A CORNISH BELIEF
In any Cornish fishing village may be bought small red seaweeds that look like trees, each growing on a small round base of its own. They are supposed to keep ill-luck out of the house, and people hang their trinkets on them at night. Down in the hollows of the rocky shore these sturdy seaweeds make dwarf forests under the waves, and in their branches—say the Cornish folk —live the tiniest mermaids, hiding from the big fish who pass by. Many of these dells of the sea lie above low-water mark, and when the tide ebbs, the mermaids swim out on the last of the waves. That is why they are never found in the pools left behind. But when the sea comes leaping in again toward the shore, the mermaids ride on its foam, looking out for their homes. To make their task easy—so old fish erf oik say—Father Neptune made these little seaweeds red.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNAK19271005.2.33.10
Bibliographic details
Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 167, 5 October 1927, Page 6
Word Count
159A CORNISH BELIEF Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 167, 5 October 1927, Page 6
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