A long, long time ago, in a small seaside fishing village in Japan, there lived a young and kind - hearted fisherman named Urashima Taro. Urashima Taro went out to sea to fish every day. He was very kind - hearted and also full of love for the creatures in the sea.
One day, Urashima Taro went out to sea to fish as usual. Suddenly, he noticed something struggling on the sea surface. When he got closer, he saw that it was a turtle tangled in a fishing net. The turtle's eyes were full of fear and helplessness. Seeing this, Urashima Taro couldn't bear it in his heart. He carefully freed the turtle from the fishing net, gently stroked the turtle's shell, and said to it, "Little turtle, be more careful in the future." Then he put the turtle back into the sea.
A few days later, while Urashima Taro was mending his fishing net by the seaside, the turtle he had saved suddenly appeared in front of him. The turtle said to Urashima Taro, "Urashima Taro, you are a kind person. To repay you for saving my life, I want to take you to a beautiful place." Urashima Taro was very curious, so he followed the turtle. The turtle led Urashima Taro to the seaside. Urashima Taro was surprised to find that the turtle had become extremely huge. The turtle let Urashima Taro sit on its back and then slowly swam towards the deep sea. Urashima Taro was both excited and a little scared, but he trusted this turtle, so he tightly grasped the turtle's shell.
As the turtle dived deeper and deeper, the surrounding seawater became clearer and clearer. All kinds of beautiful fish swam past them, and there were also colorful coral reefs. Urashima Taro was stunned by the beautiful scenery in front of him. He had never seen such a wonderful underwater world before.
After swimming for an unknown amount of time, a magnificent and resplendent palace appeared in front of them. This was the legendary Dragon Palace City. The walls of the Dragon Palace City were made of huge pearls and corals and glittered brightly. The big gate slowly opened, and many beautiful fairies, shrimp soldiers and crab generals came out. They warmly welcomed Urashima Taro's arrival and led him into the palace.
In the Dragon Palace, Urashima Taro was lavishly entertained by the Dragon King. The table was filled with all kinds of delicacies he had never seen before. There were fairy fruits in huge shells and also exquisite dishes made of deep - sea fish. Urashima Taro tasted the delicious food, enjoyed the magnificent dance performance in the Dragon Palace, and happily played with the fairies. He felt as if he was in a fairyland and completely forgot the passage of time.
After a while, Urashima Taro began to miss his hometown and family. He expressed his wish to go home to the Dragon King. Although the Dragon King was a little reluctant, he still agreed to his request. The Dragon King gave Urashima Taro an exquisite treasure box and told him that this treasure box could bless him with safety. After thanking the Dragon King, Urashima Taro sat on the turtle's back and left the Dragon Palace.
The turtle quickly swam towards the sea surface with Urashima Taro on its back and soon returned to the seaside he was familiar with. Urashima Taro got off the turtle's back, said goodbye to the turtle, and then walked towards his village.
When he walked into the village, he found that the village had become very strange. The houses he was familiar with were gone, and instead, there were some tall buildings he had never seen before. The people he met on the road were also wearing strange clothes and speaking languages he couldn't understand. Urashima Taro was very confused. After asking around, he learned that several hundred years had passed. During the time he was away, the world had changed a great deal.
Urashima Taro remembered the treasure box given to him by the Dragon King. He wanted to open the treasure box to see if he could find a way to solve the current confusing situation. But the moment he opened the treasure box, a white smoke came out. Urashima Taro gradually disappeared in the smoke and no one has ever seen him again. Thus, the story of Urashima Taro has been passed down in Japanese folk tales and has become a story full of fantasy in people's mouths.
