THE MERMAID'S CHILD
IN the rocks on the seashore, left bare by the tide, one often findstiny pools of water fringed with seaweed and padded with curious moss.These are the cradles which the Mermaids have trimmed prettily for thesea-babies, and where they leave the little ones when they have to goaway on other business, as Mermaids do. But one never spies thesea-children in their cradles, for they are taught to tumble out andslip away into the sea if a human step should approach. You see, thefishes have told the Mer-folk cruel tales of the Land-people with theirnets and hooks and lines.
In the softest, prettiest little cradle of all a Sea-child lay oneafternoon crying to himself. He cried because he was lonesome. Hismother did not love him as a baby's mother should; for she was thesilliest and the vainest of all the Mermaids. Her best friend was herlooking-glass of polished pearl, and her only care was to remain youngand girlish. Indeed, she bore her thousand-odd years well, even for aMermaid. She liked the Sea-baby well enough, but she was ashamed to havehim follow her about as he loved to do, because she imagined it made herseem old to be called "Mer-mother" by his lisping lips. She never hadtime to caress or play with him; and finally she forbade him ever tospeak to her unless she spoke first. Sometimes she seemed to forget himaltogether, as she left him to take care of himself, while she sat onthe rocks combing her long green hair, or playing with the giddy Mermenin the caves below the sea.
So while the other sea-people sported or slept and were happy, her poorlittle Sea-child lay and cried in the green pool where the sea-anemonestickled his cheek with their soft fingers, seeking to make him laugh,and the sea-fringe curled about the scaly little tail which, like afish, he had in place of legs. On this particular afternoon he wasparticularly lonesome.
"Ahoo!" he sobbed. "I am so unhappy! Ahoo! I want some one to love mevery much!"
Now a kind old Stork was sitting on a rock above the baby's head,preening his feathers in a looking-glass pool. He heard the Sea-child'swords, and he spoke in his kind, gruff voice.
"What is the matter, little one?" he asked.
At first the Sea-child was surprised to be addressed by a land bird. Buthe soon saw that this creature was friendly, and told him all histrouble, as babies do. "Tut tut!" said the Stork, frowning. "YourMer-mother needs a lesson sadly."
"What is a lesson?" lisped the Sea-child.
But the Stork was busy thinking and did not reply at once. "How wouldyou like a change?" he asked after a time.
"What is a change?" asked the baby, for he was very young and ignorant.
"You shall see," answered the Stork, "if you will take my advice; for Iam your friend. Now listen. When next you hear a step upon the rocks donot stir from your cradle, but wait and see what will happen." Withoutanother word the Stork flapped away, leaving the baby to stare up at theblue sky with the tears still wet upon his cheeks, wondering what theStork could have meant.
"I will not stir," he said to himself. "Whatever happens I will wait andsee."
It was the Stork's business to bring babies to the homes where babieswere needed; and sometimes it was very hard to find babies enough. Evennow he knew of a house upon the hill where a boy was longing for alittle brother to play with. Every night Gil mentioned the matter in hisprayers; every night he begged the Stork to bring him a playmate. Butthough the Stork had hunted far and wide through all the land he couldnot find a human baby to spare for the cottage on the hill. Now he had ahappy idea.
With his long legs dangling he flew swiftly up towards the hill; andhalfway there he met the boy wandering about sulkily all alone. TheStork had never before spoken to this boy, because he well knew what Gilwanted, and he hated to be teased for what he could not give. So,though he had listened sadly to the boy's prayers, by day he had keptcarefully out of sight. But now he came close overhead, and settlingdown stood upon one leg directly in Gil's path.
"Good-afternoon," he said. "I think I have heard you say that you wanteda little brother."
Gil was surprised to have a Stork address him like this, but he wasstill more pleased at the happy word. "I do! Oh, I do indeed!" he cried.
"Would you make a good brother to him?" asked the Stork.
"Oh yes!" answered the boy eagerly. "A very good brother I should be."
"H'm," said the Stork. "One never can tell about these boys. I think youare selfish and jealous. But a little brother may be a good thing foryou. In any case, there is little for him to lose. Will you be so goodas to come with me?"
