The Boy from the Bottom of the Sea is a Greenland Inuit merman tale, written by Jane Yolan and Shulamith Oppenheimer. A man beat his wife brutally everyday, and everyday she tried to hide from him at a kindly neighbor’s home. Everyday he would find her and drag her home. One day, he hits her with a wooden box, so, even though she is pregnant, she runs away and lives at the bottom of the sea. She gives birth to a merchild, who grows up and wants to return to land. She tells him he may, but he must go to the house of his father, look in the window, and make a terrible face. He does, and all of the people inside die. When the neighbors come to see the family, they see only tracks of seaweed and a house full of dead people.
The moral here is obviously, do not beat your wife, or a hideous merchild will come and scare you to death. I have always loved stories of mythical creatures, even the scary ones. However, I am not sure I agree with frightening people with monsters, but it kept even one man from knocking his wife around, GREAT!
The story is short and too the point. I wanted more detail. I am sure if one was telling this while sitting around a fire next to the sea at night, there would be a lot more detail.

Another mermen tale from Chile tells of a widower fisherman named Curi-Cavin. This story is called Rayen-Caven and the Sea Spirit. Unable to raise his young Rayen-Caven becomes a woman due to the training of the Sea Spirit, which comes to her as sea air. A week before her twentieth birthday, she brings home a suitor, Necul-Naqui. They tell her father that they are in love and to be married. The father comes clean, and the suitor promises to fight for his bride.
The day before the wedding, Curi-Cavin goes out fishing. A horrible storm kicks up, and the Sea Spirit descends on the village, killing everyone, while Curi-Caven watches helplessly. He is the only one to survive.
This is a story about being careful about making bargains. It is a good message, although it is rather grim. It teaches children to be careful about making decisions about their loved ones. It also could be used to discuss freedom of choice for everyone. I liked it.

This book does indeed contain short and succinct recitals of folk tales about mermen. A straight read-through is a bit dry and boring. Not Jane Yolen's shining moment as a storyteller here. Its value seems to lie only in its utility as a reference about mermen and their 'names' as they are known throughout the world. It may be a helpful springboard to discovering other merman literature and/or art. ( )