Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks , livre ebook

Pub One Info - Elliot Griffis William

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82 pages

English

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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 folks dwelling not far from the sea. Her home was a great pool of water that was half salt and half fresh, for it lay around an island near the mouth of a river. Part of the day, when the sea tides were out, she splashed and played, dived and swam in the soft water of the inland current. When the ocean heaved and the salt water rushed in, the mermaid floated and frolicked and paddled to her heart's content. Her father was a gray-bearded merryman and very proud of his handsome daughter. He owned an island near the river mouth, where the young mermaids held their picnics and parties and received the visits of young merrymen.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	23 octobre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819909415
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE ENTANGLED MERMAID
Long ago, in Dutch Fairy Land, there lived a youngmermaid who was very proud of her good looks. She was one of afamily of mere or lake folks dwelling not far from the sea. Herhome was a great pool of water that was half salt and half fresh,for it lay around an island near the mouth of a river. Part of theday, when the sea tides were out, she splashed and played, divedand swam in the soft water of the inland current. When the oceanheaved 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. Heowned an island near the river mouth, where the young mermaids heldtheir picnics and parties and received the visits of youngmerrymen.
Her mother and two aunts were merwomen. All of thesewere sober folks and attended to the business which occupies allwell brought up mermaids and merrymen. This was to keep their poolclean and nice. No frogs, toads or eels were allowed near, but inthe work of daily housecleaning, the storks and the mermaids weregreat friends.
All water-creatures that were not thought to bepolite and well behaved were expected to keep away. Even some sillybirds, such as loons and plovers and all screaming and fightingcreatures with wings, were warned off the premises, because theywere not wanted. This family of merry folks liked to have a nice,quiet time by themselves, without any rude folks on legs, or withwings or fins from the outside. Indeed they wished to make theirpool a model, for all respectable mermaids and merrymen, for tenleagues around. It was very funny to see the old daddy merman, witha switch made of reeds, shooing off the saucy birds, such as thesandpipers and screeching gulls. For the bullfrogs, too big for thestorks to swallow, and for impudent fishes, he had a whip made ofseaweed.
Of course, all the mermaids in good society werewelcome, but young mermen were allowed to call only once a month,during the week when the moon was full. Then the evenings wereusually clear, so that when the party broke up, the mermen couldsee their way in the moonlight to swim home safely with theirmermaid friends. For, there were sea monsters that loved to plaguethe merefolk, and even threatened to eat them up! The mermaids,dear creatures, had to be escorted home, but they felt safe, fortheir mermen brothers and daddies were so fierce that, exceptsharks, even the larger fish, such as porpoises and dolphins wereafraid to come near them.
One day daddy and the mother left to visit somerelatives near the island of Urk. They were to be gone severaldays. Meanwhile, their daughter was to have a party, her auntsbeing the chaperones.
The mermaids usually held their picnics on an islandin the midst of the pool. Here they would sit and sun themselves.They talked about the fashions and the prettiest way to dress theirhair. Each one had a pocket mirror, but where they kept these,while swimming, no mortal ever found out. They made wreaths ofbright colored seaweed, orange and black, blue, gray and red andwore them on their brows like coronets. Or, they twined them, alongwith sea berries and bubble blossoms, among their tresses.Sometimes they made girdles of the strongest and knotted themaround their waists.
Every once in a while they chose a queen of beautyfor their ruler. Then each of the others pretended to be aprincess. Their games and sports often lasted all day and they werevery happy.
Swimming out in the salt water, the mermaids wouldgo in quest of pearls, coral, ambergris and other pretty things.These they would bring to their queen, or with them richly adornthemselves. Thus the Mermaid Queen and her maidens made a court ofbeauty that was famed wherever mermaids and merrymen lived. Theyoften talked about human maids. "How funny it must be to wearclothes," said one. "Are they cold that they have to keep warm?" Itwas a little chit of a mermaid, whose flippers had hardly begun togrow into hands, that asked this question. "How can they swim withpetticoats on?" asked another. "My brother heard that real men wearwooden shoes! These must bother them, when on the water, to havetheir feet floating," said a third, whose name was Silver Scales."What a pity they don't have flukes like us," and then she lookedat her own glistening scaly coat in admiration. "I can hardlybelieve it," said a mermaid, that was very proud of her fine figureand slender waist. "Their girls can't be half as pretty as we are.""Well, I should like to be a real woman for a while, just to tryit, and see how it feels to walk on legs," said another, ratherdemurely, as if afraid the other mermaids might not like herremark.