Without another word the Stork flew up and away toward the beach,leaving Gil staring. This certainly was a most extraordinary bird! ButGil soon decided to follow him and see what would happen, for who couldtell what the Stork's mysterious words might mean?
Presently, lying in his little cradle, the Sea-child heard the sound offeet scrambling up the rocks,--the sound he had been taught to fear morethan anything in the world. It was his first thought to flop out of thecradle, over into the sea below; and he half turned to do so. But in amoment he remembered the Stork's last words, and although he wastrembling with fear he remained where he was.
Soon over the top of the rock peered the face of the boy, Gil of thehill cottage, looking straight down into the pool where the Sea-baby laysnugly on the seaweed.
"Oh!" cried the boy, with round black eyes fixed upon the baby's roundblue ones. "Oh!" cried the Sea-child. And it would be hard to say whichof the two was more astonished. For to a Sea-child the sight of aclothed, two-legged land-boy is quite as strange as a naked littlefish-tailed infant is to a human. But after the first look neither feltafraid, in spite of the terrible tales which each had heard of theother's kind. They stared wistfully at each other, not knowing what todo next, until the Stork came forward and spoke wise words.
"You, land-boy Gil," he said, "you want a little brother, do you not?"Gil nodded. "And you, Sea-child, want some one to love you? I think Ican manage to please you both. But first you must kiss each other."
Gil hesitated. He was a big boy of five or six, too old for kissing.Moreover the Sea-child looked cold and wet and somewhat fishy. Butalready the red lips of the little fellow were pouted into a round O,and the sad blue eyes were looking up at him so pleadingly that Gil bentlow over the watery cradle. Then two little soft arms went about hisneck, and Gil felt the heart of the Sea-child thump happily against hisown.
"Very good," said the Stork approvingly.
The Sea-child could not stand, on account of having no feet, but he layin his pool holding Gil's hand.
"Now the change is coming," went on the Stork, and as he spoke the babybegan to fall asleep. "In twelve hours," he said to Gil, "he will becomea tiny human child, and I shall carry him to the house on the hill,where he will find a loving family awaiting him. Look! Already he islosing the uniform of the sea," and he pointed at the Sea-child's fishytail. Sure enough, the scales were falling away one by one, and alreadythe shape of two little chubby legs could be seen under the skin, whichwas shrinking as a tadpole's does before he becomes a frog. "When thistail is wholly gone," declared the Stork, "he will forget what we havesaid to-night. He will forget his sea-home and the caves of theMer-people. He will forget that he was once a Sea-child; and no one willever remind him. For only you, Gil, and I shall know the secret."
"And I shall never tell," declared Gil.
"No, surely you will never tell," answered the Stork gravely, "for ifyou tell that will be the end of all. You will lose the little brother,and you will be sorry all the rest of your life. Do not forget, Gil. Donot forget."
"I shall not forget," said Gil.
Again they looked at the Sea-child, and he had fallen sound asleep,still holding Gil's hand. Now there was scarcely anything of the fishleft about his little pink body; he was growing younger and younger,smaller and smaller.
"You must go home now, Gil," said the Stork. "Go home and go to bed. Andto-morrow when you wake there will be a little brother in the house, andyou ought to be a very good boy because you have your wish."
&
nbsp; Gil gently loosened the Sea-child's hand and ran home as the Stork badehim, but said no word of all this to any one.
Now early in the morning the Stork came to the house on the hill,bringing a rosy little new baby which he laid on the bed beside Gil'smother, and then flew away. What a hullabaloo there was then, to besure! What a welcome for the little stranger! Gil was not the only onewho had longed for a new baby in the house, and this was the prettiestlittle fellow ever seen. Loudest of all cheered Gil when he saw thepresent which the Stork had brought. "Hurrah for my little new brother!"he cried. "Now I shall have some one to play with." That was Gil's chiefthought: now he would have some one to play with.
They called the baby's name Jan. And from the first little Jan was veryhappy in his new home. He was happy all day in his mother's arms; happywhen his foster-father came home at night and tossed him high to theceiling; happiest of all when Gil held him close and begged him to hurryand grow up, so that they could play together.
