Why the Sea Is Salt

Why the Sea Is Salt

Once there were two brothers. The elder had a large house, full storerooms, and a good-sized farm. The younger was poor but hardworking and kind.

One winter evening, the younger brother’s family had almost nothing left for their holiday supper. So he went to his elder brother and asked for a little food.

The elder brother did not like sharing very much. He grumbled for a long time, then brought out a piece of dried meat.

“Here, take it. But since you’re asking me for help, do me a favor: carry this to wherever the path behind the old mountain leads. They say there’s a strange underground dwelling there. Perhaps its people will give you something in return.”

The younger brother was surprised, but he had given his word, so he set out.

Beyond the mountain, he met a gray-haired woodcutter chopping logs beside a great fire.

“Where are you going so late?” the old man asked.

The younger brother told him everything.

The woodcutter nodded.

“I know that dwelling. Its people love holiday food. They will ask you for your gift. Don’t take money for it. Ask them instead for the little hand millstones standing by the door.”

“Millstones?” the man repeated. “What would I need those for?”

The old man smiled.

“They are no ordinary millstones. Tell them what you need and turn the handle, and they will grind it for you. But the most important thing is not to start them—it’s knowing how to stop them.”

He leaned close and whispered the short words the man would need to say to quiet the millstones.

The younger brother thanked him and continued on his way.

Before long, he saw a light. In a cozy hall behind a stone doorway sat the marvelous little people who lived underground. When they saw the gift, they were delighted.

“Sell it to us!”

“I don’t want money,” the man replied. “Give me those little millstones over there.”

The hosts looked at one another. At first they did not want to part with the magic thing, but at last they agreed.

The man took the millstones and hurried home.

His family was waiting for him in the cottage.

“Is that all?” they wondered when they saw the little millstones.

“You’ll see.”

The man put them on the table.

“Grind us a clean tablecloth, candles, and a good supper.”

He turned the handle.

First, a corner of a white tablecloth appeared from beneath the stone. Then came candles, bread, warm dishes, apples, and nuts.

“Enough!” the man said, using the secret words.

The millstones stopped at once.

The family had never enjoyed such a happy supper. But the man did not ask the millstones for mountains of gold. He ground only what they truly needed and shared it with the neighbors.

Some time passed. The elder brother saw that the younger one was doing well and grew very curious.

“Where did you get all this?”

The younger brother hid nothing and showed him the magic millstones.

The elder brother wanted them at once.

“Sell them to me!”

“They can be dangerous for someone who doesn’t know when enough is enough,” the younger brother warned.

But the older brother insisted so much that at last they agreed he could borrow them for one day.

In his hurry, however, the elder brother did not listen to the explanation about the stopping words.

At home, he placed the millstones on the table and shouted:

“Grind me a great pot of thick soup!”

The millstones rumbled.

A pot appeared. Then another. Soup spilled over the rim, onto the table, the bench, and the floor.

“That’s enough! Stop! I said stop!” the owner shouted.

But the millstones kept grinding.

Soon he had to open the door so the soup would not fill the whole kitchen.

The elder brother ran to fetch the younger one.

He came, said the secret words, and the millstones fell silent at once.

“Do you understand now?” he asked.

The elder brother looked at the kitchen, where even the boots were floating in soup, and nodded silently.

From then on, he listened to advice more carefully.

In time, the magic millstones became famous far beyond the village. One day, a sea captain heard about them.

“I’d love to have those on my ship!” he said. “There’s always something missing on long voyages.”

He offered a good price for the millstones. Their owner agreed, but began to explain:

“Remember, there are special words to make them stop…”

The captain was already hurrying to the harbor.

“I’ll figure it out!” he waved.

The ship sailed out to sea.

A few days later, the cook said:

“Captain, we’re running out of salt.”

The captain was delighted.

“That’s why we have the magic millstones!”

He set them on the deck.

“Grind salt!”

The millstones began to whirr.

White salt poured out. First in a little pile, then in a whole hill.

“Enough!” the captain said.

The millstones did not stop.

“Stop! That’s enough! Quit grinding!”

The salt kept pouring out.

The sailors grabbed shovels and began throwing it overboard. But the millstones worked faster.

The ship grew heavier and heavier.

“Into the lifeboats!” ordered the captain.

All the sailors managed to get into their lifeboats and row to a safe distance. The old ship, along with the magic millstones, slowly sank beneath the water.

The sailors reached the shore safely.

But the old Norwegian tale says that the millstones still lie at the bottom of the sea.

They grind and grind salt, because no one ever said the right words to stop them.

And that is why the sea is salty.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