Mermaids

=          Mermaids           = =                    = =           A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature that is half human and half aquatic creature. The word mermaid is a compound of mere,the Old English word for sea,and maid. Mermaids appear to have the tail of a fish and the torso of a woman. They sing to people and gods and enchant them,distracting them from thier work and causing them to walk off the deck or run thier ships aground. Other stories say of mermaids squeezing the life out of drowning men while attempting to rescue them. They are also said to take humans to thier underwater kingdoms. Tales of mermaids are nearly unversal. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria,ca. 1000 BC. Mermaids were noted in British folkore as unlucky omens,both foretelling disaster and provoking it. Several variants of the ballad Sir Patrick Spens depict a mermaid speaking to the doomed ships;in some saying,she claims they are near shore,which they are wise enough to know means and the same thing. They can also be a sign of rough weather.Mermaids could also swim up rivers to freshwater lakes. On occasion,mermaids could be more beneficient,giving humans means of cure. Some mermaids were described as monstrous in size,up to 200 feet. Mermans were also noted as wilder and uglier then mermaids,but they were described as having little interest in humans. Thier habitat is Ocean,sea. They are worldwide. There are many tales about mermaids. The mermaid or syrenka, is the symbol of Warsaw. Images of a mermaid have been used on the crest of Warsaw as its symbol since th middle of the 14th century. = = = = = == = = = = = = = = = =