In which I share a mermaid story from a quite unusual place

 I tend to think of the Basque people as mountain-dwellers, both in their native region of Spain and France, and in their uprooted and adopted region of the high plains of the American West.  That's why I was surprised to discover a Basque story about a lamia, which is, basically, a mermaid!

The Lamia Builds a Bridge (Basque)

Long time ago there was a young shepherd who crossed the Oba River every day with his flock.  But when he approached to the river, he was surprised to see it was about to overflow, although it was not the season of flooding.

Then he saw a lamia on the other side of the river, combing her long hair with a shining golden comb.  He called out to her, “Beautiful woman, how can I pass through the river with my flock to reach the other side?

The lamia said to him, "Before the sun goes down, you'll have to give a name to the child in my womb. If the name pleases me, I'll build a stone bridge so you and your flock can pass the river. Otherwise, I'll flood all the valley."

The shepherd thought all day long of the best possible name for a child.  He thought of lucky names, and powerful names, and names of heroes and poets. 

Just as the sun was setting, he remembered a story his father told him long time ago. The young shepherd had never known his own mother, as she died when he was born, but the father said that her finals words were “Aita hor” (Here, father).

So he