The Water of Life

Back to Spain, however, and another fairy tale taken from the rich folklore traditions of Catalonia. This one’s called The Water of Life and was collected by D. Francisco de S. Maspous y Labros, and appears in his Cuentos Populars Catalans (Popular Catalan Stories).

The story opens with three brothers and their sister working so hard that they became rich enough to build a grand palace. The palace was widely admired and praised by everyone who saw it, with the exception of a bent and wizend old man who thought carefully, scratched his chin and said that what the palace still needed was a pitcher containing the water of life, a sprig of flower blossom whose smell would grant eternal beauty and a talking bird.

The oldest of the brothers volunteered at once to go in search of the three pieces of magic mentioned by the old man. Before he set out, however, the remaining brothers and their sister asked the old man how they could know if he stayed safe on his potentially dangerous quest. The old man produced a long knife which glinted in the sunlight and gave it to them. Provided it stayed bright and shiny, all would be safe with the eldest brother; but if it should ever turn bloody, then something terrible had happened to him.

The brother set off on his quest and before very long came upon a giant, who told him he must walk past magical stones that would mock and scorn him. So long as the brother did not turn in response to the stones’ mocking, but walked on by, then he would find what he was looking for. If he turned to look back, however, he, too, would be turned to stone. So, the brother followed the path up into the mountains, where sure enough he came across a pile of rocks that jeered and mocked him so loudly that he turned to throw a big stone at them. Of course, the brother was turned to stone himself.

Back at the palace, the remaining brothers and their sister were warned by the changed colour of the old man’s knife that something terrible had happened to their eldest brother. The two younger brothers therefore set off to find out what had become of him. They, too, were met by the same giant, given the same warning, but turned to stone when they turned back in response to the jeering rocks.

Left at home to worry about the fate of all three of her brothers, the sister anxiously studied the changing colour of the old man’s knife and saw the blood red clouds stain its former bright shine. She knew that something terrible had happened to them all.

The sister set out to find them and, sure enough, before very long also met up with the giant, who warned her about the rocks who would mock her. The sister set off up into the mountains and, when she neared the pile of hysterically jeering, was determined not to turn and look back. She didn’t, and so made it to the top of the mountain path. There at the top she found the pool of the water of life and saw a bird who could talk perched in the boughs of a tree whose scented blossom would grant the secret of eternal life.

She filled a pitcher from the pool of the water of life, coaxed the talking bird to perch on her arm and broke off a sprig of blossom from the tree and set off back down the mountain path. Tired from her journeying, however, she tripped a little as she neared the pile of jeering rocks and this splashed water on to the petrified figures of her three brothers, turning them all back to life. So, for good measure, she also sprinkled more water over the rocks themselves and was amazed to see so many others restored to life too.

Back home in their palace, the sister planted the sprig of blossom and watered it with the water of life, watching it grow day by day into a handsome tree, with the talking bird perched in its boughs.

In the fulness of time, a handsome prince came to visit the palace, to see for himself the marvels they had created there. He was, of course, immediately smitten by the beauty of the sister, and soon they were married in the church they had built alongside the palace.