Little Jan did hurry to grow up, as fast as health and strength andhappiness could make a baby grow. He grew bigger and bigger, handsomerand handsomer, the finest baby in the village, and his family loved himdearly. Every day he became more of a playmate for Gil, whom he admiredmore than any one in the world. Gil petted and teased the little fellow,who, as soon as he could walk, began to follow him about like a faithfuldog. Grand times the brothers had together then. They dug in the sand onthe seashore, and scrambled about the cliffs. They rowed out in theharbor boats with hooks and lines, and played at being fishermen liketheir father, who sailed away early and came home late. They grew biggerand sturdier and handsomer, and their parents were very proud of themboth, the finest lads in all the country round.
The years went by, and during all this time Jan never dreamed the truthwhich only Gil and the Stork knew about the bargain made at the sea-poolcradle. To Jan, indeed, the sea was full of strange thoughts which werenot memories but were like them. He loved to look and listen alone uponthe water, or in the water, or by the water. Gil often caught himstaring down into the blue waves, and when he raised his head therewould be a puzzled look in the little fellow's blue eyes, as though hewere trying to solve a riddle. Then Gil would laugh; whereat the wrinklewould smooth itself from Jan's forehead, and a smile would come abouthis mouth. He would throw his arm about his brother's shoulder,saying,--
"What strange thing is it, brother, that the old sea does to me? I thinksometimes that I am bewitched." But Gil would only laugh again, thinkinghis own thoughts. It gave him a pleasant important feeling to know thathe was the keeper of Jan's secret.
Meantime what had become of the Sea-baby's forgotten mother? What wasthe pretty Mermaid doing in her home under the waves? She was learningthe lesson which the Stork had meant to teach.
At first she had not greatly missed the Sea-baby, having other things tointerest her in the lovely world where she lived. But as the sea-dayswent by she began to find the grotto which had been their pretty home avery lonely place indeed. She missed the little fellow playing with theshells and starfish on the floor of shining sand. She longed to see himteasing the crabs in the crevices of the rocks, or tickling thesea-anemones to make them draw in their waving fingers. She missed theround blue eyes which used to look at her so admiringly, and the littlehands which had once wearied her with their caresses. She even missedthe mischievous tricks which the baby sometimes used to play upon hismother, and she would have been glad once more to see him running awaywith her pearly mirror, or with the golden comb with which she combedher long green hair.
As she watched the other sea-children playing merrily with the fishesthe lonely Mermaid grew very sad, for she knew that her own baby hadbeen the prettiest of them all, and she wondered how she could ever havebeen ashamed of him. The other mothers were proud of their darlings, andnow they scorned her because she had no little one to hold her mirrorwhen she made her toilet, or to run her errands when she was busy atplay. But the poor Mermaid was too sad to play nowadays. She no longertook any pleasure in the gay life which the Mer-folk lived beneath thewaves. She wandered instead here and there, up and down the sea,calling, calling for her lost baby. The sound of her sobbing came fromthe sea at morning, noon, and night.
She did not know her child's fate, but she feared that he had beencaptured by the dreadful Men-folk, who, so her people said, were everseeking to snare the sea-creatures in their wicked nets. Day after daythe unhappy Mermaid swam along the shore trying to see the places wherethe Men-folk dwelt, hoping that she might catch a glimpse of her lostdarling. But that good hap never befell her. Indeed, even if she hadseen Jan, she would not have known her baby in the sturdy boy dressedall in blue, like the other fisher-lads. Nor would Jan have known hismother in this beautiful creature of the sea. For he had quite forgottenthe Mermaid who had neglected him, and if he thought of the Mer-folk atall it was as humans do, with wonder and with longing, and yet withfear.
Now the good old Stork who had first meddled in these matters kept oneeye upon the doings in that neighborhood, and he had seen the sorrowfulMermaid wandering lonely up and down the shore. He knew it must be theSea-child's mother, sorry at last for her long carelessness. As theyears passed he began to pity the poor creature; but when he foundhimself growing too soft-hearted he would shake his head firmly and sayto himself,--
"It will not do. She is not yet punished enough, for she was very cruel.If now she could have her baby again she would soon be as thoughtless asever. Besides, there is my promise to Gil. So long as he keeps thesecret so must I."
