dhampyresa

In 2023, I read a bunch of folktale collections, one of which was François-Marie Luzel's Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne ("Popular Tales of Lower Brittany"), which is 1200+ pages split into 3 volumes (you can find it on Wikisource), which contains the folktale that has the BEST but also MOST BAFFLING ending to a folktale I've ever read.

Pipi Menou et les Femmes volantes ("Pipi Menou and the flying Women" -- no I do not know why it is capitalised like that) was told by Marie Tual, on Ouessant, in march 1873 and ends with

La princesse se fit baptiser, car elle n’était pas chrétienne, puis Pipi l’épousa, et ils vécurent heureux ensemble, et eurent plusieurs enfants. Mais, on dit que ces enfants leur furent tous enlevés par les Morgans.

Translation by yours truly:

The princess was baptised, since she was not Christian, then Pipi married her, and they lived hapilly together, and had several children. But, it is said that their children were all stolen from them by the mermaids[1].

[1] Morgan is the Breton word for mermaid -- the plural is morganed.

Yes, that is IT. That's how it ends. Surprise mermaid! Surprise kidnappings! Surprise mermaid kidnappings! Sleep well, children :)

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muccamukk

Add "But, it is said that their children were all stolen from them by the mermaids." to the end of your favourite work of fiction (or extra spicy, non fiction).

kore

Haha, JINX.

sovay

But, it is said that their children were all stolen from them by the mermaids

That's right up there with "And then the murders began."

(Does kidnapping by mermaid happen a lot in Breton folktales, or just this one?)

Now that could be a good ending for a lot of stories!

isis

Hmm, Yuletide fandom for next year?

cornerofmadness

Well that's something isn't it. Oddly enough one of the characters (male) in my current novel is the discarded child of a Morgen (also used in Wales)

greenwoodside

Writing risk assessments must be fun in Brittany.

luzula

I was using my memories of school French to try to read the passage before I looked at your translation, and could read or guess most of it, but the last bit baffled me. Which, no wonder! School French did not prepare me for mermaids.