Bedtime Story: The City Under The Sea

A sleepy bedtime story by Henry Beston of a lost treasure under the sea. Soothe your mind with this calming story. Allow the melodious narration to carry you on this journey to a peaceful slumber. Sweet dreamzzz...
The music in this story is "Bathe in the Cleansing Waters" by Jordan Jessep

Transcript

Welcome,

I'm Joanne and this is Drift Off,

A soft place for you to land at the end of the day.

I'd like to offer you a calming bedtime story tonight,

Softly told,

With a nice,

Soft,

Gentle voice that I hope will help you feel nurtured,

Safe,

And at ease so you can drift off.

So are you ready for a bedtime story?

Well then,

Get comfy and cozy in your bed and snuggle up tight and let me be your guide now.

Sweet dreams,

My friend,

And good night.

In a country of mountains which bordered upon the sea lived a rich merchant who had three sons.

The eldest and the second born were his joy,

For they were merchants too and remained at his side.

The youngest,

However,

Caused him much anxiety.

He knew that this youngest son was bad,

But love of the sea and desire for adventure ran like fire in his veins,

And he could not bring himself to sit beside his father and his brothers in the counting house.

Tired of the constant reproaches of his kinsmen,

He turned away one night from his father's house and joined a ship as a common sailor.

Dressed in sailor blue,

Wearing a little cap,

A blouse open at the throat,

And trousers cut wide at the bottoms,

The lad ran away to sail over the sea to foreign lands and isles.

And as the years passed,

One by one,

And brought no tidings of him,

His father and his brothers gave him up for lost.

Now the king of this country loved gems and precious stones more than anything else in the world.

Hidden secretly away in the deep foundations of his castle lay his treasure room.

It was circular in shape and built of black marble.

Along a curving wall stood hundreds of armed men like statues at equal distance one from another holding torches of light.

A hundred coffers of green stone lay on the floor at the base of each statue piled high with gems.

And night after night,

When all was still,

The king would descend to the secret chamber,

Throwing open the jewel chests and would gaze long and silently into the gleaming mass within.

One night the king led his neighbor,

The emperor of the seven isles,

To the jewel room and showed him his treasures.

These are the most beautiful jewels in the whole wide world,

Said the king proudly.

Yes,

They are indeed noble,

Replied the emperor,

Nodding his grey hat.

But why is it that the emerald of the sea is not among them?

The emerald of the sea is the most glorious jewel in the whole wide world.

Years ago a fisherman of the land of the dawn found it in a chest which a storm had washed into his nets.

At the time I was but a young prince.

The jewel was hung on a chain and worn as a necklace by the princess of the dawn,

And its radiance beamed if the very secret of the sea were hidden in its heart.

Where is this emerald to be found?

Asked the king,

Who was now consumed with the desire to add the jewel to his possessions.

Tell me that I may at once send an expedition in search of it.

I have not heard of it for many years,

Replied the emperor,

But I think it is still in the land of the dawn.

So great was the king's impatience to become the owner of the emerald of the sea that he could hardly wait for the morning.

All night long he slept not a wink,

And hardly had the sun risen above the mist lying at the edge of the sea and sky when he sent for the rich merchant to come to the palace at once.

Wondering much at the summons,

The merchant made haste to the palace and was taken instantly before the king.

When the king saw him,

He said,

You are the greatest and richest merchant in my dominions.

Know then that I have a task only worthy of you.

In the land of the dawn there is a jewel called the emerald of the sea.

You must find it and purchase it for me.

I would give all the gold in my realm to possess it.

Be sure that you return with it,

For if you fail me,

My anger shall strike you down.

At these words the merchant bowed low and promised to sail that very day for the land of the dawn.

Then returning home,

He gave orders that the best vessel in all his fleets be immediately prepared for the journey.

And so swiftly was this done that the merchant sailed for the land of the dawn on the morning tide.

Many days and many leagues he sailed over shining seas till he reached the harbor of the land of the dawn.

Ships were entering and ships were leaving the lovely mountain-circled bay.

The merchant anchored his ship in a quiet bay and hastened ashore to find the Lord Treasurer of the kingdom.

He found the Lord sitting on a balcony of his castle which overlooked the sea.

Upon hearing the merchant's story,

The surprised nobleman said,

You are too late.

I sold the Emerald of the sea only an hour ago to the master of a strange vessel.

See there she is now.

And the Lord Treasurer pointed out over the sea to a strange black ship with red sails which was just then disappearing over the horizon.