But one day, several years later, when the Stork was flying over theharbor, he spied the Mermaid lying upon a rock over which the wavesdashed merrily, and she was weeping bitterly, tearing her lovely greenhair. She looked so pretty and so forlorn that the bird's kind heart wastouched, and he could not help stopping to comfort her a bit. Flyingclose to her head he said gently,--
"Poor Mermaid! What is the matter?"
"Oh, oh!" wailed the Mermaid. "Long, long ago I lost my pretty littleSea-child, and he is not to be found anywhere, anywhere in the wholesea, for I have looked. I have been from ocean to ocean, from pole topole. Oh, what shall I do? He is on the land, I know he is, and thewicked humans are ill-treating him."
The Stork spoke slowly and gravely. "Was he so happy, then, in hissea-home? Did you love him and care for him very dearly?"
"No, no!" sobbed the Mermaid. "I did not love him enough. I did not makehim happy. I neglected him and found him in the way, till one day hedisappeared, and I shall never see him again. Oh, my baby, my littleSea-child!"
The Stork wiped a tear from his eye. "It is very sad," he said. "Butperhaps it will comfort you to know that he is not far away."
"Oh!" cried the Mermaid, clasping her hands. "You know where he is? Youwill bring him back to me? Dear, dear Stork! I will give you a necklaceof pearls and a necklace of coral if you will bring my baby to meagain."
The Stork smiled grimly, looking down at his long neck. "A necklace ofpearls and a necklace of coral!" he repeated. "How becoming they wouldbe!" Then he grew grave once more and said: "I cannot return your childto you, but I can tell you something of him. He is indeed among thehumans, but he is very happy there. They love him and he loves them, andall is well--so far."
"Oh, show him to me that I may take him away!" cried the Mermaid.
YOU WILL BRING HIM BACK TO ME?]
But the Stork shook his head. "No, no, for you deserted him," he saidsolemnly; "now he has another mother in yonder village who loves himbetter than you did. He has a brother, also, whom he loves best of all.You cannot claim him so long as he is happy there."
"Then shall I never see him again, wise Bird?" asked the Mermaid sadly.
"Perhaps," answered the Stork. "If he should become unhappy, or if thesecret should be betrayed."
"Ah, then I must be again a cruel mother and hope that he may becomeunhappy," sobbed the Mermaid. "I shall look for him every day in theharbor near the village, and when his face is sad I
shall claim him formy own."
"You will not know him," cried the Stork, rising on his wings andflapping away. "He wears a disguise. He is like a human,--like any otherfisher-boy; and he bears a human name."
"Oh, tell me that name!" begged the Mermaid.
But the Stork only cried, "I must not tell. I have told too muchalready," and he was gone.
"Oh, then I will love all fisher-boys for his sake," sobbed theMermaid as she dived down into the sea. "And some day, some day I shallfind him out; for my baby is sure to be the finest of them all."
Now the years went by, and the parents of Gil and Jan were dead. The twobrothers were tall and sturdy and stout, the finest lads in the wholecountry. But as their shadows grew taller and broader when they walkedtogether across the sand, so another shadow which had begun to fallbetween them grew and grew. It was the shadow of Gil's selfishness andjealousy. So long as Jan was smaller and weaker than he, Gil was quitecontent, and never ceased to be grateful for the little brother who hadcome to be his playmate. But suddenly, as it seemed, he found that Janwas almost as big as himself; for the boy had thriven wondrously, thoughthere were still several years which Jan could never make up. Gil wasstill the leader, but Jan was not far behind; and Jan himself led allthe other boys when his brother was not by. Every one loved Jan, for hewas kind and merry, while Gil was often gloomy and disagreeable. Gilwanted to be first in everything, but there began to be some things thatJan could do better than he. It made Gil angry to hear his brotherpraised; it made him sulky and malicious, and sometimes he spokeunkindly to Jan, which caused the blue eyes to fill with tears. For, bigfellow though he was, Jan was five years younger, and he was a sensitivelad, loving Gil more than anything else in the world. Gil's unkindnesshurt Jan deeply, but could not make him love his brother less.
