The Girl From the Sea
There once was an old fishing couple, a husband and wife who lived near the sea. They could have no children, and both were very lonely. The man went and fished all day, every day. Sometimes when he'd come back, with the money he'd earned, he would buy beautiful things for his wife, but she was still very sad. She didn't smile.
Years, it was like this, until one day the man was trapped in a sea storm. Waves rushed up and over his boat, so strong it was as though giant hands were trying crush him like a bug. The man was terrified.
But, it was a storm, and all storms must stop eventually. Ultimately the rain slowed and then quit. The sea itself calmed and rolled gently once more. The man climbed out of the cabin and went onto the deck. There had been no warning, for the storm had come up quite suddenly, and so his nets were still cast out. The man pulled in these nets halfheartedly, expecting them to be ruined and torn and useless. The first two were, but the last was not.
The man pulled and tugged and heaved that last net back towards the boat. It was difficult, very difficult, and the net was heavier than he thought it should be, but he kept at it.
When the net was very close, the man cried out in shock as he looked up and saw someone caught in it, someone who wasn't moving. When he'd finally pulled the net all the way in, he reached over and as gently as possible pulled the someone trapped in it onboard.
It was a girl in the net, no more than four or five years old. She was breathing, but unconscious, and yet what truly amazed the fisherman was the all fish beneath her. It was a full net, filled with fish upon fish. The man was utterly confused, for there had been no fish a moment ago. Only the little girl had been there.
The man took off his coat and wrapped it snugly around the small, pale little girl. He quickly took care of the net, settled the child in the cabin, and turned the boat towards home.
It was very dark by the time the man reached the dock, so dark and late in fact that the man's wife was there waiting for him. She had seen all the other fishermen return home hours ago and, worried, she'd gone looking for him, terrified that he might have been carried away by the storm.
"Oh, my!" the man's wife gasped upon seeing the pale child. "Wherever did the poor thing come from?"
The man told his wife the tale, as together they carefully lifted the pale girl and carried her to their home.
"She should have a real bed," the man's wife announced, going ahead of him. "A doctor's cot is no place for a child."
They placed the little girl under fresh sheets and big, soft blankets, and then the man went to fetch the village doctor, bringing him in and letting him examine the child. After the doctor had finished, the couple asked to look after the child, at least until she woke up. The doctor agreed, saying he'd come check on her again in the morning.
By the next morning, though, the little girl had still not awakened. At one point, the woman lifted the child's head and put a cup of water to her lips. She poured a little into her mouth and the little girl swallowed.
And then she opened her eyes.
The woman was startled, but recovered quickly.
"Hello there, dear," the woman said, kindly. "We've been so worried about you."
But the child didn't say anything. The man went out fishing again, but he came home earlier and he did not go out again the next day. He stayed home instead, showing the girl how to make hand shadows. That was the first day the child laughed, and watching from the doorway, the woman smiled.
The couple spread the news of what had happened, hoping someone would know something. The villagers told their relatives, who took the tale and told others. The story spread up and down the coast, but no one knew anything about a pale, little girl. No one claimed her.
The couple grew very fond of the child, eventually calling her Pearl because of the way she almost shone when happy. Soon, the little girl started speaking, and the man could have sworn he'd heard her clear voice somewhere before.
Years passed, and with no apparent family, the couple raised the child as their own. They loved her and she loved them. They were a family.
The man eventually quit fishing, instead staying around the village and making nets for others. He taught Pearl, and the fishermen said her nets were the strongest they'd ever used.
One day the man took his daughter out in his old boat, and they brought one of her nets to fish with. It was there, on the sea, that the man realized what had happened. He looked over the edge of the boat, down into the net and saw fish upon fish inside. He listened to his daughter chatter cheerfully, and heard her voice in the gentle rolling of the waves of the sea surrounding them. Her skin gleamed like the pearl she was named after, and her eyes shone the same shade as the water that held them afloat.
