2. Tanjay has a wide winding
river where people bathe,
wash, and hold picnics once
in a while. It is a busy place
where people work, laugh,
and gossip on its banks. It is
full of activity during the day
and when the darkness
comes, everyone hurries
home- afraid to be left alone.
There’s a reason why they do
so.

4. Suddenly she heard a
splash and when she
turned around, she was
struck dumb with fright.
She saw a beautiful
woman but to her horror
she was that the
woman’s body was that
of a fish with a tail. She
could not move.

5. The mermaid
smiled and asked,
“Are you afraid of
me?”
“No,” the girl
replied, “but I’m in
a hurry. It’s getting
late”.
“Won’t you go with
me for a short
while?” the
mermaid invited.

6. “Not now. Mother will
be waiting for me,” the
girl politely refused.
“All right. I’m going to
give you something but
don’t ever tell your
mother about me. Wait
here awhile.”

7. With that the mermaid plunged
into the water and vanished under
the shadow of a big tree
The girl blinked her eyes. Her fear
grew worse. Practically, she placed
all her washed clothes in her basin
and ran blindly away.

8. It was already dark
when she reached her
house. Pale and
frightened, she faced
her mother but she
could not say any word.
Her mother, sensing
something wrong, asked
her what happened. The
poor girl did not want to
tell her mother but she
afraid her mother would
suspect her of other had
things. So she told her
story.

9. As soon as she finished,
she was slapped in the
face by an invisible
being. From that time
on, the girl never
bathed in the river
again.