The Mermaid And The Farm Boy

On a farm near the sea lived a man and a woman and their three sons. Early one morning, the woman awoke, and while looking out of the window onto to the pasture, she saw that the family's only cow was lying dead in the field. The situation looked hopeless. How could she possibly continue to feed her family now? In a depressed state of mind, she hanged herself from a tree near the barn.

When the man awoke to find his wife dead - as well as the cow - he too saw the hopelessness of the situation, and took his life with a pistol shot to his head.

Then the oldest son awoke, and discovered his parents dead - and the cow - and decided to go down to sea and drown himself. When he arrived at the shore, he discovered a mermaid lying on the wet sand. She said, "I know the reason for your despair. But if you will make love to me five times in a row, I will restore your parents - and the cow - to you." The son agreed to try, but after four times, he was unable to satisfy her again, regardless of the reward. So the mermaid drowned him in the surf.

Next the second oldest son woke up. After learning what had happened he too decided to throw himself into the waters. The mermaid was still on the shore. She said to him, "I know of your losses. If you will make love to me ten times in a row, I will make everything right." And while the son tried his best, it was not enough to satisfy the mermaid, so she drowned him as well.

The youngest son woke up to find his parents dead, the cow dead and his brothers missing. He saw life to be a hopeless prospect, and, like his brothers, set out for the sea to end his suffering. And there he also met the mermaid. "I have seen what has happened, and I can make everything right if you will only make love to me fifteen times in a row." The young son replied, "Is that all? Why not twenty times in a row?" Surprised, the mermaid pondered his question for a moment. "Why not twenty-five times in a row, then?", she proposed, mermaid heart all aflutter. And the young son replied, "How do I know that twenty-five times in a row won't kill you like it did the cow?"

Odds...