A long, long time ago, in a village near the sea, there lived a young
fisherman named, Urashima Taro. Urashima Taro lived with his
aged mother and was a devoted son who went out to the sea every
day to catch fish to make a living for him and his mother.

One day as he was walking to the place where he usually, fished, he
saw three village children mistreating a giant turtle they had captured.

He called to them, "Children, children! Do not hurt that turtle. Release him and let him return
to his home in the sea!" The children quickly obeyed Urashima Taro. They untied the
turtle who scampered, as quickly as turtles can, through the sand and back into the sea.

The next day, fishing as usual, Urashima Taro looked into the water and saw that same turtle
who now raised his head and said, "I thank you for rescuing me yesterday and I would like to
take you to a palace beneath the sea." "Climb on my back, close your eyes and we will be
on our way." Urashima Taro thought this quite odd but did exactly what the turtle said.
Swoosh, the turtle dove deep into the sea with Urashima Taro clinging tightly to his shell.

In what seemed to be just a few seconds, Urashima Taro blinked his eyes open and realized
that he was on the bottom of the sea, looking at the most magnificent palace he had ever seen.

Standing in front of the palace gate was a beautiful princess, attended by her ladies
in waiting.The princess stepped forward and offered her hand saying, "Thank you
for saving my loyal servant from harm. Please stay with us for a while;"
even the fish swam around Urashima Taro to make him feel welcome.

"Come," said the princess, " Let me show you our garden." She took his hand
and led Urashima Taro into a room with marble walls and four large windows.
The princess opened the window that faced east and Urashima Taro
beheld a wonderful Spring scene with pink cherry blossoms in full
bloom and he even felt a gentle Spring breeze touch his cheek.
The princess then opened the window to the south and there for
all to see were all the beautiful flowers of Summer
and a sky the color of approaching Summer rain.

When the west window was opened, Urashima Taro
viewed the wonder of an Autumn sky hanging low
over the trees whose leaves were colored yellow
and orange and red and coming into the room
was a gust of cool autumn wind.

The last open window revealed a winter scene with large snowflakes falling silent
on the trees and hills.Urashima Taro blinked a few times because before his very
eyes, these scenes appeared and as if by magic, the views of the four beautiful
gardens changed from night to day and day to night many times.

Urashima Taro thought, at first, that he must be dreaming - but when he pinched
himself, he knew that what he was seeing was just as real as he was.

That same evening, the princess had a banquet prepared and Urashima
Taro sampled many different delicacies, unusual food and
drink that he had never tasted before or even seen before.

The princess' ladies in waiting called out to him, "Urashima Taro, please dance
with us!" Urashima Taro was only too happy to oblige and he danced late into
the night as if his feet had wings and he never tired at all.

Urashima Taro had never been this happy in all of his life. He felt so much
in a world of wonder and delight that he had forgotten all about his village
and even his mother. Three days had passed and suddenly, he remembered
his village and his mother who he now missed very much. "Princess,"
he said, "I am very grateful for all of your kindness and hospitality but
now it is time for me to return home. My dear mother
must be getting very worried about me."

The princess understood Urashima Taro's longing to return home and said,
"Yes, it is time for you to return to your own world; take this lacquer
box as a gift from my world but do not ever open it!"

Urashima Taro bowed politely, thanked the princess and once again,
climbed upon the turtle's back and with a swoosh, soon found
himself back on the surface and on the shore of his village.
As he walked through the streets of the village, he saw nothing that was familiar to him.
He could not find his mother and where their house had once stood there was now
nothing but a pile of broken boards and rotting timbers. All of the villagers were
strangers to him. He asked them about the woman and son who lived in the house
at the edge of the sea but none answered until a very old man stepped forward. "Oh
yes, I remember a story my grandfather told me about a young fisherman named
Urashima Taro who went fishing one day, three-hundred years ago but he never returned."

Urashima Taro was stunned. What to him had seemed like three days in the palace
of the princess had actually been three-hundred years and now, all the people
he had known and who had known him were gone!

Urashima Taro did not know what to do. He held the gift the princess had given him
and as he recalled his days in the kingdom beneath the sea, he lifted the lid and opened
the box! Suddenly, a huge puff of smoke enveloped Urashima Taro and when it
cleared, Urashima Taro was no longer the young fisherman returned
from the sea but a very old man holding a black lacquer box.
~ BACK ~ ~NEXT~