Human Languages Urathīsa-Common Translations Urathīsan Readings

The Spring Lady and The Three Brothers

From Achemeimon of Thelphēson

Three merchant brothers from the City of Archei were heading to the City of Delphi. The journey was long and
difficult. The sun was blazing onto the young men, and they felt very tired. The eldest brother complained that
the goods that must be sold were cheap and not profitable. The middle brother missed a girl he loved dearly. The
youngest said nothing and kept going without a noise. They were far between two villages and had little water
left. Suddenly they caught sight of a small spring not too far off.
When they approached the well, the eldest brother quickly went to drink from the spring with his hands.
The middle brother was anxious because there were many bandits in the wild. However, having been overcome
with thirst, began to drink from the water with a bowl. The youngest child walked up to the spring and filled his
canteen. With the three brothers drinking from the well, they had quenched their thirst when the lady of the
spring appeared.
“Greetings gentlemen,” she said gently, “I am happy to quench your thirst.”
The eldest brother stood up and paid respect to the spirit of the spring. The middle brother fell to his
knees and prayed to the spirit.
He said, “Thanks to you, spirit, we may continue our journey now.”
The youngest brother bowed to the spirit and gave the spirit a flower, having been picked before. The
flower was a pink ethyl flower which was the spirit’s most favorite. The spirit, having been overcome with joy,
gave the young boy a gold coin. The young boy bowed again to the spirit and hid the coin away. When the other
brothers saw this, they became envious. The oldest brother gave one of the goods to be sold to the spirit, a
bronze lamp.
The eldest said, “May this light up your spring to keep away polluters.”
The middle child went around the spring clearing and cleaning debris. The spring was now more pretty.
The eldest said, “We have done more for you than our littlest brother, may you bless our lives in your
honor. A flower lesser than our acts.”
The spirit was concerned by their eagerness, however blessed them.
The lady of the spring said, “For you the eldest among you, I shall bless you to be the best merchant in
the land. You shall have many riches. For you the middle among you, I see that you love a girl. I bless that you
have a fruitful marriage and many children. Go now and continue your journey.”
The spirit disappeared and the men continued their journey. The eldest boasted that he was to be the best
merchant in the land. The middle boasted that he was to have a beautiful marriage. The youngest boy said
nothing.
After many years, the eldest brother had many troubles with business and became a fisherman. The
middle brother’s wife had been taken by bandits and became a soldier. The youngest lived modestly and was
still a merchant. On a journey carrying goods again from Archei to Delphi, the youngest brother, now older,
encountered the spring again. He sat by the water and filled his canteen. He had remembered to bring a pink
ethyl flower for the lady of the spring. He put the flower into the water and the lady appeared again.
Human Languages Urathīsa-Common Translations Urathīsan Readings

She said, “Thank you my love. Drink again from my spring and may you be rested.”
The young man replied, “Praise be to you. However, may I ask a question, lady of the spring?” The lady
of the spring agreed.
“Why have my brothers suffered unfortunate fates? Have they offended you?” The young man said.
“I have done nothing to affect their fates. I only blessed them. Their fates were set by their own actions,
not mine. And so, I gave you this gold coin because you gave me this flower by the goodness of your heart.
They wanted my blessings having been overcome with envy. So thus, I only rewarded you for your honest
good.”
So, the man continued his journey after having thanked the spirit. The spirit had done nothing except
reward him for his kindness. The spirit could not control the fates of the brothers no matter how kind they were.
No man can ask a spirit for too much with eagerness to be better than someone else. The spirits shall not be
worshiped as the gods.