The Merman Who Changed an Icelandic Fisherman’s Life Forever

This is episode is part of my Folklore Friday series where I am sharing a Folklore story every Friday in 2024. To hear other stories, I have shared so far, check them out on my website All Things Iceland.

How an Icelandic Fisherman Caught a Merman

Many years ago, there was a farmer living in Vogar, famous for being the best fisherman around. No one could match his skill, and his farm flourished because of it. One day, while he was out on the water, something strange happened. He cast his line into the sea like usual, but when he tried to reel it in, it felt impossibly heavy, as if he had snagged a massive catch.

To his surprise, when he finally pulled it up, it wasn’t just a fish—he’d caught a strange creature with the body of a man!

Startled, the fisherman blurted out, “What in the world are you?”

The creature responded calmly, “I am a merman from the deep sea.”

Curious, the farmer asked, “What were you doing when my hook got you?”

The merman replied, “I was adjusting the chimney cowl on my mother’s house to make it face the wind. Now, let me go!”

But the farmer wasn’t ready to release him just yet. “Not so fast,” he said. “You’ll have to serve me for a bit first.”

Without further discussion, the fisherman dragged the merman into his boat and rowed back to shore.

The Merman Notices Some Interesting Things About the Fisherman

When they reached land, the fisherman’s loyal dog ran up to greet him, barking happily and wagging its tail. But in a foul mood, the farmer struck the dog for being too excited. At this, the merman chuckled softly but didn’t explain why.

As the fisherman headed toward his house, pulling the merman behind him, he stumbled over a small hill. Annoyed, he cursed at it. The merman laughed again, louder this time.

Finally, when they arrived at the house, the fisherman’s wife rushed out to greet him, wrapping her arms around him affectionately. Pleased with her welcome, he smiled—only to hear the merman laugh a third time.
The farmer, now curious, asked, “You’ve laughed three times. Why?”

“I’ll only tell you,” said the merman, “if you promise to take me back to the sea and let me go.”
The fisherman agreed, eager to hear the reasons.

The merman began, “I laughed the first time when you hit your dog, who was only showing you honest joy. The second time, I laughed because you cursed the hill—yet beneath it lies a fortune in gold. The third time, I laughed because your wife’s embrace, though it pleased you, was hollow. She is unfaithful to you.”

Shocked, the farmer said, “I’ll believe you if I find gold in that hill. The rest, we’ll see.”

The Fisherman is Shocked at What He Found

He immediately went to the hill and dug it up. Sure enough, he found a treasure of golden coins buried there, just as the merman had said.

Keeping his word, the farmer took the merman back to the sea. Before diving back into the depths, the merman said, “You’ve kept your promise, so I will reward you. Soon, you will come across something valuable. Be ready to claim it.”

Not long after, seven sea-grey cows appeared on the beach near the farmer’s land. They were wild and untamable, but the farmer noticed something unusual—they each had a small bladder attached to their noses. Remembering the merman’s words, the farmer chased after them, managing to burst the bladder on one of the cows. Immediately, the cow became calm, allowing the farmer to lead her home. The rest of the cows fled back into the sea.

That one grey cow turned out to be an incredible gift, giving more milk than any other cow in the land. She became the ancestor of a prized breed of grey cows, famous throughout Iceland.

The farmer grew rich and lived a prosperous life, but he never caught another merman. And as for his wife, well, nothing more was said about her after that, so we can only guess how that part of the story ended.

Random Fact of the Episode

Stories of Mermen often depict them as being very ugly with hands and feet. While they might not be pleasant to look like, mermen are not described as harmful to people and they are not evil.

Icelandic Word of the Episode

Marbendill – Merman who is the male counterpart of the mythical female mermaid, is a legendary creature which is human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape.

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