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This story by Nathaniel Hawthorne was adapted into Special English by Dana Demange.

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•  That very unusual man, old Dr. Heidegger, once invited four friends to meet him in his office.
•  There were three white-bearded gentlemen, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne.
•  And, there was a thin old lady whose husband had died, so she was called the Widow Wycherly.
•  They were all sad old creatures who had been unfortunate in life. As a young man, Mr. Medbourne had lost all his money in a badly planned business deal.
•  Colonel Killigrew had wasted his best years and health enjoying the pleasures of women and drink.
•  Mr. Gascoigne was a ruined politician with an evil past.
•  As for the Widow Wycherly, tradition tells us that she was once a great beauty, but shocking stories about her past had led the people of the town to reject her, so, she lived very much alone.
•  It is worth stating that each of these three men were early lovers of the Widow Wycherly.
•  And they had once been on the point of killing each other over her.
•  "My dear old friends," said Dr. Heidegger, "I would like your help in one of my little experiments." He motioned for them to sit down.
•  Dr. Heidegger's office was a very strange place. The dark room was filled with books, cobwebs, and dust.
•  An old mirror hanging between two bookcases was said to show the ghosts of all the doctor's dead patients.
•  On another wall hung a painting of the young woman Dr. Heidegger was to have married long ago, but she died the night before their wedding after drinking one of the doctor's medicines.
•  The most mysterious object in the room was a large book covered in black leather. It was said to be a book of magic.
•  On the summer afternoon of our story, a black table stood in the middle of the room. On it was a beautiful cut-glass vase.
•  Four glasses were also on the table.
•  Dr. Heidegger was known for his unusual experiments, but his four guests did not expect anything very interesting.
•  The doctor picked up his black leather book of magic.
•  From its pages he removed a dried-up old rose.
•  "This rose," said the doctor, "was given to me fifty-five years ago by Sylvia Ward, whose painting hangs on this wall. I was to wear it at our wedding. Would you think it possible that this ancient rose could ever bloom again?"
•  "Nonsense!" said the Widow Wycherly with a toss of her head.
•  "You might as well ask if an old woman's lined face could ever bloom again."
•  "See!" answered Dr. Heidegger.
•  He reached for the vase and threw the dried rose into the water it contained.
•  Soon, a change began to appear.
•  The crushed and dried petals moved and slowly turned from brown to red.
•  And there was the rose of half a century looking as fresh as when Sylvia Ward had first given it to her lover.
•  "That is a very pretty trick," said the doctor's friends. "What is the secret?"
•  "Did you ever hear of the Fountain of Youth?"
•  asked Dr. Heidegger.
•  "The Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon went in search of it centuries ago.
•  But he was not looking in the right place.
•  If I am rightly informed, the famous Fountain of Youth is in southern Florida. A friend of mine has sent me the water you see in the vase."
•  The doctor filled the four glasses with water from the Fountain of Youth. The liquid produced little bubbles that rose up to the silvery surface.
•  The old guests agreed to drink the water, although they did not believe in its power.
•  "Before you drink, my friends," the doctor said,
•  "you should draw up a few general rules as guidance before you pass a second time through the dangers of youth.
•  You have had a lifetime of experience to direct you.
•  Think what a shame it would be if the wisdom of your experiences did not act as a guide and teacher."
•  The doctor's four friends answered him with a laugh.
•  The idea that they would ever repeat the mistakes of their youth was very funny.
•  "Drink, then," said the doctor.
•  "I am happy that I have so well chosen the subjects of my experiment."
•  They raised the glasses to their lips.
•  If the liquid really was magical, it could not have been given to four human beings who needed it more.
•  They seemed as though they had never known youth or pleasure. They looked like they had always been the weak, unhappy creatures who were bent over the doctor's table.
•  They drank the water.
•  There was an almost immediate improvement among the guests. A cheerful glow like sunshine brightened their faces.
•  They looked at one another imagining that some magic power had really started to smooth the lines on their faces.
•  "Quick! Give us more of this wondrous water!" they cried. "We are younger, but we are still too old!"
•  "Patience!" said Dr. Heidegger who watched the experiment with scientific coolness.
•  "You have been a long time growing old. Surely you could wait half an hour to grow young!"
•  Again he filled their glasses.
•  The four guests drank the liquid in one swallow.
•  As the liquid passed down their throats it seemed to change their whole systems. Their eyes grew clear and bright. Their hair turned from silver to darker shades.
•  "My dear widow, you are lovely!" cried Colonel Killigrew, who watched as the signs of age disappeared from her face.
•  The widow ran to the mirror.
•  The three men started to behave in such a way that proved the magic of the Fountain of Youth's water.
•  Mr. Gascoigne's mind turned to political topics.
•  He talked about nationalism and the rights of the people. He also told secrets softly to himself.
•  All this time Colonel Killigrew had been shouting out happy drinking songs while his eyes turned towards the curvy body of the Widow Wycherly.
•  Mr. Medbourne was adding dollars and cents to pay for a proposed project. It would supply the East Indies with ice by linking a team of whales to the polar icebergs.
•  As for the Widow Wycherly, she stood in front of the mirror greeting her image as a friend she loved better than anything in the world.
•  "My dear old doctor," she cried, "please give me another glass!"
•  The doctor had already filled the glasses again.
•  It was now near sunset and the room was darker than ever.
•  But a moon-like light shined from within the vase. The doctor sat in his chair watching.
•  As the four guests drank their third glass of water, they were silenced by the expression on the doctor's mysterious face.
•  The next moment, the exciting rush of young life shot through their blood. They were now at the happy height of youth.
•  The endless cares, sadness, and diseases of age were remembered only as a troubled dream from which they had awoken.
•  "We are young!" they cried.
•  The guests were a group of happy youngsters almost crazy with energy. They laughed at the old-fashioned clothing they wore. They shouted happily and jumped around the room.
•  The Widow Wycherly - if such a young lady could be called a widow
•  - ran to the doctor's chair and asked him to dance.
•  "Please excuse me," answered the doctor quietly.
•  "My dancing days were over long ago, but these three young men would be happy to have such a lovely partner."
•  The men began to argue violently about who would dance with her. They gathered around the widow, each grabbing for her.
•  Yet, by a strange trick owing to the darkness of the room, the tall mirror is said to have reflected the forms of three old, gray men competing for a faded, old woman.
•  As the three fought for the woman's favor, they reached violently for each other's throats.
•  In their struggle, they turned over the table. The vase broke into a thousand pieces.
•  The Water of Youth flowed in a bright stream across the floor.
•  The guests stood still.
•  A strange coldness was slowly stealing over them all.
•  They looked at Dr. Heidegger who was holding his treasured rose.
•  The flower was fading and drying up once more.
•  The guests looked at each other and saw their looks changing back.
•  "Are we grown old again so soon?" they cried.
•  In truth
•  they had.
•  The Water of Youth had powers that were only temporary.
•  "Yes, friends, you are old again," the doctor said.
•  "And the Water of Youth lies wasted on the ground.
•  But even if it flowed in a river at my door, I still would not drink it. This is the lesson you have taught me!"
•  But the doctor's four friends had learned no such lesson.
•  They decided at that moment to travel to Florida and drink morning, noon, and night from the Fountain of Youth.