Speaker 1: Welcome to Dreamful Podcast, bedtime stories for slumber. I would like to start off this episode by telling you about one of my favorite podcasts, Sound Sleep. Each episode is a beautiful blend of guided meditation and enchanting sleep stories. What truly sets Sound Sleep apart is the breathtaking sound design and Adam's rich, velvety voice, which is the yin to my podcast's yang. I'm not exaggerating when I say his narration feels like a safe, warm hug. So I would love for you to subscribe to Sound Sleep on your favorite podcast player or visit soundsleeppodcast.com for more information. I have also put a link in the show notes.
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Speaker 1: I, like many of you, have been waiting for years for the new Disney movie, the Little Mermaid, to be released, and I am so excited it is finally here. So to celebrate, i will be reading an enchanting tale of a little girl's longing for a life beneath the waves, far removed from the familiar path carved by the Little Mermaid, who longs to be where the people are? So snuggle up in your blankets and have sweet dreams.
Speaker 1: The little girl is a little bit of a nally as she sat frowning and punching holes in the sand one summer morning while the waves came murmuring up on the beach and a fresh wind sang its pleasant song. The little girl loved to bathe so well that she wanted to be in the water all the time and had been forbidden to go into the sea for a day or two because she had a cold. So she ran away from her playmates to sit in sulk in a lonely spot among the rocks. She had been watching the girls fly and float with their white wings shining, as they dipped down or soared away in the sunshine, as she wished her wish. A very large one swept down upon the sand before her and startled her by saying in a hoarse tone, as she stared at its bright eyes, the red ring around its neck and the little tuft on its head.
Speaker 1: I am the king of the goals and I can grant any one of your wishes. Which will you be a fish, a bird or a mermaid? I'll say there are no mermaids, stammer nally, there are only mortals. Cannot see them unless I give the power. Be quick, i don't like the sand. Choose and let me be off, commanded the great goal with an impatient flutter of its wide wings. And I'll be a mermaid, please. I always wanted to see one, and it must be very nice to live always in the water. Done said the goal and was gone like a flash.
Speaker 1: Nally rubbed her eyes and looked about her rather scared, but nothing had happened to her yet and she was just going to complain that the bird had cheated her when the sound of soft voices made her climb the rock behind her to see who was singing down there. She nearly fell off again when she spied two pretty little creatures floating to and fro on the rocking waves, both her long brown hair, green eyes as clear as crystal, pale faces and the sweetest voices Nally had ever heard. But the strange thing was that each little body ended in a shining tail, one all golden, the other all silver scales. Her little chests and arms were as white as foam and they wore bracelets of pearls, strings of rosy shells about their necks and garlands of seaweed in their hair. They were singing as they rocked and throwing bubbles to and fro as if playing ball. They saw Nally in a moment and, tossing a great rainbow colored bubble toward her, cried Come and play. Little friend, we know you and have often tried to make you see us when you float and dive so bravely in our sea. I long to come, but it is so deep there and the waves are so rough that I should be dashed on the rocks.
Speaker 1: And so Nally, charmed to see real mermaids at last, and eager to go to them, we came for you. The King Gold told us to call you. Keep off your clothes and spring down to us, then we will change you and you can have your wish, said the mermaids holding up their arms to her. My mother said I must not go into the sea, began Nally sadly. What is a mother? asked one little sea mate, while the other laughed as if the word amused her. Why don't you know? Don't you have fathers and mothers down there? cried Nally so surprised that she forgot her wish for a moment. No, we are born of the moon and the sea and we have no other parents, said Goldfinn the shining one. How dreadful, exclaimed Nally. Who takes care of you and where do you live? Without fathers and mothers you cannot have any home. We take care of ourselves. All the seas are home and we do as we please. Come, come and see.
Speaker 1: It called Silver Tail, the other mermaid, tossing bubbles like a good juggler till the air was full of them as they sailed away on the wind. Nally was very curious to see how they lived and be able to relate her adventures when she came back, as she was sure she would all safe and sound. So she dropped her clothes on the rock and splashed into the green pool below, glad to show off her swimming. But Goldfinn and Silver Tail caught her and bade her drink of spray that held in their hands. Sea water is salt and bitter. I don't like it, said Nally, holding back. Then you cannot be like us. Drink and in a moment see what will happen", cried Goldfin.
