Storytelling Week 6: The Miniature Mermaid

Once upon a time, a young man loved to spend all of his time at the beach. His name was Ian, and he made sandcastles, collected shells, and took long walks up and down the shore. But most of all, he snorkeled in the shallow waters to look at the sea creatures. Fish darted past colored all the shades of the rainbow. Tiny crabs clicked their claws at him, and pink sea anemones waved in the gentle water.

Ian was obsessed with the placid nature and tiny stature of the sea life he observed, and the only thing he wanted in the world was to become like the sea creatures he watched.

One day, after he had slipped on his mask and snorkel, he was skimming through the shallow water when he saw a new creature, one he had never laid eyes on before. But he knew what he was looking at because he'd heard his grandmother tell stories about them.

 

(Image Information: "Portrait of a Mermaid" by CaperGirl42.)

 The miniature mermaid wore shimmering shells in her iridescent hair, and where her legs should have been, she had a green-scaled tale. She was the most beautiful sea creature Ian had ever laid eyes on.

The mermaid acted as though she wanted to speak to him but was afraid of his giant-like size. And so Ian got an idea. If he could only shrink his body down to her size, then surly they would fall in love and live happily ever after! Ian tried to explain this genius plan to her before waving and swimming off.

Back on shore, he knew who he needed to speak to about his situation. His grandmother's knowledge of mermaids was extensive, but she was also quick to make a potion to heal your ailments.

Ian hurried to his grandmother's house to explain his predicament. His grandmother's white hair was combed into a neat bun, and she listened attentively as he spoke.

Once he had finished his tale of true love, his grandmother said, "My dear Ian, what should happen if I shrink you, and then this mermaid doesn't fall in love with you? Will you be happy in the ocean alone?"

That thought hadn't even crossed Ian's mind. He was young, muscled, and handsome. Why wouldn't she fall in love with him? But to appease his grandmother, he enthusiastically told her yes because he loved to watch the sea creatures before he even met the mermaid.

With that, his grandmother presented him with a shrinking potion and gave him a hug goodbye. Ian hurried back to the white sand beaches and the clear blue waters. He swallowed the vial of blue potion in one gulp, and instantly, he shrunk down to three inches tall.

Gleeful, he hopped in the water and swam to find his mermaid love. Once he spotted her, he waved frantically. She swam up to him, her eyebrows crinkled.

"Why did you become so small?" she asked.

"I became small because I had to tell you I was in love with you," Ian said.

"With me?" she asked.

He nodded vigorously.

"Well, if you're in love with me, then you should fetch me something to eat."

Ian happily went and found her some seaweed to eat. When he returned, she had another task for him. On and on this continued, until the mermaid had entirely changed Ian's conception of what true love was. He now believed that he was put on this earth to serve his mermaid day and night, and he was happy to do so.

In the end, Ian got what he wanted because he became small like the sea creatures he adored, and the mermaid got what she wanted because she was tired of always having to do her chores. But no one was in love with anyone else.

Author's Note: This story is very loosely based on The Labors of Yamato, in which he finds a woman in a sea grotto and falls in love with her. She says he must prove his love by finding the golden apple. This proves very difficult for him, but once he finally accomplishes it, he brings it to her. In return she steals his sword, and never loves him, and Yamato returns to his wife. The Labors of Yamato is part of The Romance of Old Japan, Part 1: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

I chose to tell this story in Ian's awestruck manner about the sea life because the creatures are so beautiful. My main goal was to paint a picture of the ocean in the reader's mind. I chose to keep the way the mermaid tricked the man, but I removed the man's wife as a character because I didn't like that she was cheated on.