Folk Tales of the Sea People: Contents

Back Cover for Folk Tales of the Sea People, July 2014

Contents

Not all tales have a happy ending. Indeed, not all tales are even conventional. These are Folk Tales of the Sea People, who sang their stories long before we learned to spin our own

Preface and Introduction
In which a modern-day professor comments on the fact science has proved that mermaids to not exist, and Cadogan Browne introduces his compilation with insistence that they do.

Halywn, or A Pinch of Salt
A tale of Selkie-folk in a saltless sea, set upon by a terrible creature--and what they do to defeat him.

A Havsrå's Fortune
The story of a lonely Havsrå, gifted with the ability to see into the future, but cursed that no Human man shall ever remember her face.

Yam and the Octopus
A simple story about a nosy boy and a grumpy octopus.

Golden Scales
In which Glyndwr the Vain learns not to be vain, through rather awful means. (Do note the warning at the beginning of this one).

The Clam Keeper and the Sailor
A story of a Siren and a Human, who meet upon the surface of the sea.

A Pearl for Your Daughter
A cautionary tale about a spoilt young Mermaid.

How Helle Found the Monster
In which a curious Selkie seeks to discover the source of the sea's warmth

The Gentleman Traveller
The tale of a frog-legged, dish-headed and very gentlemanly traveller in search of the ultimate sea-cucumber

The Woman on the Pier
A dramatic tale about a Näkki, an accident, and the troubles that follow.

Three Brothers and a Draug
A story about three identical Siren brothers, who must defeat a wicked Draug.

A Dragon in the Sea
The story of an outcast and angry Dragon, and the Siren girl and Selkie boy who try to help him.

The Wily Old Glashtyn
In which a pretty young Mermaid seeks the help of a wily old Glashtyn to win the heart of a prince.

A Raft on the Lagoon
A tale of Mermaids, Humans, Draugs and not-so-accidental death...

Six Silly Sisters
In which three Siren sisters meet three Human sisters, make a discovery, and prove just how silly people can be. 

The Fish Who Grew Legs
A tale of a Fish who wished to be a Nereid, and how he fared.

Fresh Water and Salt Water
The story of a salt water-dwelling Siren, who fell in love with a fresh water-dwelling Nereid.

That's sixteen stories in all, more than the ten I set out to write!
With regards to the image at the top of this post, it counts towards my goal of creating 52 paintings in a year. It's a simple image, painted with the idea of creating a 'back cover' for this story collection. Unfortunately I managed to bend the paper before I had a chance to scan it, argh!

Fresh Water and Salt Water

Here comes the final story from Folk Tales of the Sea People. 

With this, I conclude one of the goals on The List:

046. Write 10 original stories of 1000+ words

There is an illustration for this story, but this time it's at the end.

So without further ado, I bring you the tale of a siren and a nereid...

Fresh Water and Salt Water

There once was a handsome young man, a Siren like you and I, who was many tides past the age to become married. He had lustrous red hair and shining scales to match, and his fins were dark blue like the twilight sea. His name was Moana.

Everywhere Moana went, women stared and blushed at his handsome appearance, and sometimes some of the men did, too. Many young women lusted for Moana’s attention and the men, envious of Moana’s popularity, looked on in envy. Moana received many proposals of marriage from men and women across the kingdom. He found it most tiring to receive so much attention and turned down each and every request that came his way.

His parents fretted at his reluctance to marry, for in those days marriage was for profit and appearance, and it was deemed improper for a man of Moana’s age to remain alone. Every day they would beg him to choose a bride from the many willing suitors.

They did not know that Moana mourned for a secret love, Melanchor of the Swan People.

The Fish Who Grew Legs

Folk Tales of the Sea People is nearing an end--this is the second to last story! A tale of hope and transformation.

The Fish Who Grew Legs, July 2014

The Fish Who Grew Legs

There was once a large fish. His name was Shui, and he had scales of blue with black stripes, and bright yellow fins. He lived in a sea not far from here, amongst others of his kind and close to a village of Nereids.

Shui envied the Nereids, for they were slender and fast, and had not tails but beautiful legs, which allowed them to walk upon the land, should they wish it.

When Shui watched the Nereids, he thought that he should be one of them. He, too, wanted to play in the water and visit the land. He wished he had legs to wiggle instead of his tail, and thought that surely he should have been born with them. But when Shui told his friends that he wanted to be a Nereid, they laughed at him.

“You cannot be a Nereid,” they said. “For you have no legs, and your face is that of a fish, and your body is that of a fish, and you are fish through and through.”

