Long ago, in the tranquil waters of Dutch Fairy Land, there lived a young mermaid famed for her beauty and vanity. Her home lay in a great pool not far from the sea, where fresh and salt water met around an island near a river’s mouth. When the sea tides withdrew, she played joyfully in the soft inland waters. When the ocean surged in again, she floated and frolicked among the salty waves, delighted by the rhythm of both worlds.
Her father, a gray-bearded merman, was proud of her beauty. He owned the island where young mermaids gathered for picnics and dances, welcoming young merrymen only when the moon was full. Her mother and two aunts, serious and well-bred merwomen, cared for the household, ensuring their pool remained clean and peaceful. No frogs, toads, or eels were allowed near, and even loud birds such as gulls or plovers were chased away. The merfolk prided themselves on maintaining a quiet, respectable community, a model of good manners beneath the waters.
It was a humorous sight to see the old merman chasing noisy intruders with a reed switch or whipping away cheeky fish with a lash of seaweed. The storks, however, were welcome helpers and close friends of the mermaids, joining them in keeping the pool pristine.
The mermaids’ gatherings were cheerful and graceful affairs. They basked on the island’s grass, combing their long hair in the sunshine, and talked endlessly about beauty and the best ways to braid their golden or silver tresses. Each carried a tiny mirror how they managed to keep them safe while swimming was a mystery even to other merfolk.
They wove crowns of colored seaweed, orange, blue, and coral red, and adorned themselves with sparkling sea berries and delicate “bubble blossoms.” Sometimes, they knotted seaweed into jeweled belts that shimmered around their slender waists. Every so often, they held contests to crown a Queen of Beauty, with the rest of the maidens pretending to be princesses of the sea. Their games and laughter echoed across the water, filling the pool with joy.
The Mermaids’ Curiosity
These mermaids, though proud of their beauty, were full of curiosity about human beings.
“How funny it must be to wear clothes!” one of them giggled.
“Are they always cold, that they must cover themselves?” asked a tiny mermaid, whose fins were still forming into hands.
“How can they swim with petticoats?” wondered another.
A young mermaid named Silver Scales added, “My brother said real men wear wooden shoes! How strange their feet must feel floating in water, what a pity they don’t have tails like ours.” She admired her own glistening flukes proudly.
“I can’t believe human girls are as pretty as we are,” another said vainly.
“Why would anyone want to walk on legs?” asked a third in disbelief.
One shy mermaid whispered, “I’d like to try it just once to see how it feels.”
A chorus of protest followed:
“No! No! Horrible! Who would trade their tail for legs?”
They laughed about the human customs they had heard of women who scrub floors, milk cows, and dig potatoes, or who must even bind up their hair with pins! The idea was so dreadful that some mermaids gasped in disgust, while others clapped with amusement.
When they learned that humans wore gloves, they burst into laughter. To imitate the idea, one young mermaid slipped pieces of bag-like seaweed over her fingers, pretending to have gloves of her own. Another plucked a foxglove blossom from a nearby bush and slid the red flowers over her fingertips. “Look!” she cried, showing her flowery hands. The others shrieked with delight at the sight.
The Warning
As their laughter faded, a young merman suddenly appeared, splashing through the shallow waters. The tide was low, and he struggled to reach them through the thinning current. His eyes streamed with saltwater tears as he gasped for breath.
The Mermaid Queen, amused and slightly annoyed, asked, “What brings you here, in daylight, among my maids?”
The merman stammered, “Oh, Queen, humans are coming! Men in wooden shoes with spades, pumps, and pickaxes! They mean to drain this pool, turn the river into a canal, and build a great dyke to hold back the sea!”
The mermaids gasped in terror. “Where shall we go?” cried one. “We cannot live in the ocean always, it’s too rough!” Tears of salt water rolled from their round eyes in glittering drops.
But the Queen only frowned. “Nonsense,” she said. “You only mean to frighten us—or perhaps to lure young Silver Scales away!”
Indeed, the Queen suspected the merman’s warning was an excuse to meet his sweetheart, for Silver Scales had long been in love with him. Without a word of thanks, the Queen dismissed him.
That evening, tired from hosting the gathering, the Queen retired to her sea cave. With her parents away visiting relatives near Urk, and no mermen allowed on dark, moonless nights, she felt no reason to wake early.
She slept through the entire night and far into the next day.
The Tragic Awakening
When the Mermaid Queen finally awoke, the sun was setting. She took up her mirror and comb to smooth her golden hair, preparing for supper. But when she rose to swim, a dreadful sight met her eyes.
The pool was nearly dry. The water had receded, the river stood still, and strange fences and timbers surrounded her home. Men were everywhere building a dyke, digging trenches, and raising a windmill to pump out what water remained.
Panic seized her. She darted toward the sea, but as she tried to clamber over the wooden barrier, her long hair became hopelessly entangled between the posts. She struggled and pulled, losing her comb and mirror, but the more she fought, the tighter the tangle grew.
Suddenly, four men rushed forward. Trapped and terrified, the Mermaid Queen fainted.
When she awoke, she was no longer in water but in a large wooden tub, surrounded by curious villagers. Men, women, and children stared and pointed, paying a few coins each to glimpse the captured mermaid. Overwhelmed with shame, she gave a final groan and died of fright.
Her grieving parents, returning from Urk, found their beloved pool destroyed and fled out to sea, never to return.
The Mermaid’s Legacy
Scholars from Leiden University soon came to examine the strange creature. They preserved her body, placing it in a museum, where artists and noblemen admired her beauty. Her likeness appeared on nine noble coats of arms.
The once-glimmering Mermaid’s Pool became a cheese farm, where pink-cheeked Dutch children in wooden shoes now play under the sun, unaware of the shimmering queen who once ruled those waters.
Thus, the Entangled Mermaid became more famous in death than in life, her pride and disbelief forever bound to the fence that caught her.
Moral of the Story
The story of The Entangled Mermaid teaches that vanity and disbelief often lead to downfall. Ignoring wise counsel and clinging to pride can turn beauty into tragedy. True wisdom lies in humility and heeding warnings before it’s too late.
Knowledge Check
- Where did the mermaid live?
She lived in a half-salt, half-fresh pool near the sea in Dutch Fairy Land. - Why did the mermaids dislike humans?
They considered humans strange for wearing clothes, working hard, and binding their hair—things mermaids found laughable. - What warning did the merman bring?
He warned that humans were coming to drain the pool, build a dyke, and turn the river into a canal. - How did the Mermaid Queen become entangled?
While trying to escape over the fence built by men, her long hair became trapped in the wooden posts. - What happened after her death?
Her body was displayed and later preserved in a museum, while her home was turned into a Dutch cheese farm. - What moral lesson does this folktale teach?
It warns against vanity and disbelief showing that ignoring warnings and valuing beauty above wisdom leads to ruin.
Source: Adapted from the Dutch folktale “The Entangled Mermaid.”
Cultural Origin: The Netherlands (Dutch folklore)
