The father went to seek them. He saw them swimming far out, and called
to them. The girls swam up to the sand, but could get no further. Their
father asked them why they could not. They cried that they had grown to
be so heavy that it was impossible. They were all slimy; they grew to
be snakes from below the waist. After sinking a few times in this
strange slime they became very handsome, with long black hair and
large, bright black eyes, with silver bands on their neck and arms.
When their father went to get their clothes, they began to sing in the
most exquisite tones:--
"Leave them there!
Do not touch them!
Leave them there!"
Hearing this, their mother began to weep, but the girls kept on:--
"It is all our own fault,
But do not blame us;
'T will be none the worse for you.
When you go in your canoe,
Then you need not paddle;
We shall carry it along!"
And so it was: when their parents went in the canoe, the girls carried
it safely on everywhere.
One day some Indians saw the girls' clothes on the beach, and so looked
out for the wearers. They found them in the water, and pursued them,
and tried to capture them, but they were so slimy that it was
impossible to take them, till one, catching hold of a mermaid by her
long black hair, cut it off.
Then the girl began to rock the canoe, and threatened to upset it
unless her hair was given to her again.
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