“My heart is one of a Nereid!” insisted Shui. “Though my body is that of a fish, I cannot change my heart.”

His friends laughed so hard that Shui swam away, sad.

It so happened that a Nereid boy found him. Though Shui was a big fish – bigger than the boy – the Nereid was not afraid, for he knew fish to be gentle.

“Why are you sad?” asked the Nereid.

“Because I have the body of a fish and the heart of a Nereid, and everybody laughs at me,” said Shui.

The Nereid patted Shui’s head. “They’re very mean,” he said. “You can be a Nereid if you want to be.”

“How can I go to the land without legs?” asked Shui.

Six Silly Sisters

Well, it's been a week since I last posted anything from Folk Tales of the Sea People, so it's about time I posted some more, isn't it!
I would have posted sooner, but the past week or so has been busy, and when I've returned home from the various events I've blogged about lately, I've been feeling pretty tired. Gallons of tea is what has been keeping me going lately!

Anyway, without further ado, here is the next story...

Six Silly Sisters, July 2014

Six Silly Sisters

There were once three Siren sisters. Their names were Muirgel, Muirgen and Muiren. Muirgel was the oldest sister, Muirgen was the middle sister, and Muiren was the youngest. The three sisters went everywhere together, and what they liked most was to swim to an inlet where they would meet interesting Land Walkers. Their parents warned them not to go there, for it was a dangerous place, but the sisters paid them no regard.

One day, when they were swimming up the inlet, they met three young Land Walker women who looked almost identical. The young women had taken off their shoes and socks and were paddling in the water.

“Oh look, Muirgen!” said Muiren. “Those three Land Walkers look the same!”

“Let’s go and talk to them,” said Muirgel. She called out from the water, and waved to the young women. “Ahoy!”

A Raft on the Lagoon

Here is the next instalment of Folk Tales of the Sea People. This time, a tale of Mermaids, Humans and Draugs. With regards the illustration, it seems I need more practise with drawing ghostly things upon the water! But the story is much better--I hope you enjoy it.

A Raft on the Lagoon, July 2014

A Raft on the Lagoon

Long ago, not far from here, there was a lagoon, which has long since merged with the sea. Close to that sea there lived a Human sailor, who often sailed upon it with his little raft, which he had built himself. The sailor’s name was Irving, and his heart lay with a lovely Mermaid named Nerissa.

As Irving’s house was so close to the water, Nerissa was happy with the idea of marrying Irving, and when he proposed it so, her parents gave their blessing. Happily, they planned their wedding day, unaware that Irving had a rival for Nerissa’s affections in the shape of his best man, Conway.

Conway was also a sailor, and he was a very jealous man. He decided that he could not allow Irving and Nerissa to marry, for he wanted Nerissa for himself.

So a week before the wedding, when Nerissa had taken a trip away to prepare, Conway sabotaged Irving’s raft.

The Wily Old Glashtyn

Here comes another story from my collection, Folk Tales of the Sea People.
I'm not overly happy with the painting I did for this one, but I'm still posting it as it still counts towards my goal of 52 paintings in a year! I think this picture is the result of what happens when I don't think enough about what I'm doing... Anyway, enjoy the story. It has a few surprises.

The Wily Old Glashtyn, July 2014

The Wily Old Glashtyn

Once upon a time, in a kingdom where Merfolk reigned, there lived a mermaid named Damla. She was young and pretty, and caught the eye of many young mermen, though she held out against their advances for she dreamt of being carried away by a handsome young prince.

Damla prided herself on her pale pink hair, for it was such an unusual colour, and her eyes which were bright blue and looked so splendid. Damla’s scales were like sapphires and her tail supple and curvaceous. Though she did not court vanity over her appearance, Damla knew it was her looks that drew so many men to her. They were rich and clever, handsome and charming, but still she denied their advances, and would not allow a single man to court her. She held out on her hope of a handsome prince, and was caught daydreaming many a time when she was supposed to help with her lady’s laundry.

A Dragon in the Sea

It's been a week since I last posted a story from Folk Tales of the Sea People, so here's the next one...

A Dragon in the Sea, July 2014

A Dragon in the Sea

There was once, long ago, a Dragon, who lived in the sea. His name was Takumi, and though he had great golden scales and long whiskers that were quite admirable, the other folk that lived in that stretch of water disliked him, for the fire within Takumi’s belly made the water quite hot. Whenever he went by, all kinds would swim away, be they shark, Merman, dolphin or Nereid. Takumi was shunned by society, and it made him quite grumpy. He decided that, should anyone cross his path, he would eat them. Takumi thought they deserved it, for rejecting him so unkindly without knowing anything of him.

