The Little Water Sprite by Otfried Preussler. Short summary

5 seconds

A family of watermen awakens at the bottom of a pond in springtime. The little waterman, having had breakfast, sets out to explore the pond. He finds a familiar carp who offers to ride him on his back.

1 minute

When spring came, the sun melted the ice on the mill pond. The lush greens and flowers on the lawns appeared. The sun’s rays penetrated the water column, where the water family’s home was at the bottom. The little waterman lived there with his parents. He had not yet had time to awaken from his winter hibernation.

The house of the watermen was like the usual houses in the village by the mill pond, but it was smaller in size, for the watermen themselves were shorter than ordinary people.

Upon awakening, the little waterman dressed himself and began to swim around the room. He peered through every window to see the changes that had occurred during his long sleep. Soon he sat down at the table and began to eat breakfast.

Afterwards, the little waterman went looking for the carp Kuprinus. He found him in a small hole with warm water at the edge of the pond. The elderly Cuprinus offered him a ride on his back and explored the whole pond.