Water – Every Drop Counts

a Comenius Multilateral School Cooperation 2013-15

A Rainbow-hued Lake a common tale written by the six partners of the project

From Hungary:

Once upon a time, beyond the Iron mount, even beyond the Glass mount there was a little

village. Next to it, behind the mountains a wonderful mountain lake, which always changed

its colour, took shelter. Many people visited it, but no one saw any living creature in it. The

oldest villagers still remembered the day when a wicked wizard cursed the flora and fauna

living in the water. Who knows why? Maybe he became envious of the peaceful village life,

how much people protected and loved the nature around them. Why was the lake still

wonderful? It was believed that a water-nymph lived there who changed her clothes many

times a day and because of this the lake sometimes became silvery blue, shining yellow or

emerald green. But nobody knew the truth. A very poor woodcutter and his family lived in

this village. Their house was the last one on the way to the lake and the wood. He had a son

called Pauly who was born with a shining star on his forehead.

From Estonia:

This boy’s eyes were of different colour: the left one was silver blue and the right one was

emerald green. His hair was shining yellow. Pauly was a little bit different from the other

children, because occasionally it seemed to him that he could hear a mysterious delightful

voice. When Pauly became 10 years old he went to play by the rainbow lake. His father

warned him not to go because the water nymph could drag him with her. But Pauly didn’t

care, because he had an inexplicable feeling that the water nymph wouldn’t do anything to

him. When he reached the lake, he was enchanted by its beauty. Suddenly he heard the voice

again. This time it was clearer and louder than the last times. At the same time he had a

feeling that somebody was watching him. The surrounding forest was grave silent and lifeless

as the lake. The boy felt chilling, but the voice enchanted him and he stood still. His curiosity

forced him to explore the origin of the voice........

From Portugal:

Pauly’s legs moved toward the lake, as if they had a will of their own. The instant, Pauly’s

feet touched the water, two separate streams of rainbow colours shot out of the lake. Pauly

was amazed and looked up to admire the bright lights left by the

rainbows. He wanted to turn around to call his family. They

should witness the beauty of those rainbow streams. They

would be so happy! But he realized that his feet didn’t

move at all. He tried to lift his right foot and nothing

happened. He tried to run, to jump, to sit down, but he

couldn’t move. He just stood there and fear started crawling up

his spine. He felt helpless and tears came to his eyes. It was when he heard the

voice again. It felt like a warm whisper in his ears. “The mountains, the mountains, the

mountains”, he repeatedly heard. He looked up and followed the rainbow streams with his

eyes until he saw the mountains. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

From Bulgaria:

Glass Mountain shone in silver blue and Iron Mountain - in emerald green. Just like his two

eyes. There was the forest among them, all bathed in golden light. Pauly felt the warmth of

the water at his feet. He looked down and saw a lovely girl. She had a gold star on her

forehead, just like his star. In his mind appeared one word: " Nymph ." The girl went ashore.

Pauly looked into her eyes and he heard: "You are the one who I expect. Come with me!"

Suddenly Pauly's legs moved and he decided to trust the nymph and followed her. She led

him into the forest. They walked for a long time. It was quiet around. The trees did not move.

There was no noise of animals. It was beautiful but grimly. Suddenly Pauly heard a distant

strange song. The nymph led him into that direction. Pauly walked after her and the song

became even closer. Soon Pauly noticed the source of the song - a small forest waterfall. The

nymph wordlessly pointed him behind the water of the waterfall. There was a cave.

IRELAND:

Nymph and Pauly entered the cave, inside it was very dark and gloomy. Suddenly their heads

started to shine and a gleaming portal appeared. Nymph grabbed Pauly’s hand and dragged

him with her through the portal. There was a sudden flash of light; there were images of the

world in the future, the biodiversity and the ecosystems. They plunged into an underwater

world. Pauly took his first breath; he was amazed that he could breathe underwater. He looked

at Nymph; her eyes turned a golden orange colour. She was the most beautiful thing he had

ever seen. She glided through the water with ease, the bubbles coming from her mouth were

so pretty and as he followed the bubbles to the surface they expanded and exploded. She

looked like an angel swimming in the water, she swam in a circle around him and under him

then she did somersaults in the water. She was really at home in this underwater world. The

star on her forehead shined so brightly, it made a path in front of her. Pauly could not

understand how he could see in the water until he realised his star was also shining brightly.

He swam and investigated ever little nook and cranny he could find. He was amazed by the

animal and plant life under water. He again could hear a voice in his ear, he realised it was

Nymph whispering “isn’t it the most beautiful thing you have ever seen”. Pauly realised that

the rainbows he saw on the surface were no comparison to the beauty and colour of this

underwater world. A world he was unfamiliar with, a world he knew nothing about. He knew

why this place was kept a secret, he knew that if people were to see this beauty they would

probably destroy it like they were destroying the own world over water. Pauly and Nymph

looked into the distance to see…

From Spain:

…. A huge shining object, it looked like a kind of coloured underwater castle, whose walls

were covered with silvery blue and emerald green plates and from which a powerful ray of

light seemed to give a magic effect to the water, which formed a powerful wave in front of the

building. They swam to approach the castle and when they got near it, Pauly

realized that the ray of light came from an open porthole on top of which

they could read this poem:

“THIS ENTRANCE IS ONLY FOR THE BRAVE,

IT IS OPEN AND AT YOUR DISPOSAL

SWIM AT ONCE THROUGH THIS WAVE

AND YOU’LL BE GIVEN A PROPOSAL”

Nymph and Pauly entered the underwater castle and followed a path of blue and green lights

which directed them to a spacious hall in the middle of which a pedestal with two huge

shining stars on top stood. One of them gleamed with a blue light and the other one shone

green. They heard a deep voice which announced:

“My voice is the one you heard when you approached the lake. You are welcomed to stay with

my daughter and me forever”. She was the Nymph’s mother and the three of them would be

in charge of looking after that wonderful world. She added, “However, if you decide to go

back home, you can do so and my daughter will guide you to the surface. You can visit us

whenever you like.”

Pauly thought that, although he would like to stay forever in that wonderful underwater world,

he had to return home and make sure nobody would find and destroy this sanctuary. By

returning to his world he would make all the necessary efforts to preserve life and biodiversity

in the same way it was preserved in the underwater world.

Pauly decided that he would return home, provided he could frequently visit Nymph and her

mum. He promised that when he grew older and his father did not miss him, he would come

and stay forever.

Twelve years later, Pauly swam to the lake with Nymph. He had worked very hard to protect

the environment over water and he would now spend the rest of his days in Nymph’s

company. He would propose to her and, if she accepted him, they would get married and live

happily ever after.