And so, he became all the more unpopular.

Three Brothers and a Draug

Here comes another story from Folk Tales of the Sea People.

Three Brothers and a Draug, July 2014

Three Brothers and a Draug

There were once three brothers. Their names were Marinus, Pontius and Pelagius, and apart from their names they were identical down to the very last detail. Each had short red hair, each had pale green flesh and glossy, emerald-coloured scales. When they spoke and when they sang, you could not have told the difference. Whether they danced on two legs or swam by tail, they remained perfect copies of each other.

They lived together in a house with three of everything, and had much fun being identical brothers, for it was rare and they were much admired for it. Their identical nature also allowed them to play many tricks, and it is for these tricks that this story is told.

The Woman on the Pier

It's been a little over a week since I last posted a story and painting from Folk Tales of the Sea People.

As mentioned before, this project works towards two goals from The List:

046. Write 10 original stories of 1000+ words
055. Create 52 paintings in 1 year 

Today's story and illustrative painting are named The Woman on the Pier and incorporates the Näkki of Finnish mythology.

This is a story that I nearly didn't share. There are a few stories I wasn't going to post on this blog for various reasons, and this is the one I originally discounted first:

1. The main character is referred to using gender neutral pronouns
   They/their/themself, singular form
2. This story is not suitable for small children.
   Due to certain scenes within

Anyway, here it comes. I hope you enjoy it! :)

The Woman on the Pier, July 2014

The Woman on the Pier

Once upon a time, in an ocean far away, there lived a Näkki. The Näkki-folk are a clever race, for they are able to transform not only their tails to legs, as many races of the sea are able, but they can transform their entire bodies, appearing in a great many forms, without spells or glamour. Most Näkki-folk are known for preferring just a few forms, though each member of the race has a great many choices in how they appear. It is a much-admired ability among all seakind, and although Näkki-folk are solitary souls, they are held in high esteem in all society.

The Näkki of this story went by the name of Maayan, and their favourite forms were that of a handsome Siren man and a curvaceous Human woman. As a Siren, their body was slender and supple and their hair fell in black waves about their shoulders; their scales were blue and their eyes were purple. As a Human, their skin was soft and pale as the moon; their body curved smoothly, as sensual as a calm ocean on midsummer’s night. Their hair was the colour that Humans think of as red and their eyes were green.

Maayan was a happy soul, and lived close to the shore, for on a moonlit night, they liked to go to the land and dance upon the sand.

The Gentleman Traveller

Here's the next instalment of Folk Tales of the Sea People...

The Gentleman Traveller, July 2014

The Gentleman Traveller

In a town not far from here, which was close to the coast of the human-land, there once came a strange-looking traveller. He looked so strange that, as he strolled into town, everybody stopped and stared at him. Two boys, Hai and Kai, swam sneakily after him as he strolled through the streets. The traveller had arms and legs like a human, but his hands and feet were webbed like a frog, and instead of a mouth he had a beak. When he removed his hat (which he did before knocking on the door of the inn) the nosy little boys saw that the traveller had a bald patch upon his head, shaped like a dish.

“A stranger!” said Hai.

“A strange stranger!” said Kai.

The innkeeper came to the door to greet the traveller.

“Forgive my intrusion,” spoke the strange traveller. “I wish to stay in your fair hotel, should you have room for a small and humble wayfarer.”

How Helle Found the Monster

I wasn't going to post another story from Folk Tales of the Sea People for a few days, but my sister asked nicely. (Kind of. Okay, she demanded.) She's feeling rubbish at the moment so I decided to comply!
Feel better, sister!

How Helle Found the Monster, July 2014

How Helle Found the Monster

There was once a girl of the Selkie-folk, who lived in a deep northern sea where the waters never turned cold. Her parents named her Helle, and she was a good and thoughtful child. Ever since she learnt to talk, Helle had asked her parents, “Why is the sea always warm?”

They would answer, “The sea is always warm because beneath it there slumbers a monster with fire in his belly.”

That was answer enough for Helle, until she became a little older and did not believe in monsters anymore. She learnt the ways of the sea, and she learnt of sunlight and magic and other ways in which a person might warm the water, but she could find no answer that satisfied her. An old grandfather had once told Helle that the sea had not always been so warm, and if she should chance to swim far enough east or west, she would find the water became delightfully cold, sometimes cold enough that she would have no choice but to keep her cloak on all day and all night.