They didn't. Out sounded a lusty chorus, "No! No!Horrible! What an idea! Who wouldn't be a mermaid?" "Why, I'veheard," cried one, "that real women have to work, wash theirhusband's clothes, milk cows, dig potatoes, scrub floors and takecare of calves. Who would be a woman? Not I" – and her snub nose –since it could not turn up – grew wide at the roots. She wassneering at the idea that a creature in petticoats could ever looklovelier than one in shining scales. "Besides," said she, "think oftheir big noses, and I'm told, too, that girls have even to wearhairpins."
At this – the very thought that any one should haveto bind up their tresses – there was a shock of disgust with some,while others clapped their hands, partly in envy and partly inglee.
But the funniest things the mermaids heard of weregloves, and they laughed heartily over such things as covers forthe fingers. Just for fun, one of the little mermaids used to drawsome bag-like seaweed over her hands, to see how such thingslooked.
One day, while sunning themselves in the grass onthe island, one of their number found a bush on which foxglovesgrew. Plucking these, she covered each one of her fingers with ared flower. Then, flopping over to the other girls, she held up hergloved hands. Half in fright and half in envy, they heard herstory.
After listening, the party was about to break up,when suddenly a young merman splashed into view. The tide wasrunning out and the stream low, so he had had hard work to getthrough the fresh water of the river and to the island. His eyesdropped salt water, as if he were crying. He looked tired, whilepuffing and blowing, and he could hardly get his breath. The queenof the mermaids asked him what he meant by coming among her maidsat such an hour and in such condition.
At this the bashful merman began to blubber. Some ofthe mergirls put their hands over their mouths to hide theirlaughing, while they winked at each other and their eyes showed howthey enjoyed the fun. To have a merman among them, at that hour, inbroad daylight, and crying, was too much for dignity. "Boo-hoo,boo-hoo," and the merman still wept salt water tears, as he triedto catch his breath. At last, he talked sensibly. He warned theQueen that a party of horrid men, in wooden shoes, with pickaxes,spades and pumps, were coming to drain the swamp and pump out thepool. He had heard that they would make the river a canal and builda dyke that should keep out the ocean. "Alas! alas!" cried onemermaid, wringing her hands. "Where shall we go when our pool isdestroyed? We can't live in the ocean all the time." Then she weptcopiously. The salt water tears fell from her great round eyes inbig drops. "Hush!" cried the Queen. "I don't believe the merman'sstory. He only tells it to frighten us. It's just like him."
In fact, the Queen suspected that the merman's storywas all a sham and that he had come among her maids with a setpurpose to run off with Silver Scales. She was one of the prettiestmermaids in the company, but very young, vain and frivolous. It wasno secret that she and the merman were in love and wanted to getmarried.
So the Queen, without even thanking him, dismissedthe swimming messenger. After dinner, the company broke up and theQueen retired to her cave to take a long nap! She was quite tiredafter entertaining so much company. Besides, since daddy and motherwere away, and there were no beaus to entertain, since it was adark night and no moon shining on the water, why need she get upearly in the morning?
So the Mermaid Queen slept much longer than everbefore. Indeed, it was not till near sunset the next day that sheawoke. Then, taking her comb and mirror in hand, she started toswim and splash in the pool, in order to smooth out her tresses andget ready for supper.
But oh, what a change from the day before! What wasthe matter? All around her things looked different. The water hadfallen low and the pool was nearly empty. The river, instead offlowing, was as quiet as a pond. Horrors! when she swam forward,what should she see but a dyke and fences! An army of horrid menhad come, when she was asleep, and built a dam. They had fencedround the swamp and were actually beginning to dig sluices to drainthe land. Some were at work, building a windmill to help in pumpingout the water.
The first thing she knew she had bumped her prettynose against the dam. She thought at once of escaping over the logsand into the sea. When she tried to clamber over the top and getthrough the fence, her hair got so entangled between the bars thatshe had to throw away her comb and mirror and try to untangle hertresses. The more she tried, the worse became the tangle. Soon herlong hair was all twisted up in the timber. In vain were herstruggles to escape. She was ready to die with fright, when she sawfour horrid men rush up to seize her. She attempted to waddle away,but her long hair held her to the post and rails. Her modesty wasso dreadfully shocked that she fainted away.
When she came to herself, she found she was in a biglong tub. A crowd of curious little girls and boys were looking ather, for she was on show as a great curiosity. They were bound tosee her and get their money's worth in looking, for they had paid astiver (two cents) admissi