Urashima Taro was a young fisherman who lived on an island where everyone fished. But he lived by himself, with no parents, no wife and no children to support, so he managed to feed himself and save a little money for shrine offerings and holidays.

Walking along the beach late one afternoon Taro spotted some young boys playing with a turtle. The game was to poke a stick at the turtle till it snapped and caught the stick, then flip the turtle over on its back. The game was great fun-- for the boys-- until Urashima Taro walked up. He was enough older to make the boys feel guilty, but not enough to make them feel at all respectful.

"What are you doing with the little turtle, boys?"

"He's our turtle-- we caught him."

"Are you going to raise him, or what?"

"He belongs to us. Its no business of yours."

"You look like businessmen. Are you willing to sell him?"

Urashima Taro only had a few coins, but it doesn't take much to tempt boys. In no time they were running toward the village, and Urashima Taro was walking down to the water. He dropped the turtle with a few kind words, then walked home to cook up a fish for supper.

The next morning Urashima Taro was out fishing as usual when he heard a voice call his name. He had been out to sea alone often enough to know it is unusual to hear your name called when there is no one around. And so he said, "Who is it?" fairly quietly.

The call came again, and this time Urashima Taro saw a large sea turtle a few yards from his boat.

"Urashima Taro! You are summoned to the Dragon Palace. Please climb on my back."

"Who are you? What Dragon Palace?"

"The Dragon King is grateful for your rescue of the young turtle yesterday. He has sent me, as a close kinsman, to invite you to the Dragon Palace to receive his thanks."

"That's really not necessary. Please tell him I was happy to help even a little. And I appreciate your thoughtfulness in coming to find me. Thank you."

"It would be very embarrassing to return without you. Please consider my position."

Urashima Taro had no experience with royalty, but it was easy to see the difficulty he would cause. And so he agreed to climb on the turtle's back, even though he was still concerned about how he would breathe once the turtle dove under the surface.

That concern soon left him. Once he opened his eyes, he was completely overcome by the beauty of the sea. As much time as he had spent in a boat on the surface, he had no idea how the tuna and mackeral and cod and bonito looked swimming free. The bottom was covered with coral, anenomes, starfish, occasional crabs, and many shells and shellfish he didn't recognize. Then he saw that the sea turtle was taking him toward what looked like a huge coral gate.

The structure turned out to be a huge coral gate. The guards seemed to be expecting the turtle and waved it through. The palace which lay beyond it was larger and more complex than anything Urashima Taro, who had only rarely heard mention of the Emperor of Japan, could understand or even dream of.

Inside the palace, Urashima Taro was joined by three maids, one of whom sounded very much like the turtle who had brought him. They bathed him, clothed him, dressed his hair, and finally took him to meet a young lady whose black hair was longer and shinier than any he had ever seen.

The maids introduced her her as Otohime, the princess of the Dragon Palace, then left.

"Welcome to the Dragon Palace, Urashima Taro. My father is so grateful for all your kindnesses to his subjects."

"His kindness in bringing me here is greater than I could have imagined."

"I'm very happy that you came. Personally, I mean. I've seen you fishing many times, Taro, and I've often wondered if I'd have a chance to meet you. And now you're here."

Otohime seemed to lack completely the reserve and haughtiness so common in noble ladies. She looked directly at him with dark eyes set off by the light, clear skin of her round face. Urashima Taro was completely unready for her beauty and her openness; he had no idea what to say to her. But unlike many young men, he had the sense not to say anything. The maids returned with the first courses of a meal.

The food was delightful, of course, but he couldn't begin to describe or even name the dishes put before him in a seemingly endless stream. There were pickles and vegetables of every type, and even more varieties of seafood with more wonderful sauces that he had ever thought possible. All present ate these without reserve; Urashima Taro wondered if the shrimp and crab and sea urchins were actually fashioned of tofu somehow.

There was music and dancing as they ate, which reduced somewhat the need to keep up with the princess's conversation. Compared with the songs and dances of his village, the only comparison available, the songs were a little lacking in vigor, but they were well suited to the flowing grace of the dances. Finally Urashima Taro could eat no more and the princess could say no more. The maids led him to another hot bath, then to a soft and comfortably warm bed.