Thankful that the other ship was still in sight,

The merchant hurried back to his own vessel and gave chase.

Luckily there was a full moon that night by which the shadowy hulk and the swaying masts of the black ship could be seen.

All the next day they sailed,

But never close to the other vessel did they come.

Another night and another day found them no closer.

Finally late in the afternoon of the third day,

A great storm came sailing over the edge of the sea.

A blast of wind struck the merchant's ship,

Then a torrent of rain,

And when night came,

The storm was at its height.

When the day lay came again,

The other ship had completely disappeared.

The merchant sailed here and sailed there,

But never a sign of the stranger could he find.

At last,

With a heavy heart,

He gave up the quest and returned to his king with the unfortunate tidings.

The king was beside himself with rage and disappointment,

Scowling as he cried to the merchant,

Because of you I have lost the finest jewel in the world.

If you do not find it within a year,

Your life and your possessions shall be forfeited to me.

When hearing these terrible words,

The merchant turned pale,

For he knew that the emerald of the sea was now lost and it would be impossible to find it.

His two sons,

However,

When they had heard his story,

Bade him not to despair and declared that they themselves would go forth in the world that very night and to seek the lost emerald.

It was finally agreed that only the eldest son should go in search of the jewel while the second born should remain at home with his father,

And so the eldest son sailed away.

The days lengthened into weeks,

The weeks into months,

The months into a year,

Yet the eldest son did not return.

A guard of soldiers led the unhappy merchant before the king.

Well,

Have you found the emerald of the sea?

Asked the king.

No,

Replied the merchant hopelessly.

Now the merchant would certainly have been doomed had not his second son begged and pleaded with the king for a year of respite in which he too might go well into the world to search for the lost emerald.

The king at length yielded to the plea but took one half of the merchant's possessions as a forfeit.

And so the second son sailed away.

Days lengthened into weeks,

Weeks lengthened into months,

The months into a year,

Yet the second son did not return.

During this time,

Cruel storms wrecked many of the merchant's ships that he lost the other half of his possessions and was forced to take refuge in a miserable cottage beyond the town.

On the last night of the year,

The unhappy man sat in his poor house by a fire.

Far away he heard the bells of the royal city sound the midnight hour.

Neither the eldest son nor the second born had returned.

The second year of respite was at an end and nothing now could appease the anger of the king.

Suddenly there came a knock on the door.

I am lost murmured the poor merchant to himself.

The king's soldiers are here.

And advancing unsteadily across the room,

He threw the door open wide.

A gust of wind blew in which bent the flame of the taper in his hand and then across the threshold stepped the youngest son.

He was still a sailor and clad in sailor blue and there was a cutlass in his belt.

So shaken with joy was the merchant that for some time he could not utter a word but merely clung to the strong shoulders of his youngest son.

As for the sailor son,

He told his father that he had returned from distant lands only that very evening and had just heard of the misfortunes that had overtaken his family.

As they talked,

Steps were heard outside and then without waiting to knock,

A sergeant of the king's guard forced open the door and followed by a handful of soldiers,

He entered the room and took the merchant and his son prisoners.

They spent the night on the straw in the royal dungeons and in the morning were led before the king.

When seeing the merchant,

The irate king scowled more angrily than ever for the loss of the emerald of the sea had never ceased from troubling him and said,

Well,

Have you found the emerald of the sea?

No,

Said the poor merchant.

Summon the executioner,

Cried out the king.

Even now the poor man would certainly have bade farewell to earth had not the youngest son,

Like his brothers,

Interceded with the king.

At first the king would not hear a word of it,

But at length he gave ear to the youngest son's prayer and said,

You shall have another year,

But know that this year shall be the last.

If you do not return with the emerald of the sea within twelve months,

Nothing shall save you.

I have spoken.

And thus the sailor son went in search of the emerald.

Now the youngest son had a little boat of his own.

It was small,

And when the wind no longer filled its sails,

It could be rowed along,

And in this boat the sailor lad began his voyage.

From harbor to harbor,

From nation to nation he sailed,

But never a soul he found who could tell him anything of the strange black ship with the fiery sails or the lost emerald of the sea.

Even the people of the land of the dawn could tell him only that the gem had been sold to an unknown prince.

A harsh winter came,

And in one of the sudden storms his little boat went ashore on a rocky coast and was soon pounded to pieces by the waves.