Helle liked to think of cold water, for she found the water of her home was sometimes too warm, and she longed for the day that she was old enough to travel far alone, she would seek out the cold waters of the eastern and western north.

Since her parents remained certain that the water was heated by a sleeping monster, Helle sought out the opinions of the grandfathers and grandmothers of her people.

“Why is the sea always warm?” she asked each one.

“There is a monster sleeping beneath the sea. He warms the water with his fiery belly,” said a grandmother.

“Yes,” said another. “He has eyes as bright as the sun and scales so big you could make a roof of one. He is fearsome.”

“It is good for us that he sleeps,” said a grandfather. “For if he did not, we would be in sorry trouble.”

A Pearl For Your Daughter

It's been a few days since the last instalment of Folk Tales of the Sea People, so here's the next story. This time, a cautionary tale...

A Pearl For Your Daughter (July 2014)

A Pearl for Your Daughter

There was once a mermaid queen, who gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter. The queen was very pleased, for she was a pompous lady and only liked the best for her family. Her daughter was the perfect picture of a Mer-child, with golden hair and bright blue eyes, rosy cheeks and glittering green scales upon her tail. The queen named her daughter Mira, and proclaimed that, as the first-born, Mira would become queen of the kingdom after her.

When news spread that an heir had been born, people flocked to the palace to bring gifts and good wishes. The Selkie emissary brought a cloak of fine silver cloth, which would keep Mira warm when the waters turned cold, and help her to walk the Human-land if she chose. A Kappa prince brought an emerald-green cucumber that would never go bad or run out, no matter how much Mira ate, and would taste of any meal she could imagine. When the Siren ambassador visited, he brought music written by the finest composers, especially for Princess Mira. When she sang the special song, Mira would have the power to draw the attention of any man. The Nereids brought a golden circlet which, when worn, would take away a headache. The Swan-folk brought bracelets of silver, inscribed with magic words that when said, would allow the princess to fly. The Vodyanoy brought a pot of magical algae, which would heal any wound, and the Rusalki brought a potion of fish-bones and shells, which would lift any spirits. On and on the visitors came, with their beautiful, magical, wonderful presents.

The Clam Keeper and the Sailor

Here comes story number five in Folk Tales of the Sea People. This was actually the first one I wrote, but when I came to putting them together as a set, I juggled them around a little.

For anyone new to this blog, Folk Tales of the Sea People is a project I started in order to work towards two goals from The List: to write 10 stories of over 1000 words, and to paint 52 paintings in one year (goals number 046 and 055 respectively). Click the link above to read more about the project. It will open in a new window so you can still read this story...

The Clam Keeper and the Sailor, July 2014

The Clam Keeper and the Sailor

Long ago, when land-walkers still sailed the seas in wooden ships with sails, there lived a clam keeper. Her name was Maya, and she dwelt in a house of shells at the edge of the clam fields. Upon her birth, the gods gifted her with great beauty. Her hair was a deep green and fanned about her like a cloak, and her scales were a flawless, iridescent grey which shone like armour. Maya’s eyes were black as the abyss and her tail strong and supple, and she was very much sought after by the men of her tribe. Yet Maya cared little for their promises of countless children and grand houses in the centre of the kingdom’s biggest cities. When she came of age, she left her family and went to tend the clam fields on the outskirts of the kingdom.

Golden Scales

Here comes another Folk Tale of the Sea People, but first a couple of notes...

I'm sorry these paintings and stories have been the only content recently! Although I have some other content to share, I'm still waiting for my image editing software to turn up. Amazon shipped a replacement to me today, so hopefully everything will be back to normal by the middle of the week!

As for this story, I feel I need to put this here:
Warning: contains themes of domestic violence, self harm, and an ending that may be found dissatisfying.
(I wasn't sure whether to post this one or not because of this, but in for a penny...)

Golden Scales, July 2014

Golden Scales

Once upon a time, in an ocean far away from here, there lived a handsome Merman. He was much admired by the Mermaids, and much envied by his fellow Mermen, for his scales were a beautiful, shining gold. His hair was a lustrous green, the colour of seaweed in the sunlight, and his eyes were the colour of jewels. Glyndwr made a fine figure, his torso strong and his arms muscular. He had a great many admirers, and many a woman wished to court him.

But Glyndwr was incredibly vain, and thought them not beautiful enough to be seen at his side. The woman to swim at his side must have a beauty and radiance to match his own, he thought.

