fisherman reached out to get the machete. Just as his hand was touching the knife, the merchant suddenly woke up, jumped up and grabbed the knife himself, and shouted at the young fisherman: "Are you going to repay the virtue with resentment?" Are you going to repay my kindness to you with the blood that flows? ”

Then his soul said to the young fisherman, "Go and beat him." So he knocked the merchant unconscious, then grabbed nine bags of gold, hurriedly escaped through the pomegranate garden, and set off in the direction of Daystar.

Three miles after they had left the city, the young fisherman pounded his chest and said to his soul, "Why do you want me to kill the merchant and steal his gold?" You're so bad. ”

"No," cried the young fisherman, "I cannot be calm, for everything you want me to do is what I hate. You also make me hate, and I want you to tell me why you taught me to do this kind of thing. ”

His soul replied, "You didn't give me a heart when you sent me into the world in the past, so I learned to do all this and liked it." ”

"What are you talking about?" The young fisherman murmured.

"You know," replied his soul, "you know very well. Have you forgotten that you didn't give me a heart? I don't believe it. So don't bother yourself, don't worry about me, rest assured, because there is no pain in the world that cannot be removed, and there is no happiness that cannot be enjoyed. ”

When the young fisherman heard these words, he trembled and said to his soul, "No, you are so bad that you have made me forget my lover, and seduced me with all sorts of temptations, and set my feet on the path of sin." ”

His soul replied, "When you sent me into the world in the past, you didn't give me a heart, so I learned to do all these things and like to do them." Come, let's go to another city and have fun, because we already have nine bags of gold. ”

However, the young fisherman took out nine bags of gold and threw them on the ground at once, and slammed them on with his feet.

"No," cried the fisherman, "I have nothing to do with you, and I will not go anywhere with you again, just as I sent you away before, and I will drive you away like that now, because you will not do me any good." With that he turned his back to the moon and, with the small knife of the green snakeskin hilt, prepared to cut the shadow of his own body, the body of his soul, away from the sides of his feet.

But his soul didn't even move, didn't want to leave him, ignored his orders, and said to him, "The magic that the witch taught you is no longer working, because I can't leave you, and you can't drive me away." A man can only send his soul once in his life, but once he takes his soul back, he has to keep it forever, which is both a punishment for him and a reward for him. ”

The young fisherman began to turn pale, clenched his fists, and shouted, "She didn't tell me that, she lied to me." ”

"No," replied his soul, "but she has a sincere heart for the 'he' she herself adores, and she will be his eternal servant." ”

The young fisherman now understood that he could no longer drive away his soul, and that he was an evil soul who would always be with him, and he fell to the ground and wept bitterly.

At dawn the young fisherman stood up and said to his soul, "I will tie my hands lest I do as you command, and I shall keep my mouth shut, lest I say what Hugh wants me to say, and I will go back to the place where my beloved dwells." I'm even going back to the sea, back to the little bay where she used to sing, and I'm going to call her up and tell her about the bad things I've done and the bad things you've done to me. ”

His soul tempted him, saying, "Who is your lover?" Do you have to go back to her? There are many beautiful people in the world who are more beautiful than her. The dancers of Samaris can learn to dance in a variety of bird and beast postures. Their feet were dyed red with hydrangea flowers, and they held many small brass bells in their hands. They danced and laughed, their smiles as clear as Qingxi's. Follow me and I'll take you to meet them. What is your purpose in that heart for those sinful things? Aren't those delicious things made for people to eat? Did something sweet drink have poison in it? Don't bother yourself, follow me to another city. There is a small city nearby with a garden of lily trees. In this lovely garden lives some white peacocks and peacocks with blue breasts. When their tails are spread toward the sun, they resemble ivory discs and gilded discs. The woman who fed them also danced for their pleasure, sometimes with her hands and sometimes with her feet. Her eyes were stained antimony, and her nostrils looked like the wings of a swallow. A small hook hangs from a nostril a flower carved from a pearl. She danced and danced, and a pair of silver rusts on her ankles rang like silver bells. So stop worrying about yourself and follow me to the city. ”

But the young fisherman did not answer his soul, but closed his mouth with a silent seal, and tied his hands tightly with a rope, and got up and returned to the place where he had come out, even to the small bay where his lover used to sing. Although his soul kept seducing him along the way, he never replied, and he did not want to do anything bad that his soul wanted him to do, and the power of love in his heart was really too great.