Speaker 1: Nellie swallowed the cold drops and caught her breath, for a dreadful pain shot through her, from her head to her feet, while the mermaids chanted some strange words and waved their hands over her. It was gone in an instant and she felt like a cork floating on the water. She wondered to. Glancing down, she saw that her little white legs were changed to a fishes tail of many colors, which gently steered her along the waves, rippled against her chest Now I'm a mermaid. She cried and looked into the pool to see if her eyes were green, her face pale and her hair like a curly brown seaweed. Nellie, she had her child's face still, with rosy cheeks, blue eyes and yellow curls. She was not disappointed, however, for though she thought it a prettier face than the moony ones of her new playmates, she laughed and said Now you will play with me and love me, won't you?
Speaker 1: What is love? asked Silvertail, staring at her. Why, when people love, they put their arms around one another and kiss and feel happy in their hearts. as for Nellie, trying to explain the beautiful word, how do you kiss? asked Goldfinn curiously. Nellie put an arm around the neck of each and softly kissed them on their cold, wet lips. Don't you like it? Is it sweet? she asked. I feel that you are warmer than I, but I think oysters taste better, said one, And the other added. Mermaids have no hearts, so that does not make us happier. No hearts, cried Nellie, and dismay. Can't you love? Don't you know about souls and being good and all that?
Speaker 1: No laughed, the Mermaids shaking their heads till the drops flew about like pearls. We have no souls and don't trouble about being good. We sing and swim and eat and sleep. Is that not enough to make us happy, dear me, how strange they are, thought Nellie, half afraid yet very anxious to go with them and see more of this curious life of which they have spoken. Don't you care about me at all And don't you want me to stay with you a little while? She asked, wondering how she could get on with creatures who could not love her. Oh, yes, we like you as a new playmate and are glad you came to see us. You shall have our bracelets to wear and we will show you all kinds of pretty things down below, if you are not afraid to come, answered the Mermaids, dressing her in their garlands and necklaces and smiling at her so sweetly that she was ready to follow as they swam away with her far out on the great billows that tossed them to and fro but could not drown or harm them.
Speaker 1: Now Nellie enjoyed it very much and wondered why the fishermen in their boats did not try to catch them till she learned that mermaids were invisible and were never caught. This made her feel very safe and, after a fine game of play, she lent her friends take her by the hand and sink down to the new world below. She expected to find it very splendid, with sea coral trees growing everywhere, palaces of pearl and the ground covered with jewels. But it was dim and quiet. Great weeds fanned to and fro as the water stirred them, shells lay about on the sand and strange creatures crawled or swam everywhere. The green sea water was the sky and ships cast their shadows and clouds over the twilight world below. Several grey-bearded old mermen sat meditating in nooks among the rocks and a few mermaids lay asleep in the great oyster shells that opened to receive them and their beds of seaweed.
Speaker 1: The soft murmur was in the air, like the sound when hearsing shells, and nowhere did Nelly see any toys or food or fun of any sort. Is this the way you live, she asked, trying not to show how disappointed she was, isn't it lovely? Answer Goldfinn, this is my bed and you shall have the shell between Silvertail and me. See, it is lined with mother of pearl and has a soft cushion of our best seaweeds to lie on. Are you hungry, ask Silvertail. Come and have some shrimps for dinner. I know a fine place for them, or oysters if you like them better, nelly was ready to eat anything. The sea air had given her such a fine appetite, so they swam away to gather the pretty pink shrimps and scallop shells, as little girls gather strawberries and baskets. Then they sat down to eat them, and Nelly longed for bread and butter, but dared not say so.
Speaker 1: She was so surprised at all. She saw that this strange, cold lunch was soon forgotten in the wonderful tales. The mermaids told her, as they cracked snails and ate them like nuts, or pulled the green sea apples tasting like pickled limes from the vines that climbed out the rocks. You don't seem to have a very large family. Or have the others gone to a party somewhere, as Nelly, rather tired of the quiet? No, there never are many of us. A new brood will be out soon and then there will be some little mermaids to play with. We will show you the wonder tree if you are done eating, and tell you about it as their silver tail floating away with a wave of the hand.