Still, Glyndwr enjoyed the compliments and gazes of admiration he gained from other Merfolk, and the wistful sighs he heard whenever he passed by young Mermaids. He ignored the jealous Mermen, who rolled their eyes and called him Glyndwr the Vain.

Yam and the Octopus

Here is the third instalment of Folk Tales of the Sea People, part of goals 46 and 55 on The List!

This time, a curious young boy finds himself in a spot of bother. If only he hadn't been so nosy!

Yam and the Octopus, June 2014

Yam and the Octopus

Long ago, there was a boy named Yam. He lived in a village in the very middle of a deep blue sea, far beneath the surface where humans would one day come to sail. Yam was a thoughtful boy, and was often to be seen floating upon the currents, letting the sea take him where it wished, as he lost himself in his imagination. Yam was the kind of boy who stopped to look at the tiny fish within the plants (indeed, he stopped to look at the plants too). All the other boys in his village raced around as fast as their tails could carry them, but Yam preferred to progress slowly about his day, and to observe everything he could. This also made him a rather nosy boy, and he often spied upon the people of the village. Thus, he was somewhat unpopular.

One day, Yam fell asleep and let the currents sweep him further than they had before, as he was a careless child. When he awoke, he found himself far away from the village. Not knowing which way to go home, Yam decided to make the best of his situation and explore his new terrain, for he could certainly look for his way home later.

He was in an empty place with many black rocks, and as he investigated he discovered a huge cave. Yam was unafraid of the dark and foreboding depths of the cave. He swam in as far as he could before the darkness swallowed the light. But the cave was disinteresting: only plain black rock and shadows. He was about to turn around and swim out again when he heard a quiet murmur.

“Hello?” he called out, hoping it was someone to play with. “Is somebody there?”

The murmur became a grumble, and Yam called out again.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

The grumble became a rumble, so Yam called louder, starting to think there was something amiss.

A Havsrå’s Fortune

Here comes the second story in Folk Tales of the Sea People!
I would have shared this sooner, but I spent the past week trying to troubleshoot my laptop and to spare the technical details, it died and I have a new one now (which arrived today!)

So here it is, story number two, with painting number three...

A Havsrå’s Fortune, June 2014

A Havsrå’s Fortune

There was once a Havsrå, who lived in the waters of the northern shore. She spent her days seated upon the rocks, singing to herself and watching the sea for ships.

The northern shore was dangerous and many a ship had sunk in her time, though through the Havsrå’s aid, very few sailors had lost their lives. Not one of them knew they owed their survival to the Havsrå, for a human would forget her the moment he turned his gaze away: it was part of the Havsrå’s curse.

Halwyn, or A Pinch of Salt

Yesterday, I posted an introduction to my writing/painting project, Folk Tales of the Sea People.
Here comes the first proper story!

Halwyn, or A Pinch of Salt, June 2014

Halwyn, or A Pinch of Salt

There was once a far-away sea that held no salt. It was cut off from the other oceans of the world, surrounded by vast lands that stretched as far as could be seen. To the north loomed huge mountains of grey and white, to the east an endless expanse of green, speckled with little red and white houses in the distance. The south border of the sea met with desert sands, whilst the west was mostly mud and swamp. It is in the west of this sea that this story takes place.

The people lived well there, with a good supply of food and handsome dwellings built into the very bed of the sea. Occasionally the legged ones from the mudlands went onto the sea in boats and sent down their hooks, but on days like that the people kept away from the surface. They were used to the strange ways of the legged ones, and knew the dangers of the hooks and nets.

But it was an unexpected danger that came upon them, not from above, but from below.

Folk Tales of the Sea People

I may have mentioned a little while ago that I have a project to share 'soon'.
This project is now complete, and encompasses two goals from the list!

046. Write 10 original stories of 1000+ words
055. Create 52 paintings in 1 year

This project is called Folk Tales of the Sea People. It's a collection of 'fairy stories' that take a little inspiration from Grimm's fairytales in places. The twist is, these stories are presented as folk tales from people of the sea (hence the title), collected by the fictitious explorer, Cadogan Browne.

Now and again, I'll be posting 10 of these, plus accompanying paintings.
For the time being, here is the 'Preface and Introduction'. Soon I'll be posting the actual stories, too...though I suppose this counts as a story too, as it's entirely fictional...

Folk Tales of the Sea People (cover), June 2014

Haiku Part 2, and Some Houskeeping

Earlier this month, I posted 15 haiku as part of one of my goals on The List.

Now we're at the end of the month, here are the final 15.

16/06/14

Beady-eyed huntsman

Lures worm when his clever feet

Imitate rainfall