The sailor thrown into the sea during the wreck was tossed and trampled by the waves,

And he reached the shore far more dead than alive.

Had it not been for a poor fisherman and his wife,

There would have been no more story to tell,

But these good people rescued the sailor from the stormy waters and nursed him back to health and strength again.

The sailor told the good couple the story of how he had gone into the world to seek the emerald of the sea.

But my poor lad,

Said the kind fisherman,

The emerald of the sea has vanished forever from mortal eyes.

What?

You know of the emerald?

Cried the sailor.

Yes,

My friend,

Replied the fisherman.

Two years ago,

The prince of the unknown isles sent the finest vessel in his fleet to the land of the dawn to buy the jewel.

A beautiful ship was she,

With a hull as black as night and sails as red as fire.

My brother and I sailed in her crew.

The jewel was taken aboard.

Our brave ship set sail for the unknown isles.

Hardly were we at sea for three days when a storm overtook us and sank the vessel.

By chance I was tossed in the water near a floating piece of the broken mast and clung to this until a passing vessel found me.

Of all aboard,

I alone survived.

And now the emerald of the sea lies forty fathoms deep and never more to be seen but by the creatures of the sea.

Hearing this,

The brave sailor's heart became like ice.

Nevertheless he cried.

My friend,

I know that what you say is true.

Yet I must still try to save my father.

Hearing this,

The fisherman's wife,

A quiet good woman who had had little to say,

Whispered that it would be in his best interest to consult the witch of the sands.

The witch of the sands?

Who is she and where can I find her?

Cried the sailor.

The witch of the sands lives a hundred leagues from here.

All the mysteries of the waters are in her keeping and she has an answer for them all.

You must go to her and ask her to help you.

So the sailor thanked the good fisherman and his wife and set out to walk the hundred leagues to the house of the witch of the sands.

His path lay along a desolate and lonely shore on whose rocky beaches old wrecks lay rotting.

On the third day,

Just as the sun was setting into the shining waters,

The sailor arrived at the witch's dwelling.

The witch had made her home in a deserted old ship which a storm of long ago had cast far up the sands.

Good evening madam,

Said the sailor in his politest manner as she came out to greet him.

You are the third person who has come here to ask me about the emerald of the sea.

I know you are the youngest son.

Your two brothers too have been here to ask me the way under the sea.

I told them but they haven't come back yet.

Yes,

I can show you too the road to under the sea,

But do not ask me about the emerald because I do not know where it is.

Now when you do get to the underwaters,

You'll have to hurry back quickly for the year which the king gave your father is almost gone.

Before you can go down into the waters,

I shall have to give you an enchanted ring.

The path to the city under the sea begins a hundred leagues to the north in the high cliffs there.

When the tide is low,

You'll find the mouth of a great cave.

Walk down this cave and down and down and down till you feel water rising around your feet.

Then you must put on my ring and then continue to walk ahead.

Soon you will see the city shining in the waters.

Once there,

Seek out the king and tell him of your quest.

But on no account eat or drink anything offered to you while you are in the underwaters.

If you do,

You will forget everything of your past life,

Your father,

Your quest and the emerald of the sea.

Let one drop pass your lips and you will spend the rest of your life under the waves.

Here is the enchanted ring.

Put it in your pocket.

With these words,

The witch took the simple golden ring from a little leather purse and handed it to the youngest son.

He put the ring in his pocket,

Thanked the witch and set off for the cavern which led to the city under the sea.

It did not take the sailor very long to find it.

After feeling carefully in his pocket to see if the ring was still safe,

The sailor plunged onward into the winding cave.

In a short time,

The roar of the waves on the beach which had been loud at the mouth of the cavern began to fade and grow faint and the tunnel grew dark and cold.

Feeling for the wall of the passage with one hand,

The youngest son advanced into the blackness.

Down and down and down went the sailor.

Then he began to hear the lapping of the wavelets in the darkness and then a few minutes later he felt himself advancing into deepening water.

Then stopping for an instant,

He put on the golden ring as instructed by the witch and continued to walk forward.

Soon he felt the water rise from his ankles to his waist and from his waist to his throat.

One step more and the water closed over his head.

Once under the waves,

The sailor hesitated,

Uncertain as to which way to turn.

Little by little,

However,

His eyes grew accustomed to the touch of the water and he saw,

Lying on the bottom a few feet ahead of him,

A small ball glowing with a pale light.

Stooping to touch this strange object,

The sailor discovered it to be a small sea plant which had anchored itself to a stone.

