say, 'Green'". What
explanation he offered for his sudden change of appearance has not
been recorded.[220] It is related that when Matun reached the Well of
Life a dried fish which he dipped in the water was restored to life
and swam away. In the _Koran_ a similar story is told regarding Moses
and Joshua, who travelled "for a long space of time" to a place where
two seas met. "They forgot their fish which they had taken with them,
and the fish took its way freely to the sea." The Arabian commentators
explain that Moses once agreed to the suggestion that he was the
wisest of men. In a dream he was directed to visit Al Khedr, who was
"more knowing than he", and to take a fish with him in a basket. On
the seashore Moses fell asleep, and the fish, which had been roasted,
leapt out of the basket into the sea. Another version sets forth that
Joshua, "making the ablution at the fountain of life", some of the
water happened to be sprinkled on the fish, which immediately leapt
up.[221]

The Well of Life is found in Fingalian legends. When Diarmid was
mortally wounded by the boar, he called upon Finn to carry water to
him from the well:

Give me a draught from thy palms, O Finn,
Son of my king for my succour,
For my life and my dwelling.

_Campbell's West Highland Tales_, vol. iii, 80.

The quest of the plant, flower, or fruit of life is referred to in
many folk tales. In the _Mahabharata_, Bhima, the Indian Gilgamesh or
Hercules, journeys to north-eastern Celestial regions to find the lake
of the god Kuvera (Kubera), on which grow the "most beautiful and
unearthly lotuses", which restore health and give strength to the
weary. As Gilgamesh meets with Pir-napishtim, who relates the story of
the Deluge which destroyed the "elder race", Bhima meets with Hanuman,
who informs him regarding the Ages of the Universe and the races which
were periodically destroyed by deluges. When Bhima reaches the lotus
lake he fights with demons. To heal his wounds and recover strength he
plunges into the lake. "As he drank of the waters, like unto nectar,
his energy and strength were again fully restored."[222]

Hercules similarly sets out to search for the golden apples which grow
in

those Hesperian gardens famed of old,
Fortunate fields, and groves and flowery vales.

As Bhima slew Yakshas which guarded the lotuses, Hercules slew Ladon,
the guardian of the apples. Other heroes kill treasure-protecting
d