Pavol Dobsinsky
Old Bucky and the Wolf
This story (adapted from Pavol Dobšinský’s collection) about a brave dog tells us that wisdom can win over strength and that honesty and loyalty always pay off.
Deep in the ocean, where the water was blue and crystal
Everyone in the kingdom followed the rules, and that’s why they all lived well. One of the rules stated that no mermaid could go near the water’s surface until she turned fifteen years old. Until then she had to stay in the kingdom to be safe.
The king’s eldest daughter was about to turn fifteen. The youngest, who longed the most to see the world above, had to wait five years more. She would sit for hours in her garden (the girls each had their own gardens) and imagine all that fun she’d have on the surface. In the center of her garden, there stood a marble statue of a human prince. She had found the statue on the ocean floor, and liked it so much that she even talked to it.
Their granny would tell them stories about all the beautiful things above
Time passed and the youngest was about to turn fifteen, too. For years she had listened to her sisters’