He soon discovered that this light was but one of thousands.

Together they formed a long straight line across the level floor of the sea and the sailor assumed these lights to be signs of the road of the sea world.

The sailor advanced along them slowly until he reached the gate of the city under the sea.

The sailor walked through the gate and found himself on the main street of the city.

Along the broad avenue grew giant sea plants with brown leaves set out in rows like trees upon the land and through the foliage which moved heavily in the currents,

Little fish darted like little birds do through the branches of trees.

Many people were walking along the avenue all dressed the same,

Wearing tight fitting clothes made of shining fish scales.

The sailor looked into their faces and saw that a broad golden ring encircled the pupils of their eyes.

Then suddenly two men of the sea with swords of red stone moved through the water,

Seizing the sailor and hurried him before the king.

On a coral throne in a great hall,

Roofed with a high circular dome sat the king.

Welcome,

Said the king,

Staring with his golden eyes at both the sailor and the enchanted ring on his finger.

You have come at a fortunate time.

This very evening we celebrate the wedding of the second eldest daughter with the mortal who wears the second enchanted ring.

Stand here upon the steps of the throne,

For they are coming at once.

Let the trumpet sound.

At this command two youths of the sea lifted huge conch shells to their mouths and sounded them.

Great doors to the hall instantly opened wide and in walked the sea king's second daughter,

Hand in hand with a young man in whom the sailor recognized as his second oldest brother.

Presently the conch shells sounded again.

The prince and the princess cried a voice and the king leaned over from his throne and whispered in the sailor's ear,

This is my eldest daughter and her husband.

They were married just a year ago.

The prince is also from the world above and wears the first of the enchanted rings.

Then entered the eldest princess of the sea walking by the side of her husband and in the husband the young sailor beheld his eldest brother.

The young sailor stretched out his arms to his brothers.

Neither of them remembered him,

For while faint and hungry they had forgotten the warning of the witch and had eaten the food of the underworld.

The memory of the world above,

The lost emerald and their father's plight faded away.

The conchs sounded a third time.

Now come to the wedding banquet cried the king.

You shall sit beside my youngest daughter.

Not that the sailor lad was hurried into the banquet hall and seated at the royal table beside the king's youngest daughter and she was the most beautiful of all the three.

Noticing that the youngest son was not eating the food,

She said to him,

Why do you refuse to eat the delicious food of the wedding banquet?

Princess replied the sailor.

I have come to the underwater to seek the emerald of the sea,

For if I return to my own country without it,

My father's life will be forfeited.

Would you have me forget?

But you will never find the emerald of the sea cried the princess.

Never find the emerald of the sea?

What do you mean?

Said the sailor anxiously.

The emerald of the sea has disappeared,

Continued the little princess,

Fixing the sailor with her golden eyes.

Years ago it was stolen from my father's treasury by a wicked prince of the underwaters.

My father pursued him and overthrew him,

But in the struggle the emerald drifted to the shores of the land of the dawn.

There it remained till the prince of the unknown isles purchased it and took it away in his black ship.

This ship,

Overcome by a storm,

Sank,

But where it lies we know not.

Whoever finds it shall be master of the land under the sea,

For the emerald is master of us all.

My father will not lift a finger to help you find it.

If he knows that you are in search of it,

He will force you to eat the food of the underwaters.

Say nothing therefore of your quest.

At these words the brave sailor's heart sank very low.

Mindful of the witch's warning,

He made sure not to eat a morsel of the food,

Yet he knew that hunger would soon bring weakness.

Either he must find the emerald at once,

Or he must abandon all hope of finding it.

In the meantime,

Far away upon the land,

The poor merchant whom the king had now cast in prison watched the days pass one by one until the last year had now come to its end.

Every morning he would ask for tidings of his sailor's son,

But there were no good tidings to tell.

And now back to the underwaters.

The eldest sister said,

We must rid ourselves at once of this newcomer.

Do you not see that he is the younger brother of our husbands?

I saw him stretch out his arms to them as they passed.

If we are not careful,

He may lead them away from us.

Let us tell our servants to lie and wait for him and deliver us from such a danger.

Later that evening,

Just as the poor sailor was standing by one of the great doors,

A dozen rogues in the service of the eldest sister fell upon him,

Bound him with cords,

And dragged him through the water to the royal stables.

Now the people of the underwaters,

Having no horses,

Had tamed great dolphins to carry them about.

