The Nobleman and the Lady Fishes

There once was a young nobleman who lived on a wide expanse of land he had purchased from a wise and honorable old land owner who had no sons of his own.

“Take care of all of the things you find on this land,” said the old man. “For it abounds with magic and there are a great many mysteries here, and if you are not wise and caring, they will ensnare your mind and bewitch your heart, and you will forget your responsibility.”

So the nobleman thanked the old land owner for trusting him with the land and set about moving his family into the beautiful home on the property.

They lived there many years, where he loved his wife and sons, and made great effort to see to their well-being.

Occasionally, the nobleman would walk upon the vast property that he owned, but he never felt like it belonged to him, that he was only curating it until such time as he could find a suitable heir, whether that be one of his sons, or some other noble person. His walks took him acres upon miles, exploring the wonders on his property.

On one such walk, he overheard a lively conversation in the most beautiful voices he had ever heard. Upon closer investigation, he encountered a small pool, surrounded by fairies, and which contained two very large fish, who looked very much like women, but swam with such grace he knew there was nothing human about them. He was captivated by their beauty and had to know the mystery of the lady fishes in the pool. He approached carefully, thinking he would frighten all of them away, especially the fairies, who he had learned on other walks, liked to keep to themselves.

To the nobleman’s surprise, they did not flee, but upon noticing him, did smile and laugh, and one fairy said sprightly, “Come sit with us, sir! We hoped you might find us!”

Now, fairies can be tricky. So it is best to approach with caution. Especially with blue fairies. Always with blue fairies. In this case, however, the nobleman could see that these fairies were green, not blue, and he knew that he was safe. And so he sat down upon a tuft of grass, and watched the fairies dance and play, and he was never more at peace.

As the afternoon wore on, the lady fishes propped themselves up at the bank of the pool, and regarded the nobleman, as he continued to watch the dancing fairies.

“He’s not at all handsome,” said one of the fish.

“Oh, what use do we have of handsome?” said the other. “Is he strong, do you think?”

“Who cares? What do you need him to lift?” said the first.

The two fishes continued bickering like this a bit, until the first called out to the nobleman, “You, sir! May I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” replied the nobleman, for he was not in the habit of arguing with magical creatures.

“My name is Love,” said the first fish.

“I am called Regret,” said the second.

“Are you the owner of this land?” asked Love.

“I am,” answered the nobleman.

“You’re much different than we imagined,” said Regret.

“Yes, we’ve never met the land owner before,” said Love. “We’d begun to think he didn’t exist.”

The nobleman then explained his purchase of the land some years past, explaining how vast it was, and that perhaps the previous land owner simply hadn’t taken the time to visit this part of it. But Love and Regret only lamented and complained and wished it hadn’t taken so long.

“Would you come back to visit us?” they asked.

“Of course,” he replied again, knowing it was his responsibility to care for the magic on his land, just as the old land owner had bade him. He returned faithfully and regularly, always explaining to his wife that he was “off to watch the fairies dance.” Not once did the nobleman’s wife complain, because she was kind and happy, and she knew her husband was noble indeed, beside their living on a magical land requiring a special man to see to its care.

The lady fishes Love and Regret had many questions for the nobleman, mostly about the enchanted land on which they lived, and pretended they had not been outside the pool. The fairies knew better though, and always giggled when the lady fishes played pretend, so the nobleman always knew when they were trying to tease him. But no matter the day and however much fun they had at his expense, the fairies all went quiet when the lady fishes would say, “We love you,” and they would ask, “Would you come back to visit us?”

“Of course,” the nobleman would always say, because he believed they needed extra care, and they were on his land after all.

Now you’ll have to forgive the nobleman, for unlike you and I he knew very little of fairies, and even less about fishes, but day-by-day the nobleman better regarded the lady fishes, and even thought that perhaps once he understood their native voice, which sounded like music to him, and the lyrics sounded thus:

Stay by me, old man, young man

To see to my well-being

Do not get caught in what I am

I am not what you’re seeing

The music confused the nobleman, and he put it out of mind, but still he came to love his fairies, and especially loved his lady fishes, so much so that he planned his days around his attendance to that part of his land, and he took great pains to see that they were happy there.

“Is it okay that I come to see you so often?” the nobleman would ask.

“It is perfectly fine,” they lied, for they could not bear to see him sad. Here, you’ll have to forgive the lady fishes for lying. They had never met a nobleman before him, and did not know he believed he was visiting for their benefit, and not his own.

When word got back to the lady fishes that the nobleman had been planning his days around seeing to their contentedness, they pretended to hate him.

“He comes around quite often,” argued Love. “I don’t like it.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Regret. “I think he needs us too much.”

“If he loves me, I’m afraid that is simply obnoxious,” said Love. “Next time he comes to the fairy pool, I’ll ask him if he does, and if so…”

“If so, that will be the end of that,” said Regret.

And the two planned to deceive the nobleman the next chance they got.

Of course, not very many days went by when the nobleman came to check on his fairies and on the lady fish. When he had watched the fairies dance, and sat down on his favorite tuft of grass, the lady fish propped themselves on the bank of the pool, as they usually did.

“Do you love me?” Love asked the nobleman.

“Beware,” said Regret. “Answer well. Or pay the price forever.”

“You know I do,” answered the nobleman. “I love you both.”

“If that is true,” said Love, “then come back tomorrow, for I have something to tell you.”

Love had ensnared his mind, and bewitched his heart, just as the old land owner had warned him, and the nobleman had forgotten his responsibility, for the land was vast, and the magic was great upon his land, and he had spent too much time visiting only the fairy pool.

When he returned to the pool the next day upon Love’s request, she pretended she was in trouble.

“Help! Please help!” Love cried when she saw his approach.

“Come quickly!” echoed Regret.

The nobleman, gravely concerned, rushed forward to the fairy pool. So distraught was he over the thought of some misfortune that he did not hear the fairies giggling, as they did so often when the lady fishes played pretend.

“What is it, my Love?” yelled the nobleman. Love turned to him, smiled, shrugged, and vanished. The fairies giggled, waved, and they too vanished.

“Why did you come back?” asked Regret.

“She asked me to,” said the nobleman. “And I wanted her to know I cared.”

“Yes, you cared, but you cared too much for Love, sir,” said Regret. “And so the fairies here are gone, for they follow Love. But I will stay in this place, and perhaps they will return.”

She sent the nobleman away at last, who went to his home and had a nice supper with his wife and sons, and they saw that he was sad, but they knew him best, and they knew he could not stay sad for long.

The nobleman continued to care for his family, and for his land, far and wide, highlands and lowlands. But after that, he never cared too much for Regret, and always at a distance, because he didn’t want to forget the good lesson Regret had taught him. Nor did he want to spoil the possibility of Love’s return.

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This, children, is why you’ve heard the poem…

And when his Love, she went away, he knew she’d left for Good.

She’d left him only with Regret, as only his Love could.