"I like it out here, Papa," Pearl said eventually. "It's peaceful."
"Yes," the man agreed. "I've always felt at home out here, too."
Years, it was like this, until one day the man was trapped in a sea storm. Waves rushed up and over his boat, so strong it was as though giant hands were trying crush him like a bug. The man was terrified.
But, it was a storm, and all storms must stop eventually. Ultimately the rain slowed and then quit. The sea itself calmed and rolled gently once more. The man climbed out of the cabin and went onto the deck. There had been no warning, for the storm had come up quite suddenly, and so his nets were still cast out. The man pulled in these nets halfheartedly, expecting them to be ruined and torn and useless. The first two were, but the last was not.
The man pulled and tugged and heaved that last net back towards the boat. It was difficult, very difficult, and the net was heavier than he thought it should be, but he kept at it.
When the net was very close, the man cried out in shock as he looked up and saw someone caught in it, someone who wasn't moving. When he'd finally pulled the net all the way in, he reached over and as gently as possible pulled the someone trapped in it onboard.
It was a girl in the net, no more than four or five years old. She was breathing, but unconscious, and yet what truly amazed the fisherman was the all fish beneath her. It was a full net, filled with fish upon fish. The man was utterly confused, for there had been no fish a moment ago. Only the little girl had been there.
The man took off his coat and wrapped it snugly around the small, pale little girl. He quickly took care of the net, settled the child in the cabin, and turned the boat towards home.
It was very dark by the time the man reached the dock, so dark and late in fact that the man's wife was there waiting for him. She had seen all the other fishermen return home hours ago and, worried, she'd gone looking for him, terrified that he might have been carried away by the storm.
"Oh, my!" the man's wife gasped upon seeing the pale child. "Wherever did the poor thing come from?"
The man told his wife the tale, as together they carefully lifted the pale girl and carried her to their home.
"She should have a real bed," the man's wife announced, going ahead of him. "A doctor's cot is no place for a child."
They placed the little girl under fresh sheets and big, soft blankets, and then the man went to fetch the village doctor, bringing him in and letting him examine the child. After the doctor had finished, the couple asked to look after the child, at least until she woke up. The doctor agreed, saying he'd come check on her again in the morning.
By the next morning, though, the little girl had still not awakened. At one point, the woman lifted the child's head and put a cup of water to her lips. She poured a little into her mouth and the little girl swallowed.
And then she opened her eyes.
The woman was startled, but recovered quickly.
"Hello there, dear," the woman said, kindly. "We've been so worried about you."
But the child didn't say anything. The man went out fishing again, but he came home earlier and he did not go out again the next day. He stayed home instead, showing the girl how to make hand shadows. That was the first day the child laughed, and watching from the doorway, the woman smiled.
The couple spread the news of what had happened, hoping someone would know something. The villagers told their relatives, who took the tale and told others. The story spread up and down the coast, but no one knew anything about a pale, little girl. No one claimed her.
The couple grew very fond of the child, eventually calling her Pearl because of the way she almost shone when happy. Soon, the little girl started speaking, and the man could have sworn he'd heard her clear voice somewhere before.
Years passed, and with no apparent family, the couple raised the child as their own. They loved her and she loved them. They were a family.
The man eventually quit fishing, instead staying around the village and making nets for others. He taught Pearl, and the fishermen said her nets were the strongest they'd ever used.
One day the man took his daughter out in his old boat, and they brought one of her nets to fish with. It was there, on the sea, that the man realized what had happened. He looked over the edge of the boat, down into the net and saw fish upon fish inside. He listened to his daughter chatter cheerfully, and heard her voice in the gentle rolling of the waves of the sea surrounding them. Her skin gleamed like the pearl she was named after, and her eyes shone the same shade as the water that held them afloat.
"I like it out here, Papa," Pearl said eventually. "It's peaceful."
"Yes," the man agreed. "I've always felt at home out here, too."