A hundred of these dolphins were ranged along the side of the stables,

And on the fiercest and angriest of them all,

The princess's servants tied the sailor.

The great fish pulled,

Rolled,

And thrashed his tail,

But to no avail,

For the poor sailor lad was fastened tightly to his back with a rope of seaweed.

Then the creature was released and scurried into the wilds of the underwaters.

For half an hour,

The fish,

Frightened at his burden,

Fled at lightning speed.

Then,

Ceasing his mad flight,

He tried again to shake himself free of the sailor.

He turned,

He leaped,

He dived,

But all in vain,

For the sailor was securely fastened to his back.

All that long night he fled.

Toward the morning of the next day,

However,

The sailor managed to work one arm free and draw the cutlass from his waist.

With this,

He released himself from his bonds and rolled off the fish's back.

The great animal,

Delivered of the weight,

Shot madly toward the surface,

But the sailor tumbled through the waters to the bottom.

Weak and hungry,

The poor young lad gazed about in the half gloom and found himself on the lower slopes of a sunken mountain rising from the ocean floor.

In no direction could he find a sign of the city under the sea.

Hoping,

However,

To see better from the mountain's top,

He decided to climb it.

Strange plants and shells lay in the crevices of the weedy rocks.

Schools of bright fish fled past him like living arrows,

And huge crabs scuttled away as he appeared.

Suddenly,

Lying on her side,

In a little ravine of the mountain,

He saw a ship,

The black ship of the emerald of the sea.

Though very weary and weak,

It took the sailor but a moment to clamber aboard and hurry past the broken masts into the captain's cabin.

A steady green radiance shone in one corner of the weedy room,

And hastening toward it,

The sailor found,

At last,

The emerald of the sea.

The box which had enclosed it had rotted away and fallen apart.

Victory,

Cried the sailor,

The emerald is mine at last,

And I shall save my father.

He took the great jewel from the broken box and rested it in the cup of his two hands.

How it glowed on his pale flesh!

Then,

Thrusting it into a pocket,

He hurried out again to the mountainside.

In the world above,

It was high noon,

And the level rays of the sun beat deep into the green waters.

So bright had the slope become that the sailor lad felt sure that he could not be far from the surface of the waves.

Moreover,

If the mountaintop rose above the waters,

It would form an island in the upper world.

And so,

Indeed,

It was.

Climbing on toward the top of the mountain,

The sailor first scaled a steep cliff,

And at the top of this,

He found a gentle slope of sand.

The sun rays now illumined the water so brightly that the air seemed only a little distance away.

The water grew very much warmer.

The shore was finally at hand.

A few steps more,

And the youngest sun emerged on the beach of a beautiful isle.

Half blinded by the sun,

He walked toward the dry land.

There he found some delicious fruits growing and a rippling brook of crystal water.

He ate and drank,

And his strength returned.

Himself again,

The sailor took the emerald of the sea in his hands and cried,

By the power of the emerald of the sea,

I summon here the two elder princesses of the underwaters and my two brothers,

Their husbands.

There was a sound of far thunder under the clear blue sky,

And a moment later,

Four heads rose out of the waters,

And shaking the salt spray from their eyes,

The princesses and the brothers walked through the shallow water to where the sailor was standing.

The princesses were very much frightened when they beheld the sailor holding the all-powerful emerald,

And falling to their knees,

Begged him to forgive their misdeeds and to not take away their loved ones.

Be merciful and forgive,

Said the younger of the sisters.

After all,

Had we not caused you to be spirited away,

You never would have found the emerald.

That is true,

Said the sailor.

My brothers shall decide for themselves.

Break then the spell which binds them to the underwaters.

Restore to them their memory of the past,

And if then they choose to remain,

I shall not try to lead them away.

Reverse the spell.

That is easily done,

Said the elder sister.

Let them but touch the food or drink of the upper world,

And their memory will return.

In less time than it takes to tell it,

The sisters offered the enchanted brothers water from the rivulet.

When they took a sip of it,

Both brothers became pale as death.

Their eyes opened wide,

And they stared as strangely as men do when waked from sleep suddenly.

Then,

Seeing their younger brother,

They ran to him and threw their arms about him and asked a thousand questions about their father and the quest of the emerald.

The golden-eyed brides watched them with sad faces and finally broke into quiet tears.

Imagine their joy when their husbands reassuringly turned to them,

Telling them to cheer up.

Then the sailor and his brothers took counsel as to how the emerald of the sea might be brought to the king in time to save their father's life.

