Week 9 Story: The Fisherman and the Mermaid

Life as a fisherman is difficult and unpredictable, especially for those who can catch only enough to support their family. For these fisherman, a simple mistake can put their wives and children in danger of starvation. Perhaps this will explain why, when he dropped the bulk of his catch in the murky Gulf of Guinea, a certain fisherman made the daring decision to dive down and look for it underwater.

Struggling to keep his eyes open in the water, he dove down and down until he thought he would have to resign and come up for air. Suddenly, though, a sweet note of music shot through the deep waters like a ray of sunlight. Enraptured by the sound, he forgot about oxygen for just a moment, which was long enough to push deeper underwater and break through a barrier into fresh air.

Stunned, relieved to breathe again, and a little unsure of whether he was dead or alive, the fisherman almost became deaf to the music encircling him. But when he regained his senses, he looked down to see the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen singing with a voice like honey.

He slowly floated down, closer to the mermaid. She had green eyes and green hair that extended in many directions like seaweed. She held a lyre, which she strummed softly as she sang, tilting her head and occasionally closing her eyes.

Mermaid. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The mermaid’s song was unintelligible to the man. He wondered if mermaids had their own language and whether they would be able to speak. As if to answer his question, she ended her song and said, “You’ve been listening to my song for a long time now. It is time for you to ascend again, but I will be happy to share my music at your next visit. However, you must promise never to tell anyone else about me.”

The fisherman could only nod, so enchanted and shocked was he by the mermaid. She pointed toward a golden staircase, which he used to return to his boat. Forgetting all about his lost catch, he paddled to shore in a trance.

After their first encounter, the fisherman came back every day to see the mermaid. He would boldly jump out of his boat and into the water, swimming down as fast as he could until he heard the music and felt the sweet relief of air in his lungs. Every day as he left, she would remind him of her request that he never speak of her to others.

The mermaid was very kind to sing for the fisherman day after day. She preferred to sing for herself and didn’t want a spectacle to be made of her, but she generously shared her voice, sometimes for hours each day.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the fisherman to take the mermaid’s gift for granted. He began to stay for longer and longer, and he expected the music rather than asking for it. In his greed for her music, he started to worry that she wouldn’t always be in their spot, ready to sing for him. One day, he hid a chain and key under his shirt and quickly chained her to the staircase while her eyes were closed in song.

As he ascended the staircase, she grabbed his ankle and said, “I will not be your show pony. I sing because there is a song in my heart, but if you take away my freedom and try to control me, I will no longer be able to sing. Please let me go.”

The fisherman replied, “You’ve sung for me all these days and you’ll continue to. I feel as if I’ll die without your voice; you can’t take away your song now.”

After that, the mermaid only sang because the fisherman forced her to. Her eyes grew dimmer with each note, and the joyous beauty that made her song so enchanting was gone, although the fisherman refused to acknowledge this.

Even with the mermaid in chains and singing constantly, the fisherman was still unsatisfied. Despite his promise to her, he wanted to show off his mermaid to his friends. One day, he boasted to them that he had his very own mermaid who sang in a foreign language at his command. Of course, none of his friends believed him, but he offered to take them out on his boat and let them see for themselves.

The mermaid, who now never sang for herself, heard many voices above her and realized that the fisherman had broken his promise – her only request. Suddenly, she was no longer forlorn and lifeless, but filled with more anger than she had ever felt. I gave so much of myself, she thought, and I only asked for one thing! But it wasn’t enough to listen to my music; he had to own it.

The men jumped into the water, some more hesitantly than others, and began to follow the fisherman deeper underwater. But before they could reach the fresh air, a storm started to blow. The water swirled wildly, blurring the men’s vision and sweeping them left and right.

“He’s crazy!” shouted one of the men. “He brought us out here so we would all drown together!” Startled, and with the wind pushing them down, the men scrambled for the boat. Believing that the fisherman was trying to kill them, they kept him out of the boat and paddled toward shore.

The storm grew greater and greater in intensity, and the fisherman could not stay afloat. He gasped for air, but the waves pushed him farther and farther down. As he drew his final breath, he heard a sweet voice singing in his language, the mermaid’s last gift to him:

Nothing is ever enough for woman or for man

They’re never content to observe, but always have a plan

To control, to own, to make their own,

Which is why they always end up alone.

Author's Note: This story is based on a West African folktale called "The Hunter and the Tortoise," which is about a hunter who finds a singing tortoise. She sings the same lyrics over and over: "It is man who forces himself on things/Not things which force themselves on him." He comes back to hear her song many times, and eventually he convinces her to come back to his house and sing for him there. She only asks that he will not tell anyone about her. He tells the people of his village about his tortoise, and when they don't believe him, he bets his life that he can prove his claims. He brings the turtle to a gathering the next day against her will, and she does not sing. After the villagers kill the man, she speaks. The people are horrified that they killed an honest man, but the tortoise explains that he brought his death upon himself by taking her from her home and denying her one request, none of which he had to do. I changed the main characters to a fisherman and a mermaid, and I changed the circumstances of the fisherman's death. I also slightly modified the moral of the story: I took "It is man who forces himself on things" to mean that people tend to make the mistake of forcing themselves on others, which has disastrous consequences for everyone involved. I focused more on the aspect of control and manipulation and less on the idea that we make our own consequences.

Bibliography: "The Hunter and the Tortoise" from West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. Link to the reading online.