Wusel the water spirit at Lake Achensee
Many years ago, the people of the Achensee region were living happily. On land and on the water, there was bustling, cheerful activity, and many visitors enjoyed a boat trip on the lake. But one day a horrible green monster emerged from Lake Achensee and terrified the people. Wusel, the water spirit, caused huge mischief, stealing picnic baskets and umbrellas, and so people were afraid to go out on Lake Achensee.
This attracted the attention of the little forest fairy MellyBelly, who felt pity for the people. And so, she set off with her best friend Bobbix to challenge the lake monster. When they arrived at Lake Achensee, the two of them went out on the water with the ship's captain.
At first everything was calm, but suddenly the wind got stronger, and the ship began to rock back and forth on the waves. Suddenly Wusel, the water spirit, rose from the waters with a loud scream, ready to defeat MellyBelly, Bobbix, and the captain. The forest fairy was startled but didn't let on. She stood up in front of Wusel and splashed him in the face with her secret elixir, which consisted of black, strong-smelling Tiroler Steinöl (shale oil). Wusel rubbed his eyes, cried and screamed. His hands stuck to the oil, his eyes burned, he writhed in pain and pleaded, "Help me, somebody help me, get this sticky stuff off my face!"
MellyBelly and Bobbix grinned, "Wusel, we want to help you, but first listen to our conditions! In the future, you won't scare people, you won't steal anything and above all, you'll be nice to the children. Do you promise?" Wusel surrendered and nodded, "I promise, but get this terrible stuff off my face! I'll do anything you want!" Bobbix took his drinking bottle, filled with fresh Tirolean spring water, and washed the shale oil off Wusel's face. Guess what happened?
The ugly monster transformed! Wusel’s hideous, scaly skin, which was full of red spots, disappeared. The Tiroler Steinöl® made the water spirit’s skin beautiful and soft. On this day, the Achensee ship returned to the pier for the first time without being hassled.
From then on, Wusel, the water spirit, was friendly and kind to all people. He was especially considerate of children and even built the "Wusel lake trail" to keep them entertained with lots of games and puzzles. To thank Wusel for changing his behaviour and the good deeds that followed, he was made the Achensee mascot. Since then, every child who takes part in the Achensee children's programme can look forward to receiving a small Wusel tag for their backpack.
