Long ago, there was a young man who had no work and no money. He wandered from village to village, hoping to find something to do. One day, he met a rich-looking man who said,
“Come and work for me. I’ll take you across the seas to a place where treasure waits.”
The young man, eager for employment, agreed. He boarded the man’s ship, and together they sailed far, far away until they reached a lonely island. In the middle of the island rose a tall, steep mountain that glittered strangely in the sunlight.
The master pointed at it and said, “That mountain is made of pure gold. Go to the top, dig out as much gold as you can, and throw it down to me. I will gather it at the bottom.”
The young man shaded his eyes and looked up at the shining peak. “But how do I reach the top? It looks too high!”
The master smiled slyly and held out a small bottle filled with sparkling liquid. “Drink this magic potion. You will feel as light as a feather and can float up to the peak.”
The young man, trusting his master, drank the potion. His eyelids grew heavy at once, and before he could protest, he fell into a deep, deep sleep. While he slept, the master wrapped him tightly in a cow’s skin and left him lying on the sand. Then the master whispered, “The birds of the sky will take you where you need to be.”
Sure enough, a flock of seagulls swooped down, curious about the cow-skin bundle. They seized it in their beaks and talons and carried it high into the air. Flap, flap, flap! Up, up they went, past the clouds, until they reached the very top of the golden mountain. There they dropped the bundle with a thump.
The young man awoke with a groan. He struggled out of the cow skin and looked around in amazement. All around him gleamed rock made of gold. The mountain sparkled so brightly it almost hurt his eyes.
Quickly, he remembered his master’s command. He began to dig with his hands, prying out chunks of gold and tossing them down the steep slopes. Below, his master gathered the shining treasure and loaded it onto his ship.
But the mountain was alive, and it did not like being robbed. It began to growl and rumble. The ground shook under the young man’s feet. Suddenly, with a terrible roar, the volcano exploded! BOOM! Flames shot into the sky, smoke curled thickly, and red-hot lava began to flow.
The young man panicked. “Master! How do I get down?” he shouted.
But the master, now rich with gold, did not answer. He only laughed and turned away.
The volcano raged louder. The young man tried to run, but the ground cracked open. Rivers of molten fire blocked his path. He was trapped.
At last, the lava rushed all around him. In one blinding flash of heat and light, the young man was swallowed by the golden mountain. When the smoke cleared, there stood not a person, but a statue: a statue of a young man, shining with gold from head to toe.
Years passed. Travellers who came to that island sometimes saw the statue glimmering on the mountain’s side. Some said it was a warning: never let greed lead you astray. Others said the young man still lived inside the gold, waiting to be freed by someone pure of heart.
And so the golden mountain remained, rumbling from time to time, as if reminding the world of the price of betrayal and the dangers of greed.