Today's new drawing on this free coloring pages blog is an alternative drawing of a Merrow.
Merilee the Merrow or Irish Mermaid
Notice Merilee's hat. Merrows are known to have a special article of clothing that is magical. This article allows them to breathe underwater. There is their red cap, and sometimes a red cape or a sealskin cape. If they lose their magical article of clothing they can not return to the sea.
Merrows are an Irish Mermaid. It is said that once, long ago, Irish men often sought to marry a Merrow. If they got married sometimes the Merrow would miss the sea and leave her human husband to go back to her underwater life in the ocean. So some husbands will steal and hide the magical article of clothing so their Merrow wife does not abandon them and their kids.
Merrows are said to be very beautiful and a real catch as a wife. It is also said that people with the surname of O'Sullivan or Sullivan OR O'Flannery are people who descended from the children that came from a human man and Merrow marriage. The children of a human and Merrow appear to be human in every way, however, they tend to have an affinity for swimming and for playing in the water of rivers, pools, lakes, and especially the ocean.
A Merrow is a female Mermaid. A male Merrow is just called a Male Merrow. There are some legends that say that the Male Merrows are very unattractive so that is why Merrows seek out human males to marry. (Remember that "Merrow means Mermaid.)
Merilee is wearing some traditional Irish clothing in this drawing. She is relaxing on the beach and she has her magical red cap on her head. Perhaps you wonder if she is contemplating heading inland to look for a husband. I'll tell you more about Merilee later.
Some legends of Merrows make them out to be like Sirens who seduce and murder sailors. But the fact that other legends say they make good wives would indicate that at least some of the Merrows are truly nice. I say this because good looks, in a male or female, are irrelevant in a relationship if the person is unkind and selfish. The Irishmen are wise enough to not be bothered by the webbed feet that are somewhat on the large size in their Merrow wife. The Irishmen are also not bothered by their wife's webbed hands.
I like to think that some of the Merrow and human marriages worked out well because the Merrow loved her husband and their children and WANTED to stick around... even if she DID miss the sea. I told you I would tell you more about Merilee later. Well, here it is:
Merilee lived in her Merrow village on the coast of Ireland in the early 1900s. She was happy but always drawn to the shore. Her people were not as some legends say, made of pretty females and ugly males. All the Merrow people were of a variety of appearances. In other words, there were some who were physically very attractive, like Merilee. And there were some who were physically very unattractive. Truth be told, the Merrows or females were more often than not very physically attractive.
Most Merrows from Merilee's village were very kind individuals. There were some who were not kind and there was even a village law against harassing or killing human sailors, swimmers, and fishermen.
Merilee wondered if the legends that the humans had of unattractive male Merrows were made so human men did not feel guilty for stealing their Merrow wife's magical cap to keep her from returning to the ocean. In fact, some Merrow women would return to the ocean if given half a chance. But many Merrow were perfectly happy with the human lifestyle.
Merilee went ashore often and interacted with mortals in a seaside village. She is seen here on the beach. You may notice that she is not sporting a fishtail. This is because many Merrows, the ones that tended to marry humans, have legs, not fishtails. They DO have webbed feet and hands. This is what human men look for. Of course, the spectacular beauty of many Merrow catches the eye of human men.
Wise human men know to look at more than just looks though. They get to know the Merrow and don't propose marriage until they know they have found a good and kind one to marry and have children with.
Merilee was known for her frequent visits to the village and she knew many men. But she met the love of her life, a fisherman named Liam O'Sullivan. He was out fishing one day as Marilee was swimming into town. She surfaced and looked at Liam from a distance. He was lowering his cone-shaped net for the third time. He had experienced a rough day of fishing with little success.
Merilee was intrigued by his determination and his good looks. He had red hair and freckles on his nose and cheeks. She saw that he was fishing with a 10-year-old boy who looked remarkably like him. She assumed that the boy was his son.
On her way in, Merilee had seen a school of Atlantic Pollock about a kilometer further out. She swam up to the boat and called out. Liam and his son Sean looked up and soon the fishermen learned about where to fish. They invited Merilee into their boat and the rest is history. You see, Merilee means mirthful or joyous. And Marilee was aptly named. She was full of joy and fun that won Liam's heart and she also won over Sean, who would become her stepson.
Liam and Merilee were married a month later. They had five more kids. Merilee often went fishing with her husband and kids. This gave her the opportunity to be in the ocean again. (And she could find the schools of fish for Liam.) She took occasional trips to visit her family in the ocean as well. She even obtained "loaner caps" for her husband and children so they could come to visit as well. Loaner caps are used for humans who are either married to a Merrow or who are half or part Merrow and want to see the underwater world.
So, this drawing is of Merilee returning from one of her visits with her parents and extended family out in the ocean village just offshore. She is relaxing in the sun. She is wearing a traditional Irish outfit that she wears on land.
The large bird in this drawing is the Atlantic Cormorant. It is also way more commonly called the Great Cormorant. It dives from high in the sky to catch fish down in the ocean. They DO live around the coast of Ireland as well as throughout much of the Atlantic Ocean fringes and over around the Western Atlantic, the eastern Pacific, and around many parts of Asia and Europe.
The swan out in the ocean is the Mute Swan. They are a large and very beautiful waterfowl that live in many parts of the world - including around Ireland. Mute Swans live in all the temperate zones of the world. They don't care form the tropics or equatorial regions.
NOTE: This drawing, in printable form, is found by clicking on the button labeled "Fantasy, Myths, and Circus." Then scroll to the bottom of the list to get to the title of this new drawing. Since I included 2 specific bird species this drawing will also be found, in printable form, under the "Birds" button.
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