Keloglan and the Water of Life

Once upon a time, Keloglan's mother fell very ill. The village doctor came to see her and shook his head: "There is no cure for this illness. Only the water of the Spring of Life, which lies between two mountains that crash together at the other end of the world, can heal her. But no one who has gone there has ever come back." Keloglan did not hesitate for a moment. He took a silver jug and set off.

On the first day he met a fisherman crying on the bank of a river. The fisherman's net was torn, and his children were hungry. Keloglan sat down and mended the net with the fisherman until morning. "Let me show you the way," said the fisherman. "The road to the Spring of Life lies in the direction of the rock whose shadow falls longest when the moon rises."

On the seventh day he reached a village whose well had been poisoned, and the people had fallen ill. At the bottom of the well lay a dead snake. Keloglan climbed down into the well, pulled out the snake and cleaned the well. The villagers gave him a feather: "This is a feather of the Simurgh. If the wind blows against you, burn it."

On the fortieth day, as he crossed a desert, he saw a gazelle collapsed from thirst. Keloglan gave the gazelle the last sip of water from the bottom of his jug. The gazelle revived and spoke: "I am the daughter of the spring's guardian. Every night at midnight the mountains open once, for just the blink of an eye. Whoever fails to pass in that moment is trapped between the mountains. I will tell you when the time comes."

At last Keloglan stood before the two crashing mountains. The mountains thundered against each other, and sparks flew from between them. At midnight the gazelle cried, "Now!" The mountains opened, and Keloglan ran through with all his strength. Behind him the mountains closed again, but not even the heel of his sandal was crushed.

Between the mountains was a small, sparkling spring. Its water shone like moonlight. An old guardian sat beside it. "Everyone who comes this far wants to drink the water for immortality. Do you want to drink too?" he asked. "No," said Keloglan. "I came to heal my mother. If I can fill my jug, that is enough." The guardian smiled: "Whoever comes not for himself but for another finds the water of the spring." And he filled the jug.

On the way back he had to wait for the mountains to open, but the gazelle was not with him. Keloglan burned the Simurgh's feather. At once a huge bird came down, took Keloglan on its back and flew him over the mountains. The Simurgh carried him over the desert, the village and the river, and set him down at the door of his own village.

Keloglan ran home. His mother lay in bed, gasping for breath. Keloglan poured a few drops of water from the jug onto his mother's lips. His mother opened her eyes, colour came back to her cheeks, and she sat up. "Son, in my dream I saw a gazelle, a bird and a fisherman. All of them told me about you."

There was still water in the jug. With that water Keloglan healed all the sick people in the village. He poured the last drop on the roots of the dried-up plane tree in the middle of the village. The plane tree turned green again, and they say it still gives shade in the village square today.

Three apples fell from the sky: one for the one who told this tale, one for the one who listened, and one for Keloglan, who chose not immortality but his mother.