Hello and welcome to all my sleepy little listeners on this beautiful starry night.
I'm going to tell you a story that you might not have heard before.
And it's a story from long,
Long ago.
On a little island far,
Far away.
Where once upon a time.
There lived a fisherman called Finlow.
Findle lived in a thatch cottage.
Right on the edge of the sea.
His thatched roof was as bright as gold.
And the walls of his cottage were as white as the winter snow.
Now when Finlo wasn't out in his fishing boat,
He was busy working in his fields or in his garden.
Where the waves washed up to the tall fuchsia hedge.
And on stormy days tried to get right in.
His pansies and wallflowers and roses grew bright in the sea air.
And in springtime,
The scent of the apple trees floated out over the ocean.
And in autumn.
.
.
The apple trees were heavy.
With shiny,
Red,
Delicious apples.
And whether Finlow was digging the garden or milking the black cow.
Or sewing the cord.
Or cutting the hay.
Or mending the fishing nets.
He was always singing.
Because he was as happy as the day was long.
I rise when the sun does and I sleep with the moon.
I'll work as the day is long and I'll not rest too soon.
For I am happy and I am free living by the sea and I am The day is long,
That's why I sing my song But I'm sad to say,
There came an end to all of this.
For one summer.
Finlow got a spell of bad luck at the fishing.
Every time he went out to look for the silver herring,
He came back.
With an empty nest and an empty bush.
And when this happened for a whole summer,
Day after day.
And week after week.
You may well believe,
Finlo couldn't sing anymore.
For the joy he held in his heart.
Had vanished.
One bright moonlit night,
He went out to smoke his little pipe under the apple trees,
And listened to the whisper of the wind and the talk of the sea.
The way he would maybe find out what kind of weather there would be for the next day's fishing.
When all of a sudden.
.
.
He heard a voice.
Very low and very quiet.
Finlow.
If you choose stealth,
That's it.
It is,
It is,
" said Findo.
But who's asking for me at this time of the night at all?
Don't ask who I am,
But come over here and answer my few questions,
" said the sweet,
Kind voice.
But I can't see any person,
" said Finlo.
Over here,
Finlaw,
Over here,
By the fuchsia.
Finlow leaned over into the shadows.
And he saw a flash of purest white.
And a glistening gleam of gold in the water below.
He gasped.
I believe well.
It's pink.
A mermaid I'm talking to,
" he said.
His mother had always said when he was a small boy that there was a mermaid living down at the edge of the tide.
And now on this moonlit night,
Finlo believed.
This story could be true.
I used to be coming here every day,
Finlow,
To listen to your beautiful singing,
" said the mermaid.
Indeed,
There was nothing I liked better.
And how is it you're never giving us a bit of a song now at all?
Oh well,
Said Finlaw.
I'm not feeling much like singing in the times that's in.
And he began to tell the mermaid how he went out in the bush every day.
And couldn't find the silver herring anywhere.
Gone off wandering in the seas they are.
Nobody knows where to find them,
" he said.
But who am I talking to at all?
And he shook his head.
Never mind that,
Finlow.
Just listen,
" said the mermaid.
If I tell you where to find the silver herring,
Will you promise me to sing your songs again?
Oh,
Too true I will,
Said Finlo.
I'll be as happy as the day is long then.
And if you can tell me where to find the silver herring.
Then I knew.
You must be a magical mermaid.
Well.
The mermaid did tell Finlow her secret.
And sure enough,
The next day he came back to shore with his boat full and his nets bursting at the seams.
Later that night,
He went out into the garden to thank the mermaid.
And is there anything you would fancy from the garden now?
He asked her.
A few roses maybe?
Well,
Said the mermaid.
Since you mentioned it been long,
I've often thought I would like to taste an apple from one of your trees.
The blossom smells so sweet in spring and then in autumn the apples look all red and shiny like jewels or rubies.
Oh,
Well,
You can have as many as you like,
" said Finlow.
And there and then,
He picked a basket of the best fruits from his trees.
The mermaid enjoyed the apple so much.
That she often came back for them.
And you can imagine that from that time on.
Finn Law was always lucky at the fishing.
Sometimes he would return to shore with so much fish that he would go around the village.
Delivering to his friends and neighbours,
Who were all so grateful for his kindness and generosity.
One day,
Finlow decided to give the mermaid an apple tree all for herself.
And so he planted one by the garden wall,
Just at the edge of the lapping tide.
In spring,
She could catch the petals of the blossom as they floated down.
And in autumn,
She could reach up out of the shallows and gather an apple from her own tree.
Now,
All this as I told you.
Happened long,
Long ago.
And of course,
Finlow's little cottage is no more to be seen.
But the tree he planted is there today.
And some people say that on moonlit nights the mermaid still comes.
And gathers her apples.
When the moon is shining bright On a starry,
Starry night when the children are asleep That's when I come from the deep and visit my apple tree.
When the children are asleep.
That's when I come from the deep.
To visit my apple tree Good night everybody and have the sweetest dreams.
