Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 39 Sea King's Gift (1)
There once was a fisherman named Salmon, whose Christian name was Matt.He lived by the sea, but if not here, where?He has a wife named May, and can you think of a better name?In winter they lived in a little hut by the sea, and in spring they moved to a red rock in the middle of the sea, where they passed the summer until autumn.The thatched hut on the reef is smaller than the one on the shore. There is no iron lock, only a wooden latch. The house has a stone oven, a flagpole, and a weathervane on the roof.

The name of the reef is Atala, and it is as big as the market in the town.A small rowan tree and four alder bushes grow in the center of the crevice.Only genius knows how the trees got there, perhaps the winter storms carried them into the crevices of the rocks.In addition to the trees, there are a few clumps of fluffy grass growing in the crevices of the rock, some scattered reeds, two yellow plants called tansy, four red flowers, one white flower, but the most precious are three garlic, which is The plums are grown there.The stone wall on the north side shelters them from wind and rain, and the sun shines on them from the south.All this seemed insignificant, but it provided May with a garden.

Good things come in threes.In this way, the Matt and his wife fished salmon in spring, herring in summer and cod in winter.On Saturdays, when the weather was fine and the sea was calm, they sailed to the nearest town to sell their fish, and on Sundays they went to church.But they often stay alone on the reef of Atala for several weeks in a row. Except for a little yellow dog named Prince, as far as the eye can see, there are only a few bushes of flowers and plants, the bay and fish schools, gloomy sky and white waves.The reef is far away from the land, and there are no green islands or human settlements within a few miles around, only sporadic red reefs like Atala, which are beaten by waves day and night.

Both Matt and May are hard-working people living in humble homes, but they are optimistic and content.As long as they can salt many barrels of fish, besides feeding them in winter, they can get back some tobacco for their husbands and a pound or two of coffee for their wives, and a lot of burnt wheat and chicory to taste the coffee, and they will feel happy. very rich.Besides, they had bread, butter, fish, a beer barrel, and a cheese-pot; what else did they want?If Mei hadn't hidden a secret that made her restless, everything would have been perfect.May's secret is how to own a cow.

"What do you want a cow for?" Matt asked. "A cow can't swim far, and our boat isn't big enough to bring it over. And if we had a cow, we wouldn't have anything to feed him."

"We have four clumps of alder trees and 16 yuan for a small grassland." Mei protested.

"Of course," Matt laughed. "We've got three garlic bulbs. Garlic is good feed for cows."

"The cows all like salted herring," replied the wife, "and even the prince likes fish."

"Perhaps," replied the husband, "I think if we have to feed it with salted fish, we won't be able to keep it in a long time. It would be fine to feed the prince with fish, because the prince will fight with the seagulls and take the last Eat a little piece too. Forget about the cow, old man, we'll be content with that."

May sighed.She knew very well that her husband was right, but he just couldn't get it out of his mind.Since then, the cheese in the coffee is no longer as fragrant as usual. She misses the sweet cream and fresh butter, and thinks that there is nothing in the world that can compare with these two things.

One day, Matt and his wife were cleaning herrings on the shore when they heard the prince's cry.Before long they saw a brightly colored boat, with three young men in it, rowing towards the rocks.The three of them are all students, and they are boating and looking for something to eat.

"Give us a piece of cheese, good mother," they called to May.

"Ah, I hope so!" May sighed.

"Then have a can of fresh milk," said the students, "but don't just give us the membrane on top of the milk."

"Naturally, but I hope there will be!" The old woman sighed deeply.

"What? Don't you even have a cow?"

Meme was silent.The question stung her heart and made her unable to answer.

"We don't have any cows," Matt replied, "but we have good smoked fish that can be baked in an hour."

"Okay, that's fine," said the students, collapsing on the rocks.Meanwhile, fifty silver herrings were strung on spits and roasted over the fire.

"What's the name of this reef in the sea?" asked a student.

"Atala." The old man replied.

"Ah, when you live in the kingdom of Neptune, you should have everything you need."

