Mermaid

Hi, so today we're going to hear the story of Jalpari. Jalpari was a beautiful, beautiful mermaid who used to live in Iceland. You know what a mermaid is, right? A mermaid is somebody who's a human being on the land, but the moment she jumps into the water, she becomes half fish, half human being. Her legs turn into a long fish tail. That's a mermaid. They have special genetic qualities.

So she was a mermaid, and she loved living in Iceland. She used to jump into the water, become a mermaid, swim, swim, swim. Then she used to come out of the water. When her legs would dry, she would become a girl again. She loved her life because the weather was nice, it never got too hot, she had many friends to play with, and her mommy and daddy were there. So she had a very good life. She was very happy. She went to school, had nice friends and nice teachers.

Then she grew up and graduated from school. She said, "You know, Mommy, Daddy, I'm quite old now. I want to go and explore other parts of the world. I want to see other cities."

Daddy said, "Yeah, you must. But you also know that there are no mermaids outside of Iceland. If somebody sees you as a mermaid, I don't know what they will do. They may take you to the zoo. They may be very surprised. They may get scared and harm you."

"What does harm mean?" she asked.

"Harm means they may do something to you which is not good. That's why you need to be careful. So if you want to go outside of Iceland, don't jump into the swimming pool. Don't go into the water. Because other people are not used to seeing mermaids."

She said, "Okay, Daddy, I'll be very careful. But where should I go?"

She thought, "All my life I've lived in a cold country with snow. I want to go to a slightly warm country so that I don't have to wear all these clothes all the time. I just want to relax."

Close your eyes. Imagine my story. Okay, whatever I'm saying, try to imagine it.

So she took a big world map and started looking at places. She said, "Should I go to the USA?" "USA is a very nice country," she thought, "but it's quite far. And it's not always warm; it can be very cold."

She said, "Okay, what about India?" Daddy said, "India is also very nice. But the problem is it gets very, very hot. And it's too crowded. There are too many people there. You may get lost."

She said, "What about Singapore?" "Singapore is a nice place. It's surrounded by the sea. It's a very, very nice place, and people are nice there. So you can go to Singapore."

So she took a flight and went to Singapore. She got a job there and started working in a company. But she was very careful never to go into the water. Because if she went into the water, everybody would know she's a mermaid, and she didn't know how they would react. They could react in a good way or a bad way, but she didn't want to take the chance.

So she continued working. She made many, many friends in Singapore. She really started liking the new city. She learned many new things, like how business is done. She saw different cultures and tried different food. But she was always very careful never to go into the water or the sea.

After about two years, one day, her friends threw a barbecue party next to a swimming pool. She was enjoying herself, having some nice barbecue. Then she saw a small boy fall into the swimming pool. He was struggling in the water.

She didn't know what to do. She thought, "If I jump into the swimming pool, everybody will know I'm a mermaid. But if I don't jump, something bad could happen to the small child. It's my duty to save him."

So even though she knew she would be discovered, she jumped into the swimming pool and saved the child. She brought him to the shore, and everybody clapped. But then they were shocked to see that her legs had disappeared and become a fish tail.

People gasped in horror and surprise. They started taking pictures and videos on their phones and sending them to everyone. She said, "No, no, no, please don't send it to everybody. I don't want anybody to know I'm a mermaid. I'm so scared."

She came out and sat in the sun, crying. She missed her daddy and was scared. She didn't know what would happen to her. Will they lock her up? Will they take her to the zoo? "No, please don't. Don't do anything to me," she pleaded.

But people kept taking pictures and posting them on Facebook. She got very scared.

But Singapore is such a nice place, and people are nice. The Singapore Prime Minister decided, "No, we will not do anything. It's her free will. If she wants to stay in Singapore, she can. And we will make sure nobody troubles her."

But at the same time, it wasn't safe for her there because other countries might want to take her. So she said, "I'll go back to Iceland."

Singapore let her go back to Iceland. She took a flight back home to her mommy and daddy. She said, "I learned a lot in Iceland. In Singapore, I saw so many new people, different types of food, and experienced different cultures. But I'm now very happy. I realized that the best place for me is home, which is Iceland."

She went back to her routine—jumping in the water, becoming a mermaid, coming out, swimming, and spending time with her parents and friends. She lived happily ever after.

It was important that she had gone out once because at least she knew what was outside of Iceland. But once she had seen the world, she knew that the best place for her was home, where she belonged.

So that's the moral of the story: You can explore everything, but finally, you need to know where you belong, be comfortable in your skin, and be happy where you are.

And so that's the story.