| Mermaid |
December 31, 2016
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| Two men were fishing at the seaside. It was a sandy beach. One guy said, "Have you ever seen a mermaid?" The other guy replied, "What? I don't think anybody has seen that type of thing. They only exist in fairy tales. I once watched a TV program which said that a dugong was thought to be a mermaid. Dugongs are similar to seals but their skin is pink, and fishermen mistook a dugong as a mermaid because they missed women from their long time being in a boat fishing." The guy said, "I know a man who once saw a mermaid." The other guy said, "If so, maybe he is just kidding." The guy said, "But his story was concrete because he was a friend of my grandfather's." "Ok. We are kind of free. We haven't caught any fish at all today. Tell me." The guy began: "I heard this story from my grandfather.  When my grandfather's friend was young, he was fishing alone at the seaside in the summer. He was targeting flatfish, like us. And, like us, his result was not good up until that time. Suddenly, the small bell on his rod's tip rang.As it was subtle at first when the bell rang, he thought it was a tiny fish. But the sound of the bell became bigger and firmer. He grabbed the rod out from the rod stand. He felt a heavy tug in his hands. It was the first time that he felt something this heavy. He thanked God he had chosen a thick line, expecting a huge fish, like us now." The other guy nodded uncomfortably. "He was careful. He didn't draw the rod with force because there was a chance the rod would break; it was that heavy. He sometimes let the line free to make the fish tired from swimming. He repeated drawing the line and loosening the line. He could tell the fish was getting weaker and weaker. And after a period, he grabbed the line with both of his hands and started to draw. The fish came nearer and nearer, and finally it came to the surface. And he saw that it was not a fish, something like woman." The other guy was completely drawn in by his story and was waiting for the next word. The guy continued: "It was a mermaid. The mermaid's upper part was human-like but the lower part wasn't like a fish like in fairy tales. She had legs. But different from a human body, her legs were covered with scales like a fish. And different from the old tales, her hands had webs. He thought that maybe her webbed hands obstructed her to take out the hook from her body. The hook pierced her upper lip, and blood oozed out from there. It looked painful. He took out the hook carefully from her lip. The mermaid thanked him very much for his gentleness. The mermaid was young and beautiful, and more importantly she had legs and could walk, he took her to his apartment and they lived happily ever after." "Wait!" The other guy cried out, "It means the guy got married to the mermaid?" "I heard from my grandfather they had three kids." "No kidding. I don't believe it." "Maybe you have a chance to get married to a mermaid, if you catch one. You are single. If she is young and beautiful, why not?" The guy thought a little bit and said, "In the first place, why did the mermaid get hooked. Was she attracted by the bait on the hook? In that case after the marriage, they might have eaten bait for dinner every night. I'll give up getting married to a mermaid even if she is young and beautiful." "It makes sense." They laughed. Suddenly the bell of one of the rods rang subtly, and then it became louder. The two men looked at each other and smiled. It was a hot fine day. The waves were calm. The wind was refreshing. The sound of the bell was ringing lightly in the air. |
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*dugong :W S
*seal :AUV
*tip :ζ[
*tug :’ψ«
*scale :ER
*web : ©«