The following tale I'm about to tell is folklore from times long forgotten. Its a story of love, a story of caring, a story of creation. Who can say if its true, all I can say is... That it begins simply like this. once... Long, Long Ago.... When the ocean was clear, fresh and new... Among the vast waters was a light grey and elegantly graceful, fish that swam the seas. She was the only one of her kind, she was the one who tended the currents and made them flow. She would range the sea swimming about with an effortless motion... teasing the waters with a flick of her tail and encouraging them to flow. Often, when she came near the shore, she would jump out of the water enticing the waves to reach up after her. There was also a dark gray man who lived on land near the shore. A man who was very curious and would often come out to watch the sea. For many hours, he would sit near the sea following its flowing motions. He would often catch glimpses of that light grey fish when she swam with the currents and waves near the shore. He would stay and watch her and the flowing waters frolic in the sea together. Whenever he caught sight of her, he would sit, watching, until she and the currents moved far out to sea, until he lost them in the distance. The grey man, being of the land, was not always there to watch the sea nor catch sight of the light grey fish. Such was a time, when one day she came near the shore to play with the waves. While swimming about, in her eagerness to entice the waves to grown taller and taller...she jumped way up high, sailing through the air. Too late, she realized her mistake and landed far up on the shore's earth. Try as she might, she could not get back to the sea. The waves crashed upon the shore high and hard, trying to reach her. Each time falling short in their attempts. The grey man who watched the sea heard the commotion of the waves and went out too see what it was about. Almost at once he came upon the fish and saw the waves attempting to reach her. He tried to move her to the reaching waves... but she was of the sea and like the sea, the grey man could take no solid hold upon her. He tried for hours but to no avail. Over time her smooth skin slowly began to lose its moisture. Even so, though he gained a better grip upon her, he could not lift her any more than he could lift the weight of the sea. Fearing she is about to die, the grey man put his arms about her holding her tightly, for he knew of nothing more that he could do that would save her. However, before her life ebbed away, the most miraculous thing happened.... His caring, sorrow and love for this creature, so fragile on land, was so strong that it transformed her into a lovely light grey woman. When the waves saw this they sank back into the sea and the currents ceased to move. Ahhh! but this tale does not end here... She, who was once a fish of the sea, was so touched by the grey man's caring love, that she followed him back in to the land where he lived. There he taught her the way of the land, and they became closer and fell in love. She could still move like the sea, and some days they would dance. She would leap and move gracefully around. He would jump up whistling merrily and spin about in his attempts to keep up with hr. There were rarely times when they were apart. But times there were.... The grey man still loved to watch the sea. Even though it no longer danced and moved with currents, he would at times go down to its shore. She however, would not go with him... for her heart and soul was still with the sea. Seeing it made her long greatly for it. It was also true, that she would never go out when it rained nor wash with water. For its touch would remind her of the sea. Instead she would clean herself with sand. Over time, the sand stuck to her body and mixed in with her skin causing it to become speckled. One day the grey man felt a deep call from the land. The call tugged at his curiosity. He held the speckled woman lovingly and told her that he would soon return, then went out to follow the call. The sandy woman waited for him. She waited several days for him to return. But he did not. Finally she went out to search for him. While she looked, it began to rain. The water touched her... It pulled at her very soul... drawing her back to the sea. As she neared the sea, the waves, at once, began again to jump up high. The wave's movements drew her to the water and the currents danced around her feet. Her heart and soul again became one with the sea. She did not completely transform back into a fish, for part of her soul was now that of a woman's. On that same day, the man came back from deep within the land. As he drew nearer to the shore he heard the movements of the waves, that had so long been silent. He moved quickly towards the waves calling out with all his love. When he reached the shore he saw her fish-like outline as she moved with the currents far, far out to sea. At this he wept, his salty tears falling into the sea. His sorrow was great. He cried many days on end... Drop by drop his tears added salt to the sea. The waves and currents tried to keep them away from the creature who once was a woman and a fish, but now was neither. They tried and tried, but it was in vane, for the grey man's tears soon filled all the sea's water with salt. When his salty tears reached her she headed back towards the shore, where the man wept for her. The currents followed slowly behind. She came to the grey man, and as close to the shore as she could. When he saw her, he ran out, splashing through the waves towards her. Upon reaching her, he held her sandy light grey body tightly in his arms. Their love for each other held them together so strongly that the grey man changed, becoming not a fish nor any longer a man. He became a grey fish-like creature just as she had. The currents and waves gathered about them. Together they jumped spinning and dancing out to sea. Their children still whistle and squeak their tale, jumping and swimming about with the currents. Some of them, like the Spinner dolphins, still jump up out of the water spinning with joy and remembrance, and you can still see some of the sandy coloring in the Spotted dolphins skins. All of them keep a special kindness in their souls for women... and Men :-) Oh yes, and they lived happily ever after, The End. - as told by Samsung the orca... whereever she may be. =================================================== harmlesslion.com - Not for Commercial Use