The Water Mother facts for kids

The Water Mother is a special Chinese fairy tale. It tells the story of a kind woman who faced many challenges. This story was collected by a person named Wolfram Eberhard in his book Folktales of China. Even though the story itself isn't found in very old books, people in China have honored a "Water Mother" since a long time ago, during the Song dynasty.

The Story of the Water Mother

A Difficult Life

Once upon a time, a woman lived with her mother-in-law and her own daughter. The woman was very kind and always did her best. However, her mother-in-law did not like her at all.

One day, the mother-in-law made a very unfair rule. She said they could no longer buy water from people who carried it. Instead, her daughter-in-law had to carry all the water from the well herself.

This work was very hard for the woman. She struggled to carry the heavy pails of water. If she failed to bring enough water, her mother-in-law would hit her.

The Magic Stick

One day, the woman was so sad and tired that she thought about jumping into the well. But just then, an old woman appeared. The old woman told her not to give up.

The old woman then gave her a special stick. She told the woman to use the stick to gently tap her water pail. She also gave her two very important rules:

• She must never tell anyone about the stick.
• She must never tap the pail more than once.

The Secret Revealed

For a while, the woman was very happy. Getting water was easy now, and she did not have to work so hard. But her mother-in-law was very curious. She watched the woman in secret.

One day, the mother-in-law found the magic stick. She took it and went to the well. She did not know the rules the old woman had given. The mother-in-law tapped the pail not once, but twice.

The Flood and the Temple

When the mother-in-law tapped the pail twice, something amazing happened. Water began to pour out of the pail very quickly. It turned into a huge flood! The flood covered many houses and sadly, it even drowned the kind daughter-in-law.

The pail itself became a spring, constantly flowing with water. After this sad event, people built a temple to honor the daughter-in-law. They called her the Water Mother, remembering her kindness and the strange way she became a part of the water.