“THE THREE EELS.”
Once upon a time there was a fisherman who on three successive days made out to catch only an eel a day. When he found only one eel in his net on the third day he cried out angrily:
“What’s the use of fishing when one gets nothing more than one eel day after day?”
Immediately the tongue of one of the eels was loosed, and he said, “Wretched man, you little know what a precious catch you have had! You have fished up great good luck for yourself. Only now do as I advise you: Kill one of us three and divide him into four parts; give one piece to your wife to eat, the second to the mother-dog, the third to the mare, and bury the fourth in the ground just above your house. Soon your wife will bring twins into the world, the dog two pups, the mare two full-blooded stallions, and above your house will spring up two golden swords.”
The fisherman followed the Eel’s advice, and indeed in the course of time everything happened as the Eel had predicted—his wife bore twins, the dog two pups, the mare two full-blooded stallions, and above his house two golden swords sprang up.
When the sons grew large and had passed a certain number of years, one of them said to his father, “Father, I perceive that you are a poor man and cannot keep us any longer; so let me take a horse, a dog, and a sword, and go forth into the world. I am young and need experience; and where my head may rest, there also will my food be found.”
When he had thus spoken he turned to his brother with the words, “Brother, God keep you! I go to seek my fortune. Do you stay at home, work, make, and save, and honor our father. Take this vial of water and give good heed to it, for if the water in it becomes dark it will be a sure sign that I have perished.”
Thus he spoke and went to seek his fortune.
In the course of his wanderings he came to a great city, where the King’s daughter saw him as he was taking a walk about the town. She at once fell desperately in love with him, and begged her father to invite him to the house. This he did. When the youth entered the King’s apartments, and the maiden saw the sword, the dog, and the horse near by, she found everything on and about him so fine that it seemed to her nothing in the whole world could be finer. She fell more madly in love with him than ever, and said to her father, “Father, I want to marry that youth!”