Speaker 1: Nelly and Goldfin followed to a lonely place where a tall plant grew up from the sand till its branches reached the air above and spread out like floating weeds, covering little pods like those we often snap under our feet as they lie dry upon the beach. Only a few of these will bloom, for there never are many mermaids in the sea. You know, it takes long for the tree to reach the light and it cannot blossom unless the full moon shines on it at midnight. Then these buds open and the water baby swim away to grow up, like us said Silvertail, without any nurses to care for them or mothers to pet them, as Nelly thinking of the pretty baby at home with whom she was so fond of playing. They take care of themselves and when there are too many in one place, the old merman send away some to another ocean. So we get on quietly and there is room for all, said Goldfin contentedly. And when you die, what happens? as Nelly, much interested in these creatures? Oh, we grow older and grayer and sit still in a corner till we turn to stone and help make these rocks.
Speaker 1: I have been told by Barnacle, the old one yonder, that people sometimes find marks of our hands, our heads, our fins in the stone and are very much puzzled to know what kind of fish or animal made the prints. That is one of our jokes, and both the mermaids laugh as if they enjoyed bewildering the wits of the people who were so much wiser than they. With a whisk of their shining tails, the mermaids started away, calling to her Come and play with the crabs is great fun. Nelly was rather afraid of crabs. They nipped her toes when she went among them but having no feet now, she felt braver and soon was having a great time chasing them over the rocks and laughing to see them go scrambling sideways into their holes. The hermit crabs and their shells were curious and the great snails popping out their horns. The sea spiders were very ugly and she shook with fear when the horrible octopus went by With his eight long arms waving about like snakes and his hooked beak snapping.
Speaker 1: Show me something pretty. She begged. I don't like these ugly things. Haven't you any flowers or birds or animals here to play with? Oh yes, here are sea enemies Yellow, red and white, all blooming in their beds And these lovely plants of every color would you call weeds. Then there are the coral trees far away, which we will show you someday, and the sponges on the rocks and many other curious things. As a goldfin leading Nelly up and down to see the only flowers they had, one silver tail said She would like the nautilus boats and the flying fish and ride on the dolphins and whales. Come and let her see that we have birds and animals as well. As she.
Speaker 1: Up they went, and when Nelly saw the lovely red and blue creatures like a fleet of ferry boats floating over the waves, she clapped her hands and cried We have nothing so beautiful on the land, how delicate and fair they are. Won't the wind tear them to pieces and the storms wreck them? Watch and see, answered the mermaids. Well pleased it heard a light and as a gust flew by, every silken sail was furled, the lovely colors vanished and the ferry boats sank out of sight safely to the bottom of the sea. Just then, some fish flew over their heads and splashed down again, while the gulls snapped at them in vain. Those are our birds and here are our horses. People call them porpoises, but we call them dolphins, and have many fine gallop on their backs, said Goldfinn, as the school of great creatures came gamboling by Up spring the mermaids, and went swiftly dashing through the water with high leaps, now and then as their seahorses reared and plunged, tossing their tails and waving their fins as if they enjoyed the frolic.
Speaker 1: Nelly did and wished to ride longer. But a whale appeared and her playmates went to climb on its back and hear the news from the North Sea. It was like a moving island and they sat under the fountain as he spouted water and rolled about lazily basking in the sun after his cold voyage. Don't we have good times? Asked Silvertail, when they slid down the slippery sides of the monster and climbed up again as if coasting Splendid, i like to be a mermaid and have no lessons to study, no work to sew, no nurse to scold me and no mama to forbid my swimming as much as I choose, said Nelly. But as she spoke and looked toward the land now far away, a little pain went through her heart to remind her that she was not a real mermaid and still had a conscience, though she didn't want to listen to it.
Speaker 1: They played all the afternoon, had an oyster supper and went early to bed to get a good nap before midnight because the moon was full and they hoped the wonder tree would bloom before morning. Nelly liked the quiet now and the soft song of the sea lulled her to sleep. The dream of sailing in a nautilus boat till a dreadful cuttlefish came after her and she woke in a fright wondering to find herself lying on a bed of wet weeds in a great shell. Come away, it is time.
Speaker 1: And a lovely night called the Mermaids, and, with several new friends, they all hurried up to watch the buds open.
