Hello,
My name is Rachel and my country is Scotland.
A country rich in legends and folklore.
Long ago Scots folk told stories to entertain one another around the hearth and bring families and communities together.
Scotland has a rugged and mysterious landscape which acts as a wonderful backdrop to tales involving magical creatures such as dragons,
Fairies,
Water horses known as kelpies and selkie seal women.
In my stories I will draw in elements of these traditional yarns told for hundreds of years but also add my own twist.
So please get comfy and coorie in,
Close your eyes and come with me to Scotland.
Now this story is called Merida the mermaid.
And it is set on Ulva Island which is a wild world away from the civilisation of the Scottish mainland.
On Ulva we meet a crofter called Donald McFadden who lived in a thatched croft house looking out onto the sea.
He farmed the land around his cottage known as a croft and also collected seaweed which was a physically arduous existence as during low tide he would scour the shore for seaweed and wade into the water using a serrated sickle to cut seaweed from the seafloor and from the rocks.
He would load his seaweed known as kelp onto a small paddle boat and take it to the nearby island of Mull where it would be burnt and used for soap and glass and other things.
Although his work was tough and his body often battered by the wind and rain he loved the beauty of Ulva.
As well as the beautiful coastline there was also acres of moorland and native woodland and wild flowers and grasses would dance in the wind framing the white sandy beaches.
He felt a deep sense of belonging to the sea,
The sound of the waves,
The smell of the salt water and the feeling of sand underfoot.
It was part of him and the generations that came before him.
On one beautiful summer morning as the sun rose and kissed the water he waded into the sea with a sickle then spotted something unusual glittering atop of a rock.
There were flashes of gold which he couldn't quite distinguish from the glinting sun.
He waded closer to the rock realising to his astonishment that what he had spotted sat upon the rock was a mermaid combing her lovely golden hair.
As Donald made his way forward he accidentally splashed the water and the mermaid startled and shed her fishtail.
The scaly tail slipped into the water and it bobbed on the surface along with the seaweed.
In its place were legs.
The mermaid had used her magic to disguise her mermaid form.
Are you okay dear maiden?
Donald called out to her.
Are you stranded on this rock?
Donald asked this question although he knew that she was obviously fine with it.
For he was desperate to speak to her and he thought it kinder to play along and not admit that he knew her secret.
The mermaid smiled at him and Donald had never before seen such beauty.
In fact he was so awestruck by it he stumbled backwards into the water and the mermaid let out a happy giggle.
What Donald didn't realise was that Merida had a secret desire to know how it felt to be human and live on the shore and so she too was happy to play along pretending that indeed she was in need of help.
So Donald offered to carry her to shore and help her to get warm in his croft house.
So not to embarrass her he scooped up her fishtail alongside some seaweed pretending he had not noticed it and he carried it back with them to put in the croft barn.
He had some pretty clothes his mother had worn once in her youth and Merida gladly accepted them.
She felt very pretty as she twirled around in her human clothes and Donald couldn't help but admire her.
They found each other's company so pleasant that they both just kept up the charade pretending Merida was human.
Donald was tall and broad with thick dark hair and kind eyes which reminded Merida of calm blue waters.
Gradually she found herself falling in love with him and could not seem to focus enough to search for her mermaid tail and return to the coral caves that she'd once called home.
Days turned to weeks,
Weeks turned to months and she was still living as a human woman in Donald's cottage.
It was a happy day when Donald got down on one knee and asked for Merida's hand in marriage.
Although she was delighted to say yes and felt so blessed to be loved by a man like Donald,
She also felt a pang of guilt for she had not told him her secret and she felt like she had deceived him.
Donald also felt guilty as he had not mentioned that he knew she was a mermaid.
Deep down he thought this was because he was fearful that if he mentioned that he knew who she was she may search for her tail and return to the sea.
He had been quite lonely living on the isolated croft and Merida brought so much joy to his life but was it selfish to deny who she was to keep her here all to himself?
Although she seemed happy there were times he noticed her staring out to sea restless and melancholy.
A mere day before they were due to be wed Donald was in the water harvesting the kelp when the sky went dark and the winds began to gust.
Hail fell from the sky as a squally thunderstorm gathered strength.
Merida left the cottage to try and signal to Donald to come in to safety but in a split second he was engulfed by a huge wave.
For a terrifying minute she couldn't locate him in the water but then to her relief she saw him start to stand try clamber out of the water but this relief was short-lived as he was struck down by another wave almost immediately.
Merida knew she must save him so she ran to the barn upturning everything in her haste until she located her shimmering tail.
She clutched it tightly and she ran to the water throwing it on and diving into the waves.
She could see underwater so she managed to quickly locate him and pull him to the shore.
Time stood still as she blew air into his mouth and pumped his chest and wheeled him back to her.
Donald opened his blue eyes and cupped Merida's face with a weak hand and she wept with love for him.
The two were wed the next day,
Joyful that the secret was out but their love was stronger than ever.
From then on Merida donned her fishtail and returned to the water as often as she pleased with Donald waving her off gladly on the shore.
In later days with her beautiful baby who had slightly webbed feet by the way bobbing in his arms.
I hope you can imagine what it's like on a beautiful Scottish island with the wind in your hair and the salty sea air kissing your face as you look out to the water.
And see a beautiful mermaid like Merida waving at you with a smile on her sweet face.
Sweet James from Scotland.
