' i will do anything that will bring me back to you , ' exclaimed uraschimataro , looking at her tenderly , but the princess was silent : she knew too well that when he left her she would see his face no more . then she took from a shelf a tiny golden box , and gave it to uraschimataro , praying him to keep it carefully , and above all things never to open it . ' if you can do this , ' she said as she bade him farewell , ' your friend the turtle will meet you at the shore , and will carry you back to me . ' uraschimataro thanked her from his heart , and swore solemnly to do her bidding . he hid the box safely in his garments , seated himself on the back of the turtle , and vanished in the ocean path , waving his hand to the princess . three days and three nights they swam through the sea , and at length uraschimataro arrived at the beach which lay before his old home . the turtle bade him farewell , and was gone in a moment . uraschimataro drew near to the village with quick and joyful steps . he saw the smoke curling through the roof , and the thatch where green plants had thickly sprouted . he heard the children shouting and calling , and from a window that he passed came the twang of the koto , and everything seemed to cry a welcome for his return . yet suddenly he felt a pang at his heart as he wandered down the street . after all , everything was changed . neither men nor houses were those he once knew . quickly he saw his old home ; yes , it was still there , but it had a strange look . anxiously he knocked at the door , and asked the woman who opened it after his parents . but she did not know their names , and could give him no news of them . still more disturbed , he rushed to the burying ground , the only place that could tell him what he wished to know . here at any rate he would find out what it all meant . and he was right . in a moment he stood before the grave of his parents , and the date written on the stone was almost exactly the date when they had lost their son , and he had forsaken them for the daughter of the sea . and so he found that since he had deft his home , three hundred years had passed by . shuddering with horror at his discovery he turned back into the village street , hoping to meet some one who could tell him of the days of old . but when the man spoke , he knew he was not dreaming , though he felt as if he had lost his senses . in despair he bethought him of the box which was the gift of the princess . perhaps after all this dreadful thing was not true . he might be the victim of some enchanter 's spell , and in his hand lay the counter - charm . almost unconsciously he opened it , and a purple vapour came pouring out . he held the empty box in his hand , and as he looked he saw that the fresh hand of youth had grown suddenly shrivelled , like the hand of an old , old man . he ran to the brook , which flowed in a clear stream down from the mountain . and saw himself reflected as in a mirror . it was the face of a mummy which looked back at him . wounded to death , he crept back through the village , and no man knew the old , old man to be the strong handsome youth who had run down the street an hour before . so he toiled wearily back , till he reached the shore , and here he sat sadly on a rock , and called loudly on the turtle . but she never came back any more , but instead , death came soon , and set him free . but before that happened , the people who saw him sitting lonely on the shore had heard his story , and when their children were restless they used to tell them of the good son who from love to his parents had given up for their sakes the splendour and wonders of the palace in the sea , and the most beautiful woman in the world besides . 
it turned him back to his real age .
why did the tiny golden box turn uraschimataro into an old man ?
why did the tiny golden box turn uraschimataro into an old man ?