John Reed and the Mermaid
John Reid was a merchant and shipowner. Loading his large sloop with goods, he sailed in any weather from the shores of northern Scotland to Holland and back.His business thrived, he quickly grew wealthy, and he would have felt completely happy if not for...
If not for an unfortunate love.
He had fallen in love with the beautiful Ellen Stewart but was afraid to confess his feelings to her. It seemed to him that she would never love him in return.
And so, one day, upon returning from a voyage at the end of April, he passionately wished to catch even a distant glimpse of Ellen Stewart. He knew that on the first of May, she would go with her friends to gather May dew—a local custom.
On that day, he rose early and, not knowing what to do with himself, went for a walk along the seashore.
One by one, the night stars faded, the sun rose, casting a fiery trail on the water. But John Reid noticed nothing around him and did not see how beautiful the sunrise was. He thought only of the beautiful Ellen, and she alone stood before his eyes.
As he climbed a high cliff, he suddenly heard someone singing. John Reid glanced at the sea, thinking perhaps it was a lone fisherman amusing himself with an early song.
No, the sea was empty, only the wet head of a seal emerged from the water and froze, as if the seal, too, was entranced by the song.
Only when John Reid finally rounded the cliff did he see who was singing. A young girl. She sat on a rock, her feet dipped in the water. Her white shoulders and back were hidden by thick, long hair. But then she rose from the rock, and John Reid had to shield his eyes with his hand—so brightly did her scaly tail glisten in the sun.
"It's a mermaid!" John Reid realized.
He wanted to leave unnoticed, without disturbing her, but then he remembered that mermaids possessed the magical gift of granting mortals' wishes. Perhaps she would agree to give him Ellen Stewart's love?
Quietly and stealthily, John Reid crept up to the mermaid, but she turned around and, seeing a human, let out a loud cry. Ah, one more moment, and she would have slipped into the water, and then farewell to all his dreams and hopes.
But John Reid managed to embrace her tightly, and though the mermaid struggled with the strength of a seal, he did not release her from his arms. His hands ached from the strain, and eventually, the mermaid would have broken free, but the thought of the beautiful Ellen gave him strength, and he did not give up.
The mermaid grew tired of struggling and asked:
"What do you want from me, human?"
And in her soft voice, there was both the tenderness of a songbird and the cold of the ocean depths.
"The fulfillment of three wishes!" John Reid quickly replied, remembering that this was the correct answer to such a question.
"Name them," said the mermaid.
"My father," John began, "was a sailor like me. But he drowned in the sea. So, my first wish is that none of my friends, nor I myself, should meet such an end. My second wish is that my business should continue to prosper. And my third: that Ellen Stewart, whom I dearly love, should return my love."
"Release me, and all will be granted," said the mermaid.
John Reid loosened his grip, and the mermaid, with a flick of her glittering tail, disappeared into the sea. He wiped the sea spray from his face and, filled with hope, climbed to the top of a green hill where he hoped to meet the beautiful Ellen.
And—oh, wonder!—she was already there, sitting on the grass with her friend, right at the spot that, by chance or not, was called the Lover's Leap.
Well, it seemed fate was beginning to smile upon the brave sailor.
"It's John Reid! What a fortunate meeting!" exclaimed Ellen's friend. "And Ellen just told me about a dream she had last night. Imagine, she dreamed she was gathering May dew, but the grass and bushes were completely dry, and she collected only a few drops, when suddenly she heard someone singing on the shore, over there, beyond the cliffs. She went down and saw you on the shore by the sea, asleep, and next to you, a beautiful maiden. Ellen was afraid the surf would carry you away, but then you woke up, rose, and began gathering dew with her. She wanted to get a better look at the beautiful maiden, but she was already far out at sea, bobbing on the waves like a white seagull. And then Ellen suddenly heard: drip-drip-drip—it was the dew falling from the bush you were shaking, right into her bucket."
"That's exactly how it was," Ellen confirmed. "But the strangest thing isn't that, but when we passed by those cliffs this morning, we heard the same song as in my dream. And now all that's left is for you to fill my bucket with dew!"
And she laughed, and John Reid laughed with her.
"Believe me, it was a magical song," he said. "And I know who sang it. A mermaid! I spoke with her."
"You spoke with a mermaid?" Ellen's friend exclaimed in horror. "Oh, unfortunate man! Do you know that the last time she was seen near our shore was by your father, before that terrible storm in which he drowned."
John noticed how Ellen paled at her friend's words and quickly said:
"Don't fear for me! The mermaid is not a threat to me. I subdued her, and she promised to grant my three wishes."
And he told them everything. Well, not quite everything: he kept the third wish to himself. But by the sparkle in Ellen's eyes, he saw that she guessed. She listened to him and admired him, imagining the danger he had faced for her sake, and love crept into her heart.
They returned home together, hand in hand.
And at the next May festival, Ellen and John were married.
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