Urashima Taro awoke the next morning before dawn, wondering for a brief moment if the evening had been a dream, but he soon realized the dream was still with him. One maid appeared with a lamp. She bathed him, wrapped him in a simpler and more comfortable robe than he had worn the night before, then fed him and sat with him in the garden, waiting for the princess.

The scene in the garden was the most curious of all. In an unending cycle, the trees blossomed, then put out green leaves that turned red, then fell to make room for the next round of blossoms.

"What wonder is this?" he finally asked the patient maid.

"Time flies, Urashima Taro. You must be enjoying our palace."

Her words were another wonder to him, and he asked instead about fishing. She was very familiar with the rocks near his island, and with the open waters, and spoke gaily with him of the best times and places and baits and techniques. Then she announced with even more excitement the approach of Otohime.

"Taro!," the dragon princess said. "Don't bow. How did you sleep?" She had seen the garden before, of course, and beautiful as it was, she looked only at Urashima Taro.

"Very well, when I slept," he replied, suddenly remembering a strange dream. "The bed was not at all like my mat at home."

"Did they give you a little to eat?"

"The food was wonderful. Everything here is wonderful. But it is not like the food I eat at home."

"Let this be your home, Taro. The palace is more wonderful with you here. What would you like to do today?"

As Urashima Taro wondered what to do-- what to say-- Otohime gazed at him contentedly. The maid finally pulled a flute from her sleeve and he played a few tunes that were popular with the fishermen of his island. Otohime was enchanted by the sound, and Urashima Taro himself was so touched that soon he could no longer see the cycles of change in the garden. He made up his mind.

"Princess. I am filled with appreciation for the kindness of your father in allowing me to visit this palace. Everything is more wonderful than I could dream about dreaming about. Your own kindness to me has been too great for me to repay, or even to properly thank you for. I cannot impose on you any longer. I must return to my home."

"Please forget your pile of rocks, Taro. It has forgotten you. Don't bow. Make this your home."

"Princess-- you know that I am not one of you, and I could not become one of you if I stayed a month or a year."

"Don't leave me. There is nothing I will refuse you, and nothing the Dragon Palace can't provide. Ask me for anything you want, Taro. And don't bow."

He did not dare look up. "I want to go home."

She put her hands under his arms and raised him to his feet, and after a moment she sent the maid to make arrangements for his return. They walked in silence to the great coral gate, and as Urashima Taro climbed onto the turtle, the princess handed him a polished jewel box, tightly bound with red cord.

"Don't forget me, Taro. Keep this box with you and never open it. That way you will always remember me. Do not forget!"

Urashima taro bowed and thanked her repeatedly. The turtle started off, but moved more slowly than he would have wished until the palace was out of sight. But then his vision blurred and he was soon back on the beach of his own island.

He thought it was his island-- he recognized the rocks offshore, the curve of the beach and the Ebisu shrine not too far away. But the other buildings were not the ones he knew, and many were unlike anything he had ever seen-- not as wonderful as the Dragon Palace, but every bit as strange. His own hut had been near the shrine, but there was nothing there now.

After a period of confusion he decided to ask an old woman who was slowly making her way down the path toward him.

"Good morning, may I ask you something? I was looking for the home of Urashima Taro."

"Good morning. Nice robe. Urashima Taro? When did I last hear the name of Urashima Taro? My grandmother told me that her grandmother told her that she had heard the story of Urashima Taro, who lived on this very island, when was it? maybe 300 years ago. A nice young man, but he disappeared before he could marry. Ah, don't they all! I don't think I've seen you before-- who are you staying with? My grand-daughter could stand to meet a nice young man, but they don't come to this island often."

She had not finished her answer, but he thanked her and walked back to the beach. Three hundred years! He had left his home for the Dragon Palace, and he had left the Dragon Palace for what? He sat in the sand and thought of his home, but realized the fastest turtle could not take him there now. Urashima Taro pulled out the polished black jewel box and remembered the kindness of Otohime, who would give him whatever he asked for. The palace had not held what he wanted, and this island had nothing for him either; perhaps the box held something that could help him.

With difficulty, he removed the tight red cord, and raised the lid. There was nothing inside but a white mist, which rose slowly in the air. He breathed it in and smelled the mat in his hut, the salty wind of storms he had escaped, the fish he had cleaned, the wine he had offered to Ebisu-- the box held the 300 years Urashima Taro had lost, and as he breathed them in, he became a very old man.