In the days of fairy-tale reckoning there lived an old woman named Isolde, and she had a decanter. Crystal on the outside, mirrored within, with a glass bottom and a tin neck. In the neck were three openings: large, small, and medium. A strange contraption... The old woman herself did not know all its properties, but believed it had come to her for a reason.
Isolde grew up as an orphan with a childless master craftsman. Once, as a small girl, she drew this decanter and asked her father to craft her childish fancy. The master was very skilled, and the drawing became reality.
When Isolde grew up, she became a dazzling beauty. Young men literally lost their minds and sight when they looked at her longer than she wished. They called after her "witch!" but she paid it no mind, for she never cast spells and never harmed anyone.
All the young men of the region fell in love with Isolde, but she was very proud. People even said her heart was made of ice.
But one day disaster struck – Isolde's adoptive father suddenly died. And her heart was scorched by the first tear of bitterness, for he was the only man she had ever loved. Her tears fell freely and streamed into the middle opening of that very decanter.
Thus began the story of the vessel of life. Life was hard for Isolde after her father's death. She could not continue his work, and to survive, she sold his masterpieces at triple the price. In truth, these things were priceless, but incomprehensible to everyone. And to make people buy them, she invented legends, telling of their miraculous properties. From early morning until late evening, Isolde wandered the market, offering various wares to buyers. The day came when she had to sell almost everything that remained from her father. It was a hot and sorrowful summer day for the girl, for tomorrow brought her the unknown. She did not know how to go on living. Drops of sweat streamed down her back, falling into the large opening of the decanter that Isolde carried on her shoulders. This thing was the last that could be sold.
Parting with the crystal vessel proved difficult, but she needed money. And what to do with the decanter, she did not know.