When he reached the edge of the sea, he untied the rope in his hand, tore the silent seal from his mouth, and he called out to the little mermaid. However, she did not come to see him, he called all day, pleading with her, but still could not see her.

His soul laughed at him and said, "You must not have gotten much joy from your lover." You're like someone pouring water into a leaky boat on a dry day. You give everything you have and you don't get the slightest reward. You'd better follow me, because I know where Happy Valley is and what's there. ”

But the young fisherman did not answer his soul, and he made up a house for himself out of a tree strip in a crack in the rock, where he lived for a year. Every morning he called out to the mermaid, every day at noon he called her name again, and in the evening he still called her. Yet she never came out of the sea to meet him again, nor could he find her anywhere in the sea, though he had searched everywhere in caves, under clear water, in the whirlpools of the tides, or in wells deep under the seabed, but she was never seen.

Although his soul kept throwing evil to seduce him and whispering terrible things to him, none of this could stop him, and the power of his love was too great.

A year passed, and the soul whispered in his body, "I have seduced my master with evil, but his love is stronger than mine." Now I'm going to seduce him with goodness, and he may follow me. ”

So he said to the young fisherman, "I have told you about the joys of the world, and you have not listened to me." Now I have to tell you about the pain of the world, which may be what you want to hear. Seriously, suffering is the master of this world, and no one can escape from its net. What some people lack is clothes, and what others lack is bread. There were widows sitting in purple robes, and there were widows in rags. Walking around the swamp were lepers, very cruel to each other, beggars coming and going on the road, their bags empty. Walking the streets of various cities is famine, don't happen. You see that your lover did not respond to your call, so why do you stay here to call your lover? What is love, and you have to pay such a high price for it?

Yet the young fisherman did not answer, for the power of his love was too great. Every morning he would call out to the mermaid, every day at noon he would call her again, and at night he would call her name. But she never came out of the sea to meet him, nor was he able to find her anywhere in the ocean, though he had searched for her in the rivers of the sea, in the valleys under the waves, not even on the ocean stained purple by the night, and in the ocean grayed by the dawn.

The next year passed again, and one night, as the young fisherman was sitting alone in a house made of trees, the soul said to him, "Hey! Now I have seduced you with evil, and I have seduced you with goodness, and your love is stronger than mine. Therefore, I will not seduce you again, but I beg you to let me into your heart so that I will stay with you as before. ”

"Of course you can come in," said the young fisherman, "for you must have suffered a great deal in those days when you wandered the world without your heart." ”

"Oops!" His soul cried out, "I can't find anywhere to go in, your heart is too tightly wrapped in love." ”

"But I wish I could help you," said the young fisherman.

Just as he was saying these words, there was a loud cry from the ocean, exactly like the kind of voice that people heard when the mermaid family died. The young fisherman jumped up at once, left his tree house, and ran toward the beach. Black waves hurried toward the shore, carrying something whiter than silver. It is as white as the waves, floating on the waves like a flower. The wave snatched it away from the waves, the bubble snatched it from the wavehead's hands, and finally the coast accepted it, so that at the feet of the young fisherman he saw the body of the little mermaid. She lay dead at his feet.

The tearful man of pain suddenly fell to her side, kissing her cold red lips and stroking the wet amber in her hair. He threw himself on the sand and lay down beside her, crying like a man trembling with excitement, and he hugged her tightly in his chest with his brown arms. Her lips were cold, but he was still kissing it. The honey in her hair was salty, but he still tasted it with painful pleasure. He kissed her closed eyelids, the waves hanging from the corners of her eyes not as salty as his tears.

He confessed to the dead body. He had penetrated her ears with all the suffering he was about to tell. He put two of her small hands around his neck and used his fingers to caress her thin throat tube. His pleasure at this time became more and more painful, and the pain was full of wonderful pleasure.

