_THE LITTLE BOY FROM TOWN_
If you spend all the year in a big town it is a fine thing to have asummer holiday near the sea. Otherwise you never have a chance of makingfriends with the sea-fairies or the mermaids, who are the mostdelightful playmates in the world. You may know all kinds of otherfairies, and be quite intimate with them, but as long as you livenothing can ever make up to you for not knowing the sea-fairies.
Little Michael was eight years old, and he had never met a sea-fairy,for he lived in a great town. Then at last his father and mother and hewent off for a whole month to the seaside. There were sands there, veryhard and yellow and good to make castles with; and there were lonelycaves with dripping walls; and there were heaps of slimy, green seaweed,and shells, and rocks for climbing on. Best of all, there were plenty offairies. Michael made friends with all the fairies of the sea and shore;but his greatest and best friend was a Mermaid who lived in a cave.
The roof of the cave was wet and green, and its floor was pebbly, withhere and there a rock. Every day Michael came and sat on one of therocks and listened to the Mermaid's stories, and to the soft, lappingsound of the little waves. The Mermaid told him such stories as he hadnever heard before, for she had not always been in that cave, but hadswum in deep seas and lived on many shores. She told Michael of placeswhere the sea was warm and green, and the rocks were made of coral, andpalm-trees shaded the mermaids when they played upon the sands. Shetold him too of bitter seas that were made of ice, so that no mermaidcould swim in them; and of towering icebergs shining in the sun; and ofwhite mist-fairies, who turned the hair of mermaids into a shower oficicles. Then she told him of sailors who had been her friends, and howsome of them were sailing far away, and some of them were drowned, andhow all of them were good playmates.
While Michael listened to these stories his eyes were very round andwide open, and often his mouth was open too. He had never enjoyedanything so much before, and he thought it would be dreadful when theday came for him to leave the dancing sea-fairies and the Mermaid'scave, and go back to the big town where he hardly ever saw any fairiesat all. One day he said--
"Mermaid dear, I want something to take back to town with me; somethingto make me remember the sea-fairies and you, and to make me think of thesea for ever and ever."
"Tell me what you want," said the Mermaid, smiling; "and if I can get itfor you, I will."
"Well," said Michael, "it's rather a big thing I was thinking of.Perhaps it's too big to ask for. But you see the Bay is full ofwhite-horses to-day. Do you think you could possibly catch one for me? Ithink if I could take home a white-horse from the Bay, I should rememberthe sea for ever and ever."
The Mermaid slipped off her rock and dived into the deep water. A fewmoments afterwards Michael saw her far out in the Bay, with her hairfloating in the wind, and her tail glittering under the waves. Therewere a great many wind-fairies playing about that morning, and that wasthe reason that the Bay was full of white-horses, for when thewind-fairies are playing on the sea they always ride white-horses.
Michael climbed a high rock and stood on the very top of it, and watchedthe Mermaid. It was grand to see her gliding through the water, chasingfirst one white-horse and then another, diving and darting and dodging,and enjoying herself all the time.
"Quick, quick!" cried Michael. "You nearly had him that time!"
But she was not quick enough, for the white-horse was far out of reacheven as she threw out her white arms to catch his mane.
The chase lasted a long time, for though mermaids can swim better thanmost people, a white-horse on the sea is one of the hardest things tocatch. At last, however, Michael clapped his hands and shouted--
"She's got him, she's got him! Hurrah--now I shall have a white-horse totake home with me, and to make me think of the sea for ever and ever!"
If it had been a fine sight to see the Mermaid chasing the white-horseacross the Bay, it was far finer to see them come prancing back again.The Mermaid was not swimming this time, but riding on the back of theangry white-horse, who plunged and galloped across the Bay, tossing hislong mane. And the Mermaid tossed her golden hair and laughed, becauseshe was enjoying her ride. Michael laughed aloud too, because when thewhite mane and the golden hair streamed up together upon the wind theywere very beautiful to see.
And now a very curious and unfortunate thing happened. The wind-fairiessuddenly grew tired and went to sleep, every one of them. Now when thewind-fairies go to sleep, the white-horses always dive down below thesea and go to sleep too. Before the Mermaid had reached the shore shewas swimming again, for her white-horse had suddenly disappeared andleft her with nothing to ride. He had gone to sleep below the sea untilthe next time the wind-fairies wanted to play.
"Oh, Mermaid dear," cried Michael, "what have you done with my nice newhorse?"
"I am very sorry to tell you," said the Mermaid, lying down on the sandto rest herself, "that he has gone below the sea to sleep. It is reallymost unfortunate, but when a white-horse wants to sleep you can't stophim."
"Oh dear, oh dear," said Michael piteously, for it was a greatdisappointment. "I did so much want to have a white-horse to make methink of the sea for ever and ever."
"Wouldn't anything else do instead?" asked the Mermaid, who was verykind.
Then Michael noticed that every time a little wave reached the shore itbroke on the rocks in a shower of coloured jewels. He pointed to them.
"Bring me some of those, please, Mermaid dear," he said.
So the Mermaid took a large shell, shaped like a saucer, and waited on arock till a little wave came in and sprinkled the rock with jewels. Sheheld out her shell to catch the jewels, but as soon as they touched theshell they changed into water.
"Look," she said to Michael, "the jewels have melted."
"Oh dear," said Michael, "what am I to do? I am going back to townto-morrow, and I have nothing to remind me of the sea!"
"Do you really and truly wish to think of the sea for ever and ever?"asked the Mermaid.
"Of course I do," said Michael.
"Then I will sing you the Sea Song," said the Mermaid, "and after thatthere will be nothing that can make you forget the sea."
So while Michael sat on the rock and looked at the sea, the Mermaid sanghim the Sea Song, which mermaids have sung to sailors ever since thefirst ship was built. It is a song that no one ever forgets. It is likethe voice of the sea calling, calling; and there are many people whohear it always, even in their dreams. If they are people who have tolive in towns, or in country places far from the sea, they are not veryhappy.
When the Mermaid had finished singing, she said--
"Now I have given you something that will make you think of the sea forever and ever."
The next day Michael went back to town. He took with him the sound ofthe Sea Song; and for ever afterwards he heard the voice of the seacalling, calling, even in his dreams.
That was why he became a sailor when he was old enough.
The Gresham Press, UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, WOKING AND LONDON.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Illustrations have been moved to the nearest paragraph break.
Two printer errors have been corrected:
1. On page 26 a missing hyphen was added in the phrase: "Sweet-of-the-Mountain."
2. On page 48 a missing hyphen was added in the phrase: "Then all the sunbeam-fairies shouted...."
In all other cases, the author's original spelling andpunctuation have been left intact.
Fairies I Have Met Page 13
