The song-bird and the healing waters

The song-bird and the healing waters

One very cold winter, the snow covered the forests so deeply that the small bushes almost disappeared under the white drifts.

In a village among the trees, people waited for spring. But with the frost came a terrible illness.

Many residents lay in their homes, exhausted. The older ones looked after the younger ones, the neighbors brought each other food and warm blankets, but the illness did not recede.

One young man was especially worried. His wife also fell ill and became weaker every day.

He sat beside her, warmed water, tended the stove, and said:

“Hold on. I will find a way to help.”

One morning he went out to the forest to get firewood and met an old woman on the path.

She looked at him and asked:

“Why is your face so sad?”

“There are many sick people in our village. And my wife too. I don’t know how to help her.”

The old woman was silent for a while, and then she said:

“In an ancient fairyland to the east, there is a spring called the Healing Waters. A bird lives beside it whose clear song is like no other. Find that bird, and you will find the spring.”

The young man did not know if this was true. But he decided to try.

He returned home, said goodbye to his wife and friends, and set off east.

The forest was quiet.

The snow crunched under his feet.

Crunch, crunch.

The wind stirred the tops of the pine trees.

Shhh, shhh.

The traveler walked for many days. He crossed frozen streams, climbed hills, and listened all the time.

But instead of a magical song, he heard only the usual winter sounds.

One day, Rabbit appeared on the path.

“Do you know where the bird with the sweetest song lives?” the man asked.

Rabbit only moved his ears and ran between the trees.

The following day, he met Bear, who had briefly left his winter den.

“Have you heard of the Healing Waters?”

Bear shook his head sleepily and returned to the forest.

The traveler walked on.

Gradually, the snow thinned, the air grew warmer, and more little streams emerged from beneath the ice.

One evening, he saw fallen branches beside the road, blocking the way to an old woodland shelter.

“Someone might stumble in the dark,” he thought.

Although he was very tired, he pulled the heavy branches aside and cleared the passage.

Nearby, a damaged sapling had been bent to the ground in a storm. He straightened it and propped it up with a sturdy branch.

“Grow,” he said. “It’s time for me to move on.”

That night, as he searched for somewhere to rest, Fox stepped out of the darkness.

“I saw what you did on the path,” she said. “You hurry, but you still find time to help someone who is weaker.”

He was astonished to hear her speak, but stranger wonders can happen on a fairy-tale journey.

“I am seeking a songbird and the Healing Waters.”

Fox nodded.

“Then you are going the right way. Rest tonight. Tired feet can miss the right path, and tired ears can miss a quiet song.”

The man lay down under a large pine tree, and Fox remained nearby.

He had a dream.

It was as if a bird was singing somewhere in the dark forest.

Twee-lee-lee… twee-lee-lee…

And under the song there was another sound:

Murmur, murmur…

It was flowing water.

In the dream, the stream seemed to say:

“Look carefully. I am close.”

At dawn the man woke up.

Fox was already waiting.

“Let's go.”

They had gone only a little way when a marvellous melody rang out overhead.

Twee-lee-lee! Twee-wee! Twee-lee-lee!

A small bird was sitting on a thin branch. Its feathers seemed golden in the morning light.

The man froze.

“That is the bird.”

The bird flew to another branch and sang again.

The traveler followed it.

A murmur was heard behind the trees.

He hurried there, but saw only wet moss and a few stones.

“I can hear the water, but I cannot see it,” he said.

Fox replied:

“Don’t give up. Sometimes what you are looking for is hidden very close.”

The man crouched down and listened.

Murmur…

The sound came straight from under the ground.

He carefully removed the dry leaves, then a few small stones.

Water flashed between the roots.

A little more, and a clear stream burst out from under the ground.

The spring sang along with the bird.

Murmur… twee-lee-lee…

He filled the container he had carried with him.

When he washed his face with cold water, his fatigue subsided a little.

“I have found it,” he whispered.

Fox smiled.

“Now go home.”

“And you?”

“My journey ends here. Yours doesn’t yet.”

The traveler thanked her and hurried back.

The way home seemed shorter. He walked day and night, resting only when he had no strength left.

Finally, familiar roofs appeared ahead.

His friends met him in the village.

“You’re back!”

He immediately went to his wife.

In the tale, the water from that distant spring eased his wife’s illness. She slept peacefully. The next morning, for the first time in days, she asked for the window to be opened so she could look at the sky.

Then the other sick people got better too.

People were happy, helped each other regain their strength, and took care of the clean water.

And when spring came, the young man heard a familiar song again near the village.

Twee-lee-lee… twee-lee-lee…

A small bird was sitting on a branch above the stream.

“Have you flown all the way here?” the man asked with a smile.

The bird bowed its head and sang even louder.

In this old tale, birdsong and the murmur of clear springs have ever since recalled hope, perseverance, and kindness.

The traveller found his way through more than his wish to save someone he loved. Even amid his own worries, he noticed the world around him and took time to help along the way.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