The black waters were getting closer, and the white foam was wailing like a leper. The ocean uses its white foam to snatch the shore. From the official court of the Sea King came the cry of mourning, and the half-man, half-fished sea gods on the distant sea blew out their hoarse voices with their trumpets.

"Run away," said his soul, "for the sea is getting closer and closer, and if you stay still and don't go, it will kill you." Run away, for I am so frightened, and I know that your heart is closed to me because your love is too great. Escape to a safe place. You will not send me to another world without giving me a heart. ”

Yet the young fisherman did not listen to his soul, but merely kept calling out to the little mermaid, saying, "Love is better than wisdom, more precious than wealth, more beautiful than the feet of a human daughter." The fire could not destroy it, and the sea could not drown it. I called you at dawn, but you didn't answer me. The moon heard your name, but you still ignored me. Because I left you in a thousand mistakes, I have hurt myself by going this way. But your love is always with me, it is always strong, and nothing can stop it, whether I am facing evil or good. Now that you're dead, I'm going to die with you. ”

His soul begged him to leave again, but he refused, his love was too deep. The sea was getting closer and closer, and it wanted its waves to cover him, and at this moment he knew that death was near, and he kissed the mermaid's cold lips furiously, and his heart was broken. Just when his heart was broken with too much love, the soul found an entrance and entered, becoming one with him as before. The sea finally overwhelmed the young fisherman with its waves.

In the morning, the priest went to bless the sea, because the sea was so noisy. With the priest were monks and musicians, as well as people with candles, people shaking incense burners, and a large group of people.

When the priest came to the beach, he immediately saw the young fisherman lying on the wave and drowning, still clutching the body of the little mermaid in his arms. The priest frowned and stepped back, and after drawing a cross on his chest, he shouted, "I will not bless the sea and anything in the sea." The mermaid family is to be cursed, and it is also to curse those who associate with them. As for him, he had abandoned God for love, so he lay down beside this mistress whom God had judged and killed, took away his body and his mistress's corpse, and buried them in the corner of the rinsing grounds, with no signs on them, and no signs to them, so that no one would know where they rested in peace. Because they are cursed when they are alive, they should be cursed after they die. ”

The people did as he told them to do, and in the corner of the rinsing grounds, where not a single vanilla had grown, they dug a deep pit in the ground and put the dead bodies in.

The third year passed again, and on a holy day the priest came to the chapel to show the wounds of God and to tell them about God's hatred.

When he had dressed himself, he went into the chapel and performed a salute on the altar, when he saw that the altar was filled with strange flowers that he had never seen before. The flowers looked strange, but they were strangely beautiful, and the beauty of the flowers made him uncomfortable, and their smell was very fragrant in his nostrils. He felt happy, but he didn't know why he was happy.

Then he opened the shrine, burned incense on the altar inside, showed the people the beautiful bread, and then hid it behind the curtain, and he began to speak to the people, but also wanted to tell them about the wrath of God. But the beauty of the white flowers upset him, the smell of the flowers smelled good in his nose, and another sentence came into his lips, and he spoke not of the wrath of God, but of the God called "love." Why he said that, he himself did not know.

When the priest finished speaking, the people wept, and the priest returned to the place where the holy vessel was placed in the monastery, and his eyes were filled with tears. The deacons came in and took off his robes and white linen robes, as well as his belts, friezes, and ribbons. He stood there as if in a dream.

After they undressed him, he looked at them and said, "What flowers are on the altar?" Where did they come from? ”

They replied, "We can't tell what kind of flowers they are, but they come from that corner of the rinse site." The priest trembled and went back to his quarters and began to pray.

In the morning, when the sky was just beginning to light, he came with the monks, the musicians, the candle bearers, the incense burners, and a great group of people to the great seashore to bless the sea, and to all the wild things in the sea. He also blessed the shepherds, and the little things that danced in the forest, and the bright-eyed things that peeked out from the leaves. He blessed everything in the world that God had created, and the people were filled with joy and wonder. But since then, no flowers of any kind have grown in the corners of the rinse site, and it has become as desolate as before. The mermaid family never swam into the bay as usual, because they went to other parts of the sea.