Sagar and the Grateful Tortoise

A very, very long time ago, there was a small fishing village on the shore of the ocean. A young fisherman named 'Sagar' lived there.His father was also a fisherman. Sagar was even more skillful than his father. He would catch so many fish in a single day that it would take other fishermen a whole week to catch that many fish.But Sagar was everyone's favorite not just because he was skillful at fishing, but because of his tender heart. He had never caused trouble to anyone in his life. Even when he was small, when his friends teased animals, he would never join them; instead, he would advise them not to do so.One evening, after finishing his work for the day, Sagar was returning home. On the way, he saw some children shouting. They were surrounding a small tortoise and causing it immense trouble. Some were dragging it, while others were hitting its shell with sticks and stones.Sagar felt a lot of pity upon seeing that poor tortoise. He said to those children, "Oh boys, do not cause trouble to this small tortoise like this, it will die, you know!"But those children did not listen to Sagar's words. They began to tease it even more. A big boy said, "Whether it dies or lives, what do we care? We are just playing."Sagar thought— how should he convince them now? He smiled and said, "You are such good boys. Give this tortoise to me, I love it very much."The children did not agree easily. Then Sagar took some money out of his pocket and said, "I will give you this money, you buy sweets with it and eat them. Give this tortoise to me instead, alright?"Seeing the money, the children became happy. They handed over the tortoise to Sagar and ran away happily taking the money.Sagar gently stroked the tortoise and said, "Poor thing! Now you are safe. People say a tortoise lives for ten thousand years. May your lifespan be long. Now I will release you into your home, the ocean."Sagar released that tortoise into the water. The tortoise slowly disappeared inside the water. Sagar also, being tired, headed toward his home.Early the next morning, Sagar went to the ocean taking his boat. The weather was very good. Both the sky and the ocean looked blue. Sagar cast his hook to fish and, thinking about various things in his mind while rowing the boat, reached very far away.Suddenly, he heard someone calling his name— "Sagar! Sagar!"He looked here and there, but there was no other boat there. The voice came again. Looking down into the water, he saw a tortoise coming next to the boat. It was that very same tortoise he had saved yesterday.Nodding its head, the tortoise said, "Brother Sagar, you saved my life yesterday. Therefore, I have come to say thank you to you."Sagar laughed in surprise and said, "Oh, you can even speak! What a wise tortoise."The tortoise said, "Brother Sagar, have you ever seen the 'Palace of the Dragon King' beneath the ocean? If you wish, I can take you there."Sagar said, "I do wish to go, but I cannot swim in the water like you, you know!"The tortoise said, "Do not worry, you climb onto my back. I will take you safely."Sagar asked, "But your back is small, how do I climb?" As he said this, that tortoise suddenly became so big that a man could easily sit on it. Sagar climbed onto the tortoise's back happily.The tortoise entered into the depths of the water. Surprisingly, Sagar did not even find it difficult to breathe and his clothes did not get wet either. After a while, a golden gate and a beautiful palace were seen in the distance."Wow! What a beautiful palace!" Sagar said.The tortoise said, "This is the Palace of the Dragon King. Now you can walk from here." At the gate, many colorful fish welcomed Sagar. They said, "Welcome, Brother Sagar! We were waiting for you."An extremely beautiful princess appeared there. Her name was 'Jalkumari'. She was wearing red and green colored silken clothes. Her voice was as sweet as music.Taking Sagar's hand, the princess led him inside and said, "Brother Sagar, the tortoise whom you saved yesterday was me. Thank you for saving my life. Now you can stay here happily forever."That place felt like heaven to Sagar. There was a garden there where all four seasons could be seen at the same time. Looking toward the east, spring flowers would be blooming; looking toward the south, there would be summer's greenery; looking toward the west, there would be autumn's beauty; and looking toward the north, snow could be seen falling.Sagar became so lost in the happiness of that place that he forgot his home, parents, and village entirely. He felt as if he had spent only three days there. But after three days, he suddenly remembered his old parents.He said to the princess, "Jalkumari, I have been very happy here. But now I must go home. My parents must be sitting there waiting for me."The princess became sad. She said, "Please stay for one more day!" But Sagar did not agree at all. Finally, the princess gave him a beautiful gift— a fine box.The princess said, "Take this gift. But always remember one thing, never open this box. No matter what happens, make a promise not to open it."Sagar made the promise and climbed onto the tortoise's back again to return to his village. When he reached the shore, everything felt strange to him.The appearance of the village had changed. There was no one he recognized. Going to the place where his house used to be, he called out, "Father, I have come!" But an unfamiliar man emerged from there.Sagar asked, "Where did the fisherman who lived here and his family go?" That man said in surprise, "Whom are you talking about? A fisherman named 'Sagar' used to live in this village three hundred years ago, they say. We have heard the story from the elders about how he was lost in the ocean."Sagar was completely thunderstruck. The three days he spent beneath the ocean turned out to be three hundred years of this earth! His parents and friends, none were left alive.He became extremely lonely and sad. He felt like going back to the place where the princess was, but he did not know the way. He looked at the box in his hand and thought— "Perhaps there is something inside this box that can take me back there again."He forgot the promise he had given to the princess and slowly opened the lid of the box.As soon as the box was opened, a purple-colored smoke emerged from there and spread all over Sagar's face.In a mere moment, the young Sagar's body became old. His back bent over, his hair turned white, and he collapsed right there on the shore.Poor Sagar! Because he broke his promise, he could neither live with his family nor could he go to the princess's palace again.What we learn from this story is— one must always fulfill the advice or promise given by those who are wiser and elder than oneself.