Both boys were famous swimmers. Gil was still the stronger of the two,and he could outswim any lad in town. As for Jan, the fishermen declaredthat he took to the water like a fish. No one in all the village couldturn and twist, dive and glide and play such graceful pranks, flashingwhitely through the waves, as did Jan. This was a great trouble to Gil,who wished to be foremost in this as in everything else. He was aselfish fellow; he had wanted a playmate to follow and admire him. Hehad not bargained for a comrade who might become a rival. And he seemedto love his brother less and less as the days went by.
One beautiful summer day Gil and Jan called together the other boys, thebest swimmers in the village, and they all went down to the bay to swim.They played all sorts of water-games, in which the two brothers wereleaders. They dived and floated and chased one another like fishesthrough the water. Jan, especially, won shouts of applause for hiswonderful diving, for the other boys liked him, and were proud of him,glad to see him win. This again made Gil jealous and angry. Jan divedonce more and remained under water so long that the boys began to fearthat he would never come up; and in his wicked heart Gil half hoped thatit was to be so. For it had come about that Gil began to wish he had nobrother at all. So different was he from the boy who made the eagerbargain with the good old Stork.
At last Jan's head came out of the water, bubbling and blowing, and theboys set up a cheer. Never before had any one in the village performedsuch a feat as that. But Jan did not answer their cheers with his usualmerry laugh. Something was troubling him which made him look strange tothe others. As soon as he reached the shore he ran up to Gil andwhispered in his brother's ear a curious story.
"Oh, Gil!" he cried. "Such a strange feeling I have had! Down belowthere as I was swimming along I seemed to hear a strange sound like acry, and then, surely, I felt something cling close to me, like softarms. Gil, Gil, what could it have been? I have heard tell of theMermaidens who are said to live in these waters. Some even say that theyhave seen them afar off on the rocks where the spray dashed highest.Gil, could it have been a Mermaid who touched me and seemed to pull medown as if to keep me under the water forever? I could hardly draw away,Gil. Tell me what you think it means?"
Gil was too angry at Jan's success to answer kindly. He sneered,remembering the secret which only he and the Stork knew.
"There are slimy folk, half fish and half human, people say. The lessone has to do with them the better. I think you are half fish yourself,Jan. It is no credit to you that you are able to swim!" So spoke Gil,breaking the promise which he had once given.
On the minute came a hoarse cry overhead, and a great Stork flapped downthe sky, fixing his sharp eyes upon Gil, as if in warning.
"Why, how strangely the Stork acts!" cried Jan.
Gil bit his lip and said no more, but from that moment he hated hisbrother wickedly, knowing that the Stork was still watching over thechild whom he had taken from the sea.
But Jan had no time to ask Gil what he meant by the strange words whichhe had just spoken, for at that moment several of the boys came runningup to them. "Ho, Gil! Ho, Jan!" they cried. "Let us have a race! Come,let us swim out to the Round Rock and back. And the winner of this raceshall be champion of the village. Come, boys, make ready for the race!"
Gil's face brightened, for he had ever been the strongest swimmer on thebay, and now he could afford to be kind to poor Jan, whose blue eyeswere clouded and unhappy, because of Gil's former harsh words andmanner.
"Ho! The race, the race!" cried Gil. "Come, Jan, you can dive like afish. Now let us see how you can swim. One, two, three! We are off!"
The boys sprang, laughing, into the water. Jan needed but a kind wordfrom his brother to make him happy again. Off they started for the RoundRock, where the spray was dashing high.
The black heads bobbed up and down in the waves, drawing nearer andnearer to the rock. Gradually they separated, and some fell behind. Thelads could not all keep up the gay strokes with which they had begun therace. Four held the lead; Boise and Cadoc, the lighthouse-keeper's sons,Gil, and Jan.
Almost abreast they rounded the rock, and began the long stretch back tothe beach. Soon Boise began to fall behind. In a little while Cadoc'sstrength failed also. They shouted, laughingly, that they were fairlybeaten, and those who were on shore began to cry encouragement to thetwo brothers, who alone were left in the race.
"Gil! Jan! Oh, Gil! Oh, Jan! Hasten, lads, for one of you is thechampion. Hurrah! Hurrah!"
