Chapter 142 147. Kola fish

Once upon a time there were two mothers and sons in the port of Messina.The son's name is Cora, and he always likes to soak in the sea no matter day or night.His mother often stood on the shore and shouted: "Cola, hey, Cora, come up quickly, what are you doing, are you a fish?" But Cora was disobedient, she still swam every day, and she swam farther and farther, even though her mother shouted that she was hoarse, Cora didn't care about it at all.One day, the mother came to her son again, "Corra, why don't you listen to your mother?" She cursed, "If you don't come back, you might as well turn into a fish!"

Coincidentally, God heard her curse that day, and the curse was immediately fulfilled: Cora turned into a half-man, half-fish monster with webbed feet like a duck and a throat as thick as a frog's.From then on, Cora could no longer go ashore, and her mother was very sad, and soon passed away. Word reached the king of a monster that was half fish, half man in the sea near Messina.He ordered the sailors, whoever met Cora, to tell him that the king of the city-state wanted to summon him.one day.A sailor sails out to sea.Seeing Cora swimming close by, he said, "Cola! King Messina wants to summon you!"

So the Cora fish swam to the palace. When the king saw Cora coming, he was overjoyed and said happily: "Cola fish, you are a good swimmer. I want you to swim around Sicily to see where the water is the deepest and what is in the bottom of the sea. Come back and tell me." The Cora fish swam around the coast of Sicily by order of the king.He came back and told the king that he saw mountains, valleys, caves, and all kinds of fish in the bottom of the sea; Then the king said, "And what about the foundation of Messina? Go down and see what supports it?" Cora plunged into the sea and stayed under water for a whole day. He came back and said to the king: "Messina is built on a huge rock, and the rock is supported by three columns, one of which is intact. The second The root has split, and the third has broken.

"Oh, Messina, Messina. One day you will decline! " The king was taken aback.He decided to take the Kola fish to the port of Naples to see the submarine volcano.Cora came back to report that he had found cold water first, then hot water, and in some places gushes of sweet water.The king didn't believe it, so Cora asked for two bottles, and went down to the sea to bring back a bottle of hot water and a bottle of sweet water. However, the sea under the lighthouse was unfathomable, and the king was very worried about this, so he returned to Messina with the kola fish.Said to him, "Corra, you must tell me about how deep the water is at the lighthouse."

Cora jumped into the water and stayed in the sea for two whole days, and when she came back she said to the king that he still couldn't see the bottom of the sea, because a column of smoke from under a huge rock had muddied the sea, and he couldn't see the sea bottom clearly. after all. After hearing this, the king could no longer restrain his curiosity, and said, "Jump into the water from the top of the lighthouse." The lighthouse stands at the tip of the cape. Since ancient times, only one keeper has lived in the lighthouse. He used horns and raised flags to warn passing ships to pay attention to the current.Cora jumped into the water from the observation deck.The king waited for one day, two days, until the third day, but Cora did not come out of the water.The king was in a hurry when he suddenly saw the pale Cora come out.

"Corra, what's the matter?" the king asked anxiously. "I was scared to death," Cora explained. "I saw a big fish whose mouth could fit a big boat. Didn't Messina have three big pillars? How dangerous it was not to be swallowed by the big fish!" The king was dumbfounded, but he still wanted to know how deep the sea was.Cora said in panic: "Your Majesty, I don't want to go again, I'm terribly afraid." Unable to convince Cora, the king took off the crown studded with shining diamonds from his head and threw it into the sea. "Corra, go after the crown!"

"Your Majesty, why did you throw the crown into the water?" "This is the only crown in the world, Cora, and I command you to take it back!" Cora replied: "Your Majesty, if you order me, I have to go, but I have a premonition that I will never come back, please Your Majesty, give me a handful of beans, and if I come back alive, I can still see Your Majesty." , and if I don't come back, you'll see the beans floating on the water." The king asked his men to give Cora beans.Cora dived into the water. The king waited, waited, and waited for an unknown amount of time. The beans floated to the surface of the water, but the Kola fish never came back.

(Finish)