The Mermaid and the Unfaithful Andrew

Here’s a story about young Andrew, who was loved by a mermaid. Andrew lived on the northernmost coast of Scotland. One morning, as he walked along the seaside road, he heard someone singing. It was very early, and Andrew didn’t expect to meet anyone on the shore.

At first, he thought it was the sound of the waves. He stopped, listened, and again heard the singing. But when he looked around, he saw only white walruses playing in the sea. However, after walking a bit further, he noticed someone sitting on a rock at the far end of the bay.

As he approached, to his surprise, he discovered it was a mermaid.

She was combing her long hair with a mother-of-pearl comb and singing. Her voice was as melodious as a nightingale’s! Her hair shone brighter than yellow buttercups. Her skin was whiter than sea foam, and her eyes greener than the ocean depths.

Andrew saw her face in the mirror she held in her hand. He quietly crept up behind her and hugged her tightly. She cried out, dropped the mother-of-pearl comb and the mirror, and turned to face Andrew.

From that moment on, they fell in love.

The mermaid promised Andrew she would return to the same spot the next day and, with a flick of her tail, disappeared into the sea.

The next morning, she emerged from the water and handed Andrew what he thought was a handful of colorful glass pieces.

"Here, take this," she said. "It’s a gift from me, so you know how much I love you."

Andrew looked at what she had given him—they were real amethysts and rubies, sparkling and glowing in the morning sunlight.

"Where did you get these?" Andrew asked.

"I found them when I swam past sunken ships lying at the bottom of the Pentland Firth," the mermaid replied.

A few days later, Andrew went to a nearby town and sold all the precious stones. His neighbors were amazed at how suddenly his life had changed. He bought a bigger house, dressed in fine clothes, indulged in expensive food, and drank imported wines.

He met with the mermaid almost every day, and she grew more attached to him. But he lived too extravagantly, and his wealth vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"I need more precious stones," he told the mermaid. "Is there anything left in the Pentland Firth?"

She swore to him that there were as many stones there as there were shiny scales on her tail, and on the day of their next meeting, she poured topazes that burned like a tiger’s eyes, sapphires as blue as a Siamese cat’s eyes, and emeralds greener than her mermaid sisters’ eyes onto his lap.

"You’re so generous!" Andrew exclaimed. "And so beautiful!" he added, embracing her tenderly.

However, the richer Andrew became, the more time he spent drinking with friends and neighbors, and the less time he spent with his beloved mermaid.

One day, she brought him a whole handful of diamonds.

"I don’t even know how to thank you!" said the delighted Andrew. "They’re as clear as dewdrops!"

"No," the mermaid shook her head. "As clear as the tears I’ll shed if you stop loving me," she said sadly.

Andrew already had plenty of money from selling the precious stones, so he decided to save the diamonds. He only gave a few to beautiful ladies to win their favor. They had the diamonds made into brooches, rings, and earrings and boasted about them to each other.

When Andrew next met the mermaid, she reproached him for his infidelity.

"Oh, Andrew!" she said reproachfully. "Why are you giving my gifts to other women?"

Andrew vehemently denied it, but that very evening, he gave the largest diamond to the most beautiful lady in the area.

The mermaid scolded him again, and they quarreled. The mermaid was deeply hurt. At first, she grieved, but then she decided: no, she wouldn’t let her earthly rivals take Andrew from her.

One day, when Andrew came to the seaside at the appointed time, he saw an empty rock—this time, the mermaid wasn’t waiting for him as usual. Andrew sat on the rock himself and waited for a long time, thinking she would appear any moment.

Suddenly, he saw a fancy boat sailing toward him from the west. It cut through the smooth surface of the water like sharp scissors through silk, quickly approaching him. The mermaid sat at the bow. She called out to Andrew, and he jumped from the rock into the sea, swam to the boat, and climbed aboard.

"You used to come to me without a boat," Andrew said.

"I want to take you away with me," the mermaid replied.

"Thank you, but I’m not sure I want to go with you," Andrew said; he was quite content with his current wealthy life.

"I would take you to Duncansby Head," the mermaid promised.

"I don’t want to go to Duncansby Head," Andrew said.

"There, in a cave," the mermaid continued, ignoring her lover’s rudeness, "I keep all the treasures I once found in the Pentland Firth. The precious stones I brought you are just a glimpse of those untold riches, and they’re all stored in the cave at Duncansby Head."

"Are you telling the truth?" Andrew asked skeptically. "Maybe you’re spinning tales to lure me in?"

The mermaid assured him she wasn’t making anything up and that she was telling the truth. The story of the untold riches completely dazzled the young man, and Andrew agreed to go with her.

Although the boat had no sails or oars, it flew forward as if by magic, and soon they arrived at a huge cave. The mermaid dropped a silver anchor and invited Andrew to step off the boat and descend into the dark cave.

Andrew suddenly felt drowsy, and upon entering the cave, he lay down on the sandy floor, rested his head on a stone, and fell asleep. He didn’t know how long he slept, but when he woke up, a moonbeam stretched from the entrance through the entire cave, illuminating piles of glittering precious stones piled in the far corner.

Andrew immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the corner, already calculating in his mind how many stones he could carry away. But as he plunged his hands into the pile of cold, burning diamonds, he suddenly noticed that his wrists were shackled with a thin but strong golden chain, long enough to let him reach the treasures but not long enough to let him leave the cave.

In despair, he looked around, searching for the mermaid. She was sitting on a thick log covered in seaweed at the entrance to the cave.

"Why have you chained me?" Andrew asked. "Is this a joke?"

The mermaid shook her head.

"I don’t trust you anymore," she said. "You broke the invisible chain of our love. But this golden chain cannot be broken. Now you are mine forever…"

And so, the mermaid punished young Andrew for his infidelity.

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The Mermaid and the Unfaithful Andrew

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