Gil was in high spirits, for he was still in the lead. "Hurry, littlebrother," he cried, "or I shall beat you badly. Oho! You can dive, butthat is scarcely swimming, my fine lad. You had better hurry, or I win."
And Jan did hurry. He put forth all his strength as he had never donebefore. Soon the black heads bobbed side by side in the water, and Gilceased to laugh and jest, for it was now a struggle in good earnest. Heshut his teeth angrily, straining forward with all his might. But pushas he would, Jan kept close beside. At last, when within a few yards ofthe beach, Jan gave a little laughing shout and shot through the waterlike a flash. He had been saving his strength for this,--and he had won!
The other boys dragged him up the beach with shouts and cheers ofwelcome to the new champion, while Gil, who had borne that title for solong, crawled ashore unaided.
"Hurrah for Jan!" they cried, tossing their caps and dancing happily,for Jan was a great favorite. "Hurrah for the little brother! Now Gilmust take the second place. You are the big brother now!" And theylaughed and jeered at Gil,--not maliciously, but because they werepleased with Jan.
Jan ran to Gil and held out his hand for his brother's congratulations,but Gil thrust it aside. "It was not a fair race!" he sputtered."Unfair, unfair, I vow!"
The others gathered around, surprised to see Gil so angry and with suchwild eyes.
"Gil, oh, Gil! What do you mean?" cried Jan, turning very pale. "Why wasit not a fair race, brother?"
"Brother! You are no brother of mine!" shouted Gil, beside himself withrage. "You are a changeling,--half fish, half sea-monster. You werehelped in this race by the sea-people; you cannot deny it. I saw onepush you to the shore. You could not have beaten me else. Every oneknows that I am the bet
ter swimmer, though I am no fish."
"Nonsense!" cried Boise, clapping Gil on the shoulder with a laugh. "Youtalk foolishness, Gil. There are no sea-folk in these waters; those areold women's tales. It was a fair race, I say, and Jan is our champion."
But Jan heeded only the cruel words which his brother had spoken. "Gil,what do you mean?" he asked again, trembling with a new fear. "I was nothelped by any one."
"Ha!" cried Gil, pointing at him fiercely, "see him tremble, see hisguilty looks! He knows that I speak true. The Mermaid helped him. He ishalf fish. He came out of the sea and was no real brother of mine, but aMerbaby. A Mermaid was his mother!"
At these words a whirring sound was heard in the air overhead, and asecond time the Stork appeared, flapping across the scene out to sea,where he alighted upon the Round Rock. But Gil was too angry even tonotice him.
"Gil, Gil, tell me how this can be?" begged Jan, going up to his brotherand laying a pleading hand upon his arm.
But Gil shook him off, crying, "It is true! He is half fish and thesea-folk helped him. It was not a fair race. Let us try it again."
"Nonsense!" cried the other boys indignantly. "It was a fair race. Janneed not try again, for he is our champion. We will have it so."
But Jan was looking at Gil strangely, and the light was gone out of hiseyes. His face was very white. "I did not know that you cared so much towin," he said to Gil in a low voice. Then he turned to the others. "Ifmy brother thinks it was not a fair race let us two try again. Let usswim once more to the Round Rock and back; and the winner shall bedeclared the village champion." For Jan meant this time to let hisbrother beat. What did he care about anything now, since Gil hated himso much that he could tell that story?
"Well, let them try the race again, since Jan will have it so," criedthe boys, grumbling and casting scornful looks at Gil, who had neverbeen so unpopular with them as at this moment.
Once more the two sprang into the waves and started for the Round Rock,where the spray was dashing merrily over the plumage of the Stork as hestood there upon one leg, trying not to mind the wetness which he hated.For he was talking earnestly with a pretty Mermaid who sat on the rockin the surf, wringing her hands.
"It is he! It is he!" she cried. "I know him now. It is the lad whomthey call _Jan_, the finest swimmer of them all. Oh, he dives like afish! He swims like a true Sea-child. He is my own baby, my little one!I followed, I watched him. I could hardly keep my hands from him. Tellme, dear Stork, is he not indeed my own?"
