The Entangled Mermaid

The Entangled Mermaid

Long ago, when the Dutch coast had many shallow bays, reed marshes, and quiet stretches of water, a family of mermaids lived in a small brackish inlet.

The youngest mermaid was very beautiful. Her long hair floated behind her in the water like a dark silk ribbon, and she loved to sit on a warm stone and admire her reflection.

She knew she was beautiful. Unfortunately, she reminded everyone of it far too often.

“Look how my hair shines!” she would say to her sisters. “Can anyone on shore compare with us, the people of the sea?”

Her sisters laughed, while the older mermaids merely shook their heads.

One summer day, the whole family went to a small green island in the middle of the inlet. The mermaids decorated their hair with seaweed and flowers, while young tritons raced merrily between the reeds.

Toward evening, a young merman swam up to them. He was troubled.

“I heard people on the shore,” he said. “They were saying that they would dig a canal here, build a dike, and drain part of the marsh. They already have shovels, pumps, and great wooden wheels.”

The youngest mermaid laughed.

“People? Those strange creatures in wooden shoes? Let them dig if they wish. What can they do to water?”

“A great deal,” the young merman answered seriously. “They know how to send water where they want it to go. I have seen them build dikes.”

“Do not frighten us with stories,” said the mermaid, smoothing her hair. “Our inlet has always been here.”

The old mermaid mother spoke softly.

“When someone brings news of danger, it is better to listen first and laugh afterward.”

But the youngest mermaid only shrugged.

That night, the wind sighed over the marsh. Somewhere on shore hammers began to knock. Carts rumbled. The people worked even after the moon had risen high.

In the morning, the mermaid woke to a strange sound.

Splash… splash… splash…

The water was sinking.

Where there had been a deep inlet the day before, wet mud now showed above the surface. People had dug ditches, set up a pump, and begun to lead the water behind the new dike.

“We must go to the river!” Mother called.

The mermaids hurried through a narrow channel. The youngest swam after them, but her long hair kept catching on reeds, twigs, and everything in her way.

“Faster!” cried her sister.

The mermaid gave a powerful pull and suddenly found that she could not move.

Her hair had wound itself around a wooden barrier the people had built across the shallow part of the inlet.

She tugged once, then again, but it only became worse.

“Help!” cried the mermaid.

Her family was already far beyond the reeds, and the roar of the pumps made her almost impossible to hear.

Meanwhile, the water sank lower and lower.

For the first time, the mermaid thought neither of her reflection nor of the beauty of her hair. She was afraid.

Then the same young merman appeared near the shore. He had come back to make sure everyone had escaped.

“I am here!” cried the mermaid. “My hair is tangled!”

He swam as close as the shallow water allowed, but the knot was pulled very tight.

People were working nearby. One of them heard a voice, looked around, and stood still. Then he called to the others.

The people had never seen a mermaid so close before. Some whispered in surprise, but the oldest worker noticed how frightened she was.

“First we help,” he said. “We can be amazed afterward.”

He stepped into the water in tall boots, carefully moved aside a board from the barrier, and loosened the rope. Meanwhile, the young merman untangled the strands one by one.

At last, the final lock of hair came free.

The mermaid slipped at once into a deeper ditch.

“Thank you,” she said quietly to the people.

Then she turned to the young merman.

“And thank you. You warned us, and I laughed.”

“The important thing is that you will remember it now,” he replied.

Together they swam to the river, where her family was waiting.

Within a few months, the place had changed completely. Where shallow water had once splashed, dry fields appeared. A windmill’s sails turned above them, and people in wooden shoes walked along the new dike.

The mermaids moved closer to the sea, to a deeper and safer bay.

The youngest mermaid still loved beautiful seaweed and shining shells. She still combed her long hair, but she no longer laughed at other people’s skills or brushed aside warnings.

Whenever someone told her something unusual, she listened first.

Only afterward did she decide whether it was worth laughing about.

And if a windmill could be seen above the sea, the mermaid would smile and say to her sisters, “The world is large. Every people has its own skills. And the greatest wisdom is not to believe that you already know everything.”

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