Matt didn't understand.He had never read the Kalevala, and knew nothing of the ancient Poseidon, but the students explained it to him right away.

"Ati was a great king who lived in Atala," they explained, "and he had a rock in the bottom of the sea, and besides a great treasure. He ruled over all the fish and animals in the sea, and he had the best Cows and fastest horses, cows and horses have been grazing on the bottom of the sea all the time. Anyone who gets along well with Ah Tiao will soon become a rich man, but be careful with A Tiao because he has a violent personality and can change his temper Throwing even a small stone into the water will irritate him, and he will take back the gifts he sent, causing storms at sea and dragging sailors into the sea. Atti also has the most beautiful girls who look like His queen Vilamos, hearing the music, combed their long flowing hair, which glistened in the water."

"Oh!" exclaimed Matt. "Have you seen any of these?"

"You don't need to see it," the students replied, "It's all written in the book, and everything written in the book is true."

"Then I'm not sure," Matt said, shaking his head.

By this time the herring was grilled, and the students ate enough for six, and fed the prince with some of the cold meat that was on board.The prince happily sat on the rock, chewing cold meat like a kitten.After everyone had eaten, the students gave Matt a shiny silver coin and filled his pipe with a special tobacco leaf.Then they thanked Matt for his hospitality and continued on, much to the prince's regret, and sat on the bank with a despondent face, watching the white sails of the ship disappear into the distance, wailing.

May didn't say a word, but thought more.She has sharp ears and keeps Ati's story in her heart. "If I could own a divine cow, I would be so happy!" She thought to herself, "I milk the divine cow every morning and evening without feeding fodder, and I just need to build a shed by the window to eat fresh milk and cheese. , how delightful that is! But I shall not have such luck."

"What were you thinking?" Matt asked.

"It's nothing." The wife replied, chanting the spell all the time.When she was a child, she heard the spell from an old cripple who was said to bring good luck to fishermen.

"What if I try it?" she thought.

It was a Saturday and Matt didn't fish on Sunday, so he didn't go down Saturday night.When evening was approaching, his wife said to him:
"Let's go to the Internet cafe, just this once."

"No," said the husband, "it's Saturday night."

"Last night it was stormy and we got too little," advised the wife, "tonight the sea is like a mirror, and the wind is blowing in this direction, and the herring is approaching the land."

"There are clouds in the northwest sky tonight, and the prince ate grass." The old man replied.

"Did he eat my garlic?" cried the old woman.

"No, but it's going to be bad tomorrow at sunset," Matt said.

"Listen," said the wife, "we just cast a net on the shore, and then we can fill the bucket half full. The bucket is always open like this, and the fish will rot. "

The old man was right when he thought about it, so the two of them took their fishing nets and rowed to the sea.When they had reached the deepest part of the water, she began to hum a spell, which she modified to suit her wish:
O bearded Ati,

Living in the deep blue sea,
The best treasures and shining fishes,
I hear it's all yours.

incomparable pearls,
hide your kingdom underwater,

beautiful manatee with shiny coat

Graze in your green grassland.

O king of waters near and far,
I don't want your golden babies,

Don't want your pearls and emeralds,

Not to mention your silver goblets.

One is single, the other is double,

Please give me a cow, brave king,
I will give back a piece of the moon,
And the gold of the sun.

"What are you mumbling about?" the old man asked.

"Oh, the words of an old song come to mind," replied the old woman.She raised her voice and went on singing:
O bearded Ati,

Live in the deep blue sea.

You own a thousand cows,

Please give me one of these.

"What a stupid song," Matt said. "Who would ask Aquaman for anything but fish? You can't sing a song like that on Sunday."

The wife pretended not to hear, and sang and sang until she left the sea.Matt sat and rowed the heavy boat, thinking of cracked pipes and fine tobacco, and not listening to her song.Afterwards, they returned to the island and had sex soon after.

Both Matt and May could not sleep, one thinking about how he had profaned Sunday, the other about Atti's cow.

(End of this chapter)