The Stork looked at her gravely. "It is no longer a secret," he said,"for Jan has been betrayed. He who is now Jan the unhappy mortal boy wasonce your unhappy Sea-baby."
"Unhappy! Oh, is he unhappy?" cried the Mermaid. "Then at last I mayclaim him as you promised. I may take him home once more to our fairsea-home, to cherish him and make him happier than he ever was in allhis little life. But tell me, dear Stork, will he not be my own littleSea-child again? I would not have him in his strange, ugly human guise,but as my own little fish-tailed baby."
"When you kiss him," said the Stork, "when you throw your arms about hisneck and speak to him in the sea-language, he will become a Sea-childonce more, as he was when I found him in his cradle on the rocks. Butlook! Yonder he comes. A second race has begun, and they swim this way.Wait until they have turned the rock, and then it will be your turn. Ah,Gil! You have ill kept your promise to me!"
Yes, the race between the brothers was two thirds over. Side by side asbefore the two black heads pushed through the waves. Both faces werewhite and drawn, and there was no joy in either. Gil's was pale withanger, Jan's only with sadness. He loved his brother still, but he knewthat Gil loved him no more.
They were nearing the shore where the boys waited breathlessly for theend of this strange contest. Suddenly Jan turned his face towards Giland gave him one look. "You will win, brother," he breathed brokenly,"my strength is failing. You are the better swimmer, after all. Tell thelads that I confess it. Go on and come in as the champion."
He thought that Gil might turn to see whether he needed aid. But Gilmade no sign save to quicken his strokes, which had begun to lag, for intruth he was very weary. He pushed on with only a desire to win theshore and to triumph over his younger brother. With a sigh Jan saw himshoot ahead, then turning over on his back he began to floatcarelessly. He would not make another effort. It was then that he sawthe Stork circling close over his head; and it did not seem so verystrange when the Stork said to him,--
"Swim, Jan! You are the better swimmer; you can beat him yet."
"I know; but I do not wish to beat," said Jan wearily. "He would onlyhate me the more."
"There is one who loves you more than ever he did," said the Storkgently. "Will you go home to your sea-mother, the beautiful Mermaid?"
"The Mermaid!" cried Jan; "then it is true. My real home is not upon theshore?"
"Your real home is here, in the waves. Beneath them your mother waits."
"Then I need not go back to that other home," said Jan, "that home whereI am hated?"
"Ah, you will be loved in this sea-home," said the Stork. "You will bevery happy there. Come, come, Mermaid! Kiss your child and take himhome."
Then Jan felt two soft arms come around his neck and two soft lipspressed upon his own. "Dear child!" whispered a soft voice, "come withme to your beautiful sea-home and be happy always." A strange, drowsyfeeling came over him, and he forgot how to be sad. He felt himselfgrowing younger and younger. The world beyond the waves looked unrealand odd. He forgot why he was there; he forgot the race, the boys, Gil,and all his trouble. But instead he began to remember things of awonderful dream. He closed his eyes; the sea rocked him gently, as in acradle, and slowly, slowly, with the soft arms of the Mermaid about him,and her green hair twining through his fingers, he sank down through thewater. As he sank the likeness of a human boy faded from him, and hebecame once more a fresh, fair little Sea-child, with a scaly tail andplump, merry face. The Mer-folk came to greet him. The fishes dartedabout him playfully. The sea-anemones beckoned him with enticingfingers. The Sea-child was at home again, and the sea was kind.
So Gil became the champion; but that was little pleasure to him, as youcan fancy. For he remembered, he remembered, and he could not forget. Hethought, like all the village, that Jan had been drowned through hisbrother's selfishness and jealousy. He forgave himself less even thanthe whole village could forgive him for the loss of their favorite; forhe knew better than they how much more he was to blame, because he hadbroken the promise which kept Jan by him. If he had known how happy theSea-child now was in the home from which he had come to be Gil'sbrother, perhaps Gil would not have lived thereafter so sad a life. TheStork might have told him the truth. But the wise old Stork would not.That was to be Gil's punishment,--to remember and regret and to reproachhimself always for the selfishness and jealousy which had cost him aloving brother.