The Mermaids of Haldurchia – A Myth of Tests, Honor, and Courage

ong ago, in the ancient kingdom of Haldurchia, there lived a solitary fisherman whose days were marked by empty nets and an empty stomach. He often muttered to himself,

“At least I have no wife or child to suffer with me. My misfortune is mine alone.”

One day, as he ventured farther than usual into the deep, silent ocean, he heard a haunting melody, a song that drifted like mist across the waves:

“Wa-aa-yaaa…”

At first, he thought it was his mind playing tricks — the sea was known to whisper to lonely souls. Yet, the melody grew louder, closer, enveloping him in an unseen presence. He peered over the boat, and in the clear depths below, he saw three strange figures: large like fish, but with graceful human hips and shimmering, colorful hairstyles — golden blonde, deep crimson, and radiant violet.

As the song echoed, bubbles danced up to the surface, as though the water itself responded to their music.

Driven by wonder, the fisherman plunged his head into the sea. His eyes burned with salt, his ears filled with water, but there they were — three mesmerizing mermaids, unlike anything he’d seen in legend or dream. They had blue-scaled tails, elegant arms, and eyes like sunlit waves.

Breathless, he surfaced, gasping in disbelief. But the mermaids soon breached the water, their upper halves revealed in a glistening circle around his boat.

“What are you?” he exclaimed, scrambling backward.

“We are the Cargoya,” said the blonde mermaid with a sly smile, “though surface folk call us mermaids.”

“Impossible… you can’t be real,” the fisherman whispered.

“We are as real as the hunger in your belly,” said the red-haired one. “And we have a proposition.”

The Three Tasks

The mermaids promised to end his misfortune, but on three conditions:

1. First, he must bring them the ailing prince of Haldurchia, for only the Cargoya could cure the boy’s strange illness.

2. Second, he was to persuade the King to share half of his vast fortune with the poor, for while the prince’s body was sick, the King’s soul was sick with greed.

3. Lastly, he must steal the Ruby Sword from the King’s throne room — a legendary blade of immense power — and deliver it to them.

“Fail any of these, and we shall drag your soul to the cold depths,” warned the violet-haired mermaid.

Before disappearing with a graceful somersault, they handed him a purple coral horn.

“Sound this horn when you bring the prince. We shall come.”

The Sick Prince and the Compassionate Princess

The fisherman rowed back to shore and sought an audience with the King. The palace guards mocked and jeered, spitting in his face. But fate intervened — the King’s daughter, a clever and kind-hearted princess, overheard the commotion from her balcony. She demanded that the fisherman be brought before her.

“Is it true? Can you heal my brother?” she asked, eyes wide with hope.

“The mermaids can heal him. I must take him to them.”

Grasping his hand, the princess led the fisherman to the throne room. The King, stern and prideful, initially dismissed the tale as folly. But upon seeing the horn, and moved by his daughter’s pleas, he relented. Soon, the royal ship set sail, with the King, the princess, the sick prince, and the fisherman aboard.

Once in open waters, the fisherman blew the coral horn. The mermaids emerged, enchanting as ever. They gently lowered the prince into the sea, placing hands on his forehead, heart, and feet, and began their mystical chant:

“Aaaa-eeee…”

Minutes later, the prince’s eyes fluttered open, color returned to his cheeks, and strength filled his limbs — he was healed.

The Second Task: A Kingdom’s Change

Overjoyed, the King invited the fisherman to a grand feast. Yet amid the revelry, the fisherman approached the King:

“My liege, the mermaids require you to give half your fortune to the poor. Only then will peace follow.”

The King frowned, angered by the audacity of such a request.

“I cannot give away half my wealth! I’ll be remembered as a weak and foolish ruler!”

But the fisherman replied with quiet wisdom:

“Better to be remembered as merciful than greedy. Riches will fade, but kindness echoes through time.”

The King’s heart softened. Tears welled in his eyes, and he fell to his knees, overcome with shame.

“You speak truth, good fisherman. It shall be done.”

The next day, carts of gold, food, and clothing were distributed across Haldurchia. The poor rejoiced, and the King’s name was sung with gratitude throughout the land.

The Final Test: The Ruby Sword

Yet the last task haunted the fisherman. He returned to the mermaids.

“The poor are fed. What of the final task?”

“Steal the Ruby Sword, or suffer,” the mermaids demanded.

Reluctantly, the fisherman returned to the palace, sneaking into the throne room where the Ruby Sword stood gleaming, bathed in torchlight. He touched its hilt, feeling its power surge through his veins — but his heart grew heavy.

“No,” he whispered, “I cannot betray a kind King who has done so much for his people. I would rather face death than become a thief.”

He returned to the shore, where the King, the prince, and the princess waited. The fisherman blew the horn, and the mermaids appeared.

“Have you brought us the sword?”

“No,” he declared. “I will not steal from a good man. Do what you will, but I will not forsake my soul.”

He spread his arms, ready to face their wrath. But instead, the mermaids smiled. The King and his children smiled too.

“You have passed the true test,” the King said.

“Test?” the fisherman asked, bewildered.

The mermaids explained: the tasks were never about theft or greed but a test of his integrity, compassion, and courage. By refusing to betray his principles, he had proven himself worthy.

A Fisherman’s Reward

“You have earned your reward,” the King declared.
“I offer you my daughter’s hand in marriage, if she will have you.”

The princess eagerly embraced the fisherman, her heart already his. The mermaids, too, blessed the union.

“You shall never know hunger, loneliness, or poverty again,” they promised.

And so, the fisherman married the princess, celebrated in a grand wedding that lasted three months. The people of Haldurchia rejoiced, for their new prince was a man of honor and humility.

As for the mermaids, they returned to the sea, watching over the kingdom and its new royal couple. The fisherman never forgot their test, and ruled with wisdom, kindness, and an unwavering moral compass.

And they all lived happily ever after.

✅ Moral of the Story

Integrity and kindness are worth more than wealth and power. True character is revealed not in the tasks we complete, but in the values we refuse to betray.