Sunday, May 13, 2007

THE ENTANGLED MERMAID


Long ago, in Dutch Fairy Land, there lived a young mermaid who was very proud of her good looks. She was one of a family of mere or lake folksdwelling not far from the sea. Her home was a great pool of water thatwas half salt and half fresh, for it lay around an island near the mouthof a river. Part of the day, when the sea tides were out, she splashedand played, dived and swam in the soft water of the inland current. Whenthe ocean heaved and the salt water rushed in, the mermaid floated andfrolicked and paddled to her heart's content. Her father was agray-bearded merryman and very proud of his handsome daughter. He ownedan island near the river mouth, where the young mermaids held theirpicnics and parties and received the visits of young merrymen.Her mother and two aunts were merwomen. All of these were sober folksand attended to the business which occupies all well brought up mermaidsand merrymen. This was to keep their pool clean and nice. No frogs,toads or eels were allowed near, but in the work of daily housecleaning,the storks and the mermaids were great friends.All water-creatures that were not thought to be polite and well behavedwere expected to keep away. Even some silly birds, such as loons andplovers and all screaming and fighting creatures with wings, were warnedoff the premises, because they were not wanted. This family of merryfolks liked to have a nice, quiet time by themselves, without any rudefolks on legs, or with wings or fins from the outside. Indeed theywished to make their pool a model, for all respectable mermaids andmerrymen, for ten leagues around. It was very funny to see the old daddymerman, with a switch made of reeds, shooing off the saucy birds, suchas the sandpipers and screeching gulls. For the bullfrogs, too big forthe storks to swallow, and for impudent fishes, he had a whip made ofseaweed.Of course, all the mermaids in good society were welcome, but youngmermen were allowed to call only once a month, during the week when themoon was full. Then the evenings were usually clear, so that when theparty broke up, the mermen could see their way in the moonlight to swimhome safely with their mermaid friends. For, there were sea monstersthat loved to plague the merefolk, and even threatened to eat them up!The mermaids, dear creatures, had to be escorted home, but they feltsafe, for their mermen brothers and daddies were so fierce that, exceptsharks, even the larger fish, such as porpoises and dolphins were afraidto come near them.One day daddy and the mother left to visit some relatives near theisland of Urk. They were to be gone several days. Meanwhile, theirdaughter was to have a party, her aunts being the chaperones.The mermaids usually held their picnics on an island in the midst of thepool. Here they would sit and sun themselves. They talked about thefashions and the prettiest way to dress their hair. Each one had apocket mirror, but where they kept these, while swimming, no mortal everfound out. They made wreaths of bright colored seaweed, orange andblack, blue, gray and red and wore them on their brows like coronets.Or, they twined them, along with sea berries and bubble blossoms, amongtheir tresses. Sometimes they made girdles of the strongest and knottedthem around their waists.Every once in a while they chose a queen of beauty for their ruler. Theneach of the others pretended to be a princess. Their games and sportsoften lasted all day and they were very happy.Swimming out in the salt water, the mermaids would go in quest ofpearls, coral, ambergris and other pretty things. These they would bringto their queen, or with them richly adorn themselves. Thus the MermaidQueen and her maidens made a court of beauty that was famed wherevermermaids and merrymen lived. They often talked about human maids."How funny it must be to wear clothes," said one."Are they cold that they have to keep warm?" It was a little chit of amermaid, whose flippers had hardly begun to grow into hands, that askedthis question."How can they swim with petticoats on?" asked another."My brother heard that real men wear wooden shoes! These must botherthem, when on the water, to have their feet floating," said a third,whose name was Silver Scales. "What a pity they don't have flukes likeus," and then she looked at her own glistening scaly coat in admiration."I can hardly believe it," said a mermaid, that was very proud of herfine figure and slender waist. "Their girls can't be half as pretty aswe are.""Well, I should like to be a real woman for a while, just to try it, andsee how it feels to walk on legs," said another, rather demurely, as ifafraid the other mermaids might not like her remark.They didn't. Out sounded a lusty chorus, "No! No! Horrible! What anidea! Who wouldn't be a mermaid?""Why, I've heard," cried one, "that real women have to work, wash theirhusband's clothes, milk cows, dig potatoes, scrub floors and take careof calves. Who would be a woman? Not I"--and her snub nose--since itcould not turn up--grew wide at the roots. She was sneering at the ideathat a creature in petticoats could ever look lovelier than one inshining scales."Besides," said she, "think of their big noses, and I'm told, too, thatgirls have even to wear hairpins."At this--the very thought that any one should have to bind up theirtresses--there was a shock of disgust with some, while others clappedtheir hands, partly in envy and partly in glee.But the funniest things the mermaids heard of were gloves, and theylaughed heartily over such things as covers for the