Folk Tales/The Sea Turtle's Treasure

"The Sea Turtle's Treasure" is a folk tale heard on Ginger's path in the game Secret Paths to the Sea. It is narrated by Lorren Jones. The story serves to illustrate for Ginger that doing what she knows is right will have its reward.

The Story
The Sea Turtle’s Treasure

Long ago, after a strange, summer storm had raged upon their village, two cousins, Alliono and Martine, walked along the beach. But when Martine bent down to remove wood from a tangled net, she beheld a strange sight. A great sea turtle lay on its back, struggling in the sand.

“Alliono! Alliono, look what I’ve found,” Martine exclaimed.

“Help me,” the turtle said weakly. Alliono and Martine gasped. The creature had spoken! “Turn me over.”

Quickly, the cousins helped right the creature. Suddenly the turtle began to shimmer and shift. A cloud of sea mist rose and a beautiful woman appeared. She was draped in glistening blue robes that moved like the waves of the deep, and her hair flowed like soft sea grass.

“Maidens of the shore,” the sea woman said, “I come from the Realm of Warm Waters. I was carried here by the storm as I swam in the shape of a turtle. You have saved my life and for that you shall be richly rewarded.”

Then she reached into her shimmering cloak and pulled out two small boxes glittering with fish scales and delicate shells. “These gifts are your reward,” the sea woman explained. “But heed my warning: You must keep these boxes tightly closed. Not until the moon rides the sky should you open their lids.”

“Not until the moon rides the sky,” promised Alliono.

“When the moon rises high,” Martine promised. Then the sea woman’s robes flashed in the sun, a mist suddenly rose, and the woman vanished from sight.

Eager to share their story, Alliono and Martine ran towards home. When they stopped to catch their breath, Martine restlessly turned her box over in her hands.

“Oh, why should I wait til the moon rises?” Martine wondered. “What can the sea woman do to us now that she is so far away?”

Alliono grew uneasy. “But our promise, Martine!”

Martine only shrugged. Eagerly she unlatched the box. But before she could see what was inside, a cold, salty breeze blew across her arms and the box crumbled to dust in her hands.

“Oh! The sea woman tricked us!” And Martine stormed off, leaving Alliono alone with her unopened treasure.

When Alliono returned home, she patiently waited until the glowing, white moon lifted into the sky. Not until then, did Alliono open her box. Slowly, she unlatched the clasp of purest gold; slowly she lifted the glittering lid. And there, glinting in the moonlight lay lustrous pearls and gleaming corals, sparkling gems, and silver coins.

And from that day forward, Alliono’s family was never poor, and their comforts were great throughout their lives.

Origins and Other Versions
The plot of this tale is based on the Japanese folk tale of Urashima Taro and the Turtle. Urashima is a fisherman who sees a group of children on the beach who are tormenting a turtle. After Urashima rescues the turtle, it takes him under the sea to a palace where he marries the sea king's daughter. The couple are happy together but Urashima wants to visit his village again. The sea princess gives Urashima a box to take with him but tells him to refrain from opening it and to return to her soon. Back in the village, Urashima discovers that centuries have passed while he was away under the sea. In his despair he opens the box which was actually imprisoning his old age. The centuries of time catch up to him all at once, and he withers and dies for his disobedience.

Of course, many fairy tales and stories mention characters opening boxes or doors that they have been forbidden from or warned about, but hardly any also mention turtles or tortoises.

According to the Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) Index, the tale of Urashima falls into category 681: The Relativity of Time.