Week 9 Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part B

 

"Mountain River" Source

The Magic Well:

    A Prince of a province became old and very ill. The doctors and people of his province did not know what to do to heal the aging man because they did not know what kind of illness he had.

    One day an old man who was not the Prince, had a vision that was brought to him by spirits and he knew how to heal the Prince of his illness. The old man spoke of a river where a boat was prepared for him and which took him to the foot of a tall mountain. The spirit led him on a path that no other man had ever traveled and took him to the top of the mountain. At the top were two great walls of rocks that had a gate in the middle which appeared to lead to a city.

    The spirit leads him to the other side of the mountain and up a rock that had never been ventured. He saw a small opening to what appeared to be a well. He could not reach the water but saw a cup on the end of a shaft. The old man was about to drink from the well when the spirit restrained him. The old man wanted to come to the Prince to tell him of the well and that it would heal him.

    The Prince believed the man and had boats prepared so that he could drink from the well. The Prince ventured the same way the old man did, but with the aid of two strong men which he leaned on to reach the well. The Prince took the staff with the cup and drank from the well and was healed immediately.

Bibliography: "Laos Folk-Lore" by Katherine Neville Fleeson