You can imagine the sailor's horror when he discovered that because of a bad error in the calendars,

The life of his father had in fact been forfeited to the king three days before.

All the third year,

The poor man had lain in a small cell in the royal dungeons.

Waiting anxiously,

Oh so anxiously,

To hear the quick step of the sailor's son on the winding stairs just outside the prison door.

But the year came to an end,

As you know,

Without his return.

For the third and last time,

The castle guards led the poor man before the king.

The king had never forgiven the merchant for the loss of the jewel.

His anger had only increased with the years,

And he was very glad that he could finally take his revenge.

Have you found the emerald of the sea?

As the king harshly.

He stood erect on the steps of his judgment seat,

Arms folded,

Eyes fixed in a fierce black frown.

No,

Said the merchant quietly.

Take him away,

Cried the king.

And the merchant was tied hand and foot and then tossed into a little boat without food or drink and sent adrift to die helplessly in the lonely seas.

Tied hand and foot,

The merchant lay motionless in his little craft and stared up at the blue sky.

After some time,

A merciful sleep overcame him,

And as he slept,

The wind arose and swept the little boat along with it.

Meanwhile,

On the beautiful island,

The sailor and his companions,

Stunned at their discovery,

Began preparations to return to the underwaters.

Just as the twilight fell,

The sailor,

Whose eyes were the keenest,

Saw a little boat rapidly drifting ashore.

The sailor hurried toward it and seized it,

And looking in,

He uttered a ringing cry.

The old merchant lay on the floor of the boat.

He still lived,

For they could see him gently breathing.

Lifting him up tenderly,

The three sons carried him to the shore,

Loosened his bonds,

And brought him back to life.

Now when the merchant was himself again,

The sailor,

Through the power of the emerald,

Caused the waves to carry a great ship to the island,

And on this ship,

The three sons,

The two princesses,

And the old merchant returned to their country.

They landed secretly,

However,

For they knew that the angry king would seize them if he knew of their return.

One night,

Shortly after their return,

Word was brought to the sailor that the king had heard of the merchant's escape and was sending guards to arrest the merchant and his companions.

It was almost midnight when the sailor lad received the warning.

Taking the emerald with him,

He advanced to a window by the ocean and cried out over the moonlit waters.

Waters of the sea rise and overwhelm the palace of the king.

Now the king's palace stood apart by itself on a tongue of land running far out into the tide,

And soon the rising waters were flowing over the marble floors and pouring in through the windows.

One by one,

The lights in the thousand rooms touched by the waves hissed,

Sputtered,

And expired.

The servants of the palace,

One and all,

Ran away and left the dark castle to its fate.

Little by little,

The advancing water crept from the walls to the balconies,

From the balconies to the towers,

And from the foot of the towers to their very tops.

Finally,

All the moon could see as it shone upon the flood was the flag of the highest turret of all,

And finally that too disappeared under the waves.

Locked in his secret treasure room,

Opening the jewel coffers one after the other,

The king remained quite ignorant of the disaster.

For some time,

No sound reached him in his hidden retreat because the door of the treasure room was very thick and strong.

Finally he heard behind him the sound of falling water and turning toward the door beheld streams of water gushing through the passages between the door and its frame.

Horror struck,

He watched the door burst from its locks and hinges,

And a roaring cascade of cold sea water came pouring in the room,

And a moment later the whole castle crumbled and fell to pieces.

Now when the king had met his fate,

The people of the country,

Who greatly respected the merchant,

Offered him the crown,

But he refused it and instead gave it to his two elder sons.

Thus it came to pass that the country had two kings,

Each brother in turn reigned for six months of the year and spent the other six in the city under the sea.

As for the sailor lad,

He sailed the sea for many years and finally married a beautiful young woman who he happened to meet on one of his travels.

Then,

Like all sailors,

He and his bride went to live in the countryside.

His house was built of grey stone with vines of ivy and a beautiful apple orchard beneath its windows,

And they all lived happily ever after.

They all never wanted to give up on their Music.

.

.

Thank you.

Reviews

I have listened to this amazing Tale, multiple times, Joanne. You tell it so dreamily. Each time i enjoy it all over again. Thankyou 🤗 🥰 🪷🐨🍃🐈‍⬛🐆🇦🇺

Thank you for this wonderful story about determination & family bond. I had to go back a couple of times because I fell asleep, but finally heard the happy ending.

Wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing it.

😍🥰😘!!!!!!!