Mermaid

Once upon a time, in the dragons' land far, far away

There was a mermaid who lived in a castle - majestic and gray.

The castle belonged to some dragons who moved out of town.

Abandoned and ghostly it stood until it was found

By Mermaid who thought "I can live here. It's the least I deserve".

And so her reign started - on that land, on that piece of Earth.

Mermaid, kind and polite, soon made a lot of new friends.

Dragons who met her one time craved to see her again.

Generous gifts they would bring her - some funny, some stern.

Mermaid humbly accepted, giving all the joy in return.

All dragons were happy for the castle's new dweller.

But the happiest of all was the weather teller.

A special dragon he was - some say he was mad.

But nobody doubted the magical talent he had.

By omens and signs no one else understood

He knew if what comes in the future was good

Or bad and when it was bad he dashed down the town

Shouting out loudly about what was going to come.

Sadly he spoke in a way that was mystical, strange

Thus a lot of the dragons thought him deranged.

Soon nobody listened, no one considered to take a prevention.

Sad and abandoned he thought of a way to draw their attention

And to be useful. He started to dress for the weather to come.

Sometimes in hot days he would put on a sweater, so that all would be warned

That cold would appear in several days

And they had to prepare for it was to stay.

Sometimes in cold days he would wear a tee

Temperatures rising - that it would mean

One day he stopped in front of Mermaid's reigns

And instead of claiming it was going to rain

Or some of the sort, he took a serious face:

“They will conquer it”, said he, “they will conquer this place”.

Mermaid was startled - should she believe the terrible news?

Few days later the family came - the ones that were going to use

The castle to live in. Mermaid was anxious and scared.

They slammed the door before her: “You have no place there!”

And Mermaid was left all alone in the hands of her fate.

Merciful neighbors tried to help her but it wasn't that great.

Most of the dragons were poor and couldn't afford one more plate on the table.

Mermaid knew that, she felt ashamed and her health grew unstable.

Begging for food, looking for shelter, she just went door to door.

Day after day, night after night, as if she was never happy before.

At last she gave up and started to sleep in the street.

Skinny and dirty, aloof and unhappy in cold, warm and heat.

The mystical dragon who saw the future appeared again

Sat by her, patted her shoulder: “Soon it is going to rain.

You find where to hide, stay hale and alert!

Soon everyone gets what he deserves.”

Rain started in days, as he said.

Mermaid hid in a place close to a bed

Of flowers and waited for the miracle to appear.

Meanwhile the weather teller was given a gift by a peer.

It was a lottery ticket. An old friend of his

met him wandering down the streets.

The friend had two lottery tickets - exactly the same.

Gave one to the dragon and whispered: "May you win the game".

Two days had passed and the lottery was drawn.

The dragon knew beforehand that he had won.

Took the prize and bought a splendid home.

Went to Mermaid: “The moment has come.

I don't own a castle but there's a place you can stay.

You can share my food, live under my roof if you want, you can start from today.”

Mermaid said “yes” and they went home together.

Everything since then started to better.

Even the weather - sun finally made its way on the sky.

All that I am telling is real, I am not going to lie.

Except for one thing - that Mermaid wasn't a mermaid at all.

And the dragon who saved her was human, more human than all.