"'Don't you recollect how you danced with the mermaids?' he asked.
"'I don't know what you mean,' said the bride. 'I think that you must
have dreamed a strange dream last night.'
"If I show you your seal skin, you'll probably believe me!' laughed the
fisherman, promptly turning the boat toward the islet. They stepped
ashore and he brought the seal skin out from under the stone where he
had hidden it.
"But the instant the bride set eyes on the seal skin she grasped it and
drew it over her head. It snuggled close to her--as if there was life in
it--and immediately she threw herself into the stream.
"The bridegroom saw her swim away and plunged into the water after her;
but he could not catch up to her. When he saw that he couldn't stop her
in any other way, in his grief he seized his spear and hurled it. He
aimed better than he had intended, for the poor mermaid gave a piercing
shriek and disappeared in the depths.
"The fisherman stood on the strand waiting for her to appear again. He
observed that the water around him began to take on a soft sheen, a
beauty that he had never seen before. It shimmered in pink and white,
like the colour-play on the inside of sea shells.
"As the glittering water lapped the shores, the fisherman thought that
they too were transformed. They began to blossom and waft their
perfumes.
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