fingers. Just forfun, one of the little mermaids used to draw some bag-like seaweed overher hands, to see how such things looked.One day, while sunning themselves in the grass on the island, one oftheir number found a bush on which foxgloves grew. Plucking these, shecovered each one of her fingers with a red flower. Then, flopping overto the other girls, she held up her gloved hands. Half in fright andhalf in envy, they heard her story.After listening, the party was about to break up, when suddenly a youngmerman splashed into view. The tide was running out and the stream low,so he had had hard work to get through the fresh water of the river andto the island. His eyes dropped salt water, as if he were crying. Helooked tired, while puffing and blowing, and he could hardly get hisbreath. The queen of the mermaids asked him what he meant by comingamong her maids at such an hour and in such condition.At this the bashful merman began to blubber. Some of the mergirls puttheir hands over their mouths to hide their laughing, while they winkedat each other and their eyes showed how they enjoyed the fun. To have amerman among them, at that hour, in broad daylight, and crying, was toomuch for dignity."Boo-hoo, boo-hoo," and the merman still wept salt water tears, as hetried to catch his breath. At last, he talked sensibly. He warned theQueen that a party of horrid men, in wooden shoes, with pickaxes, spadesand pumps, were coming to drain the swamp and pump out the pool. He hadheard that they would make the river a canal and build a dyke thatshould keep out the ocean."Alas! alas!" cried one mermaid, wringing her hands. "Where shall we gowhen our pool is destroyed? We can't live in the ocean all the time."Then she wept copiously. The salt water tears fell from her great roundeyes in big drops."Hush!" cried the Queen. "I don't believe the merman's story. He onlytells it to frighten us. It's just like him."In fact, the Queen suspected that the merman's story was all a sham andthat he had come among her maids with a set purpose to run off withSilver Scales. She was one of the prettiest mermaids in the company, butvery young, vain and frivolous. It was no secret that she and the mermanwere in love and wanted to get married.So the Queen, without even thanking him, dismissed the swimmingmessenger. After dinner, the company broke up and the Queen retired toher cave to take a long nap! She was quite tired after entertaining somuch company. Besides, since daddy and mother were away, and there wereno beaus to entertain, since it was a dark night and no moon shining onthe water, why need she get up early in the morning?So the Mermaid Queen slept much longer than ever before. Indeed, it wasnot till near sunset the next day that she awoke. Then, taking her comband mirror in hand, she started to swim and splash in the pool, in orderto smooth out her tresses and get ready for supper.But oh, what a change from the day before! What was the matter? Allaround her things looked different. The water had fallen low and thepool was nearly empty. The river, instead of flowing, was as quiet as apond. Horrors! when she swam forward, what should she see but a dyke andfences! An army of horrid men had come, when she was asleep, and built adam. They had fenced round the swamp and were actually beginning to digsluices to drain the land. Some were at work, building a windmill tohelp in pumping out the water.The first thing she knew she had bumped her pretty nose against the dam.She thought at once of escaping over the logs and into the sea. When shetried to clamber over the top and get through the fence, her hair got soentangled between the bars that she had to throw away her comb andmirror and try to untangle her tresses. The more she tried, the worsebecame the tangle. Soon her long hair was all twisted up in the timber.In vain were her struggles to escape. She was ready to die with fright,when she saw four horrid men rush up to seize her. She attempted towaddle away, but her long hair held her to the post and rails. Hermodesty was so dreadfully shocked that she fainted away.When she came to herself, she found she was in a big long tub. A crowdof curious little girls and boys were looking at her, for she was onshow as a great curiosity. They were bound to see her and get theirmoney's worth in looking, for they had paid a stiver (two cents)admission to the show. Again, before all these eyes, her modesty was soshocked that she gave one groan, flopped over and died in the tub.Woe to the poor father and mother at Urk! They came back to find theirold home gone. Unable to get into it, they swam out to sea, neverstopping till they reached Spitzbergen.What became of the body of the Mermaid Queen?Learned men came from Leyden to examine what was now only a specimen,and to see how mermaids were made up. Then her skin was stuffed, andglass eyes put in, where her shining orbs had been. After this, her bodywas stuffed and mounted in the museum, that is, set up above a glasscase and resting upon iron rods. Artists came to Leyden to make picturesof her and no fewer than nine noblemen copied her pretty form andfeatures into their coats of arms. Instead of the Mermaid's Pool is nowa cheese farm of fifty cows, a fine house and barn, and a family ofpink-cheeked, yellow-haired children who walk and play in wooden shoes.So this particular mermaid, all because of her entanglement in thefence, was more famous when stuffed than when living, while all heryoung friends and older relatives were forgotten.

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