Speaker 1: When the moon kissed them, the sea shone like silver, the stars seemed to float there as well as in the sky, and the wind blew off the shore, bringing the sweet smell of hayfields and gardens.
Speaker 1: All the sea, people sang as they lay, rocking on the quiet waves, and Nelly felt as if they were the strangest, loveliest dream she had ever dreamed. By and by, the moon shone full upon the wonder tree and one by one out popped the water, babies looking like polywogs, only they had little faces and arms instead of fins. Till dawn they kept in the moonlight, growing fast as they learned to use their little tails and talk in small, sweet voices. But when day came, they all sank down to the bottom of the sea and went to sleep in the shell cradles made ready for them. It was all the care they needed, and after that they had no nursing but did what they liked and let the older ones play with them like dolls. Show me something new. I'm tired of all these plays and sights and toys, nelly said one day, as she and her two playmates sat stringing little silver and rosy shells for necklaces.
Speaker 1: We are never tired, said Goldfinn. You haven't any minds and don't think much or care to know things I do, and I want to learn a little or make someone happy, if I can, said Nelly soberly as she looked about the curious world she lived in and saw what a dim, cold, quiet place it was. Perhaps you would like a wreck? There is a new one not far off, proposed goldfin. A big ship went over a small one and it sank very soon. I thought we might go and see it before it's all spoiled. Things that men make never last very long in our sea. Yes, let us go. I long to see and touch something my people made. Your world is wonderful, but I begin to think my own is the best, for me at least, said Nelly, as they left their pearls and swam away to the wreck, which laid down among the rocks, fast going to pieces. Where are the people, she asked, as they were about to float in all the broken windows and doors? She was very much afraid that she might see some poor drowned creature and it would trouble her. Though the mermaids might not care. They were all saved.
Speaker 1: It was a fruit ship and there were only a few passengers One lady and a child, and some men went away in the boats to the shore but left everything else behind. I'm so glad Cronelli feeling her heart warm in her chest at the good news about the mother and the little child. The ship had been loaded with oranges and the sand was covered with boxes of them, broken open and letting the fruit float to the top of the water. Much was spoiled, but some were still good, and Nelly told the mermaids to taste and see if oranges were not better than salt sea apples. They did not like them but played ball with the golden things till Nelly proposed that they should toss them on shore for the fisherman's children. That suited them, and soon the beach was covered with oranges and the poor little people were running and screaming with delight to pick up the splendid feast.
Speaker 1: I wish there were some pretty things to give them, but there are only the sailors' bags of clothes, all wet, and those are not nice, said Nelly, enjoying this game very much, for she was homesick and longed to hear human voices as she faces like her own. She wanted to do something for someone and be loved a little. So she peeped all about the ship and at last, in one cabin, better than the others, she found the toys and closed the little child and his mother. She was very glad of that and knowing how children love their own things and cry when they are lost, she gathered up all that were not spoiled and made gold, fin and silver tail help her carry them to the shore where people had gathered to save whatever came from the wreck. There was great rejoicing when the small treasures came ashore and they were carried to the house where the lady and the child were.
Speaker 1: This pleased Nelly very much, and even the lazy mermaids found the new game pleasant. So they went on floating things to the beach, even the heavy bags with the poor sailors' wet books and boxes which otherwise would have been lost. No one could see gold, fin and silver tail, but now and then some child would cry out. When Nelly lingered to look and listen through the foam and spray, oh, i saw a face over there, a dear little face, very pretty but sad, and a hand waved at me. Could it be a mermaid? Then some older person would say nonsense, child, there are no mermaids, it is only the reflection of your own face in the water. If Nelly had not been partly human, this could not have happened.
Speaker 1: And though no one believed in her, she took comfort in the thought that she was not all fish and loved to linger where she could see the children at play, long after gold fin and silver tail had grown tired of them and gone back to their own affairs. The longer she stayed, the more sad she grew, for the land seemed pleasanter now than the sea the green, dry, warm land with the flowers and trees, birds and lambs and dear people to love and care for her.
