Knjigice
Learn-about book · Slovenian tales
The Water Man
The tale of proud Urška and the dancer from the river
Also in: Povodni mož (Slovenian) · Vodník (Slovak)
In the old town of Ljubljana, where the green river Ljubljanica winds between the houses, people had long whispered a strange tale: deep at the bottom of the river, in a palace of shells and river stones, lives the Water Man — king of all the waters. Whenever the river swirled in green circles of an evening, mothers called their children home and said quietly: "The Water Man is dancing."
1
In the town lived Urška, the prettiest girl far and wide. But Urška was proud and haughty. She carried her nose high in the air, promised a dance to everyone and then refused everyone, and laughed at the lads who blushed before her: "I certainly won't dance with you! Nor with you either!" Many a heart ached because of her.
2
One hot summer evening there was a great dance on the Old Square by the river. The musicians played till the linden trees sang, the tables bent under good things, and everyone spun in pairs — only Urška stood aside, choosy as ever, waiting for a dancer grand enough for the prettiest girl in town.
3
As the sun leaned toward setting, an unknown gentleman stepped onto the square. He was tall and splendid, his coat glittered like fish scales, and his bow was the finest ever seen on the Old Square. "May I have this dance, lovely Urška?" Urška nodded proudly: at last, a dancer worthy of her!
4
They began to spin — slowly and grandly at first, then faster and faster. The musicians could barely keep up, and the stranger's feet hardly seemed to touch the ground. Dark clouds rolled in from behind the mountains, the wind rose, and the river beside the square began to turn in green whirlpools. People glanced at one another: what kind of dance is this?
5
They danced all the way to the riverbank. There the gentleman stopped and looked at Urška with eyes as green as deep water. "I am the Water Man," he said, and his voice was like the rushing of waves. "Long have I watched from my river bed how you laugh at everyone around you, proud Urška. But tonight you shall dance with me — to the end."
6
Before Urška could answer, thunder rolled. The wind howled, the lanterns went out, and the Water Man whirled her — over the bank, straight onto the waves! They danced on the surface of the water as if it were glass, further and further from the shore, and the storm carried away Urška's cry for help. The musicians fell silent; the dancers stood as if rooted to the ground.
7
In the middle of the river a great green whirlpool opened. It spun the dancing pair around once, twice — and then they vanished into the deep, the Water Man and proud Urška with him. The waves closed over them, the storm died down, and on the water there floated only Urška's colorful ribbon.
8
No one ever saw Urška again. The musicians played no more that evening, and for a long time people stood quietly on the bank, gazing into the dark water. From that day on, the girls of the Old Square danced with everyone who asked them kindly — for every one of them remembered the story of proud Urška.
9
And still today, when the Ljubljanica swirls in green circles on a summer evening, people say: deep below, in his palace of shells, the Water Man dances his everlasting dance. And mothers tell their daughters the story of Urška — the prettiest girl of all, who was proud to everyone, until one evening she danced away into the deep.
10The End