Speaker 1: Even school looked like a happy place, and when she thought of her own home, where mother and baby were, her heart was so full of longing for them that her tears dropped into the sea and she held out her arms, crying sadly. No one answered. No one came and poor Nelly sank sobbing down to cry herself to sleep in her pearl-lined bed, with no good night kiss to comfort her. Every day she longed more and more to go home and grew more and more tired of the sea and all in it. The mermaids could not amuse her nor understand her sorrow, so she went to the wise old barnacle and asked him what she should do to be a child again. No one but the king of the golds can change you. My periwinkle, said the merman, kindly, you must wait and watch for him patiently. He is not seen very often, so it may be years before he comes again. In the meantime, be happy with us and don't fret for that dry land in which we see no beauty.
Speaker 1: Nelly's comforted Nelly a good deal and she spent half her time floating on the waves calling the golds, feeding them and making them her friends, so that they might be sure to tell her when the king came, the mermaids were soon going far away to the South Sea for the winter and begged her to come with them, telling how lovely everything was there, All about the pearl divers, the spice islands, the coral trees and the many wonders of that summer world.
Speaker 1: But Nelly no longer cared for any place but the pretty cottage on the cliff that overlooked the sea, and she was not tempted by any of the fine tales they told. No, i'd rather live here all alone where I can see my own people and home. Even if I wait years and years before the king comes, i know now what a silly child I was to leave everything I was made to use and enjoy and try to be a creature without any soul. I don't care if my heart does ache, i'd rather be as I am than like you, without any love in you or any wish to be good and wise and happy as we are. Goldfin and Silvertail not her very ungrateful after she said that and left her alone. But she did not care for Father Barnacle was to stay as stoned up, as they called her strange way of dying.
Speaker 1: So when all had gone she was very kind to the old Merman who never stirred up his nook, but sat meditating on the hundred years of his life and wondering what would become of the rock He was slowly to grow apart of. Nellie did not want him to die yet, so she brought him nice things to eat, sing to him and asked so many questions that he was forced to keep awake and answer them. Oh, such wonderful stories as he told her. such interesting histories of sea flowers, fishes and monsters, such wise lessons in ties and stars and the mysteries of the great ocean.
Speaker 1: Nellie would sit on a conch shell and listen for hours, never tired of these new fairytales. But she did not forget to watch for the great goal and every day floated near the shore, beckoning every white wing bird that flew by and asking for tidings of the king. At last he came. Nellie was lying on the waves, idly singing to herself, with one hand held up for her pet sandpiper to light upon, when, instead of a little peep, a great silvery bird perched there and looking up, she saw the fiery eye, the red ring about the neck, the crest on the head, and with a joyful splash, she cried out Oh, dear king, give me another wish, a better wish, and let me be a little girl again. Done, said the great goal, waving his wings over her. Will you be contented now? I will. Now, sir Nellie eagerly, sure, you don't want to be a bird, a fish or a mermaid again. Yes, for nothing is so lovely as to be a child Good. And suddenly, clutching her in his strong claws, the girl flew up high in the air as if he were going to take her to his nest.
Speaker 1: Poor Nellie was sadly frightened, but before she could catch her breath to ask what was to happen, the king said in a loud voice remember and let her drop. She expected to be dashed on the rocks below and thought that was to be her punishment, perhaps, but to a great surprise she floated down like a feather and found herself lying on the sand in her own shape and the very clothes she wore when she went away. She lay a moment and joined the comfort of being warm and dry and feeling the dear earth under her. Why, darling, how long have you been asleep? said a voice. Close by and starting up, nellie saw her mother stooping over her while baby was creeping near her to laugh and crow as he peeped into her face to see if she was awake.
Speaker 1: Oh mama, i am so glad to have you again, cried Nellie, holding her mother tight with many kisses. Didn't you think I was drowned? How long have I been away, she asked, looking about her as if bewildered. About an hour. I was not troubled, for I knew you would not break your promise, dear. Then it was a dream, and I haven't been a mermaid, said Nellie. I hope not, for I like my little girl just as she is. Tell me the dream while I smooth away these tangles before we go home. So, sitting on her mother's knee while baby dug holes in the sand, nellie told her adventures as well as she could, for now it all seemed dim and far away and nothing remained clear in her mind but the thought that it was indeed a lovely and happy thing to be a little child with a heart to feel, a mother to love and a home to live in. till we go find the other one, fairer than any on earth or in the sea and and and and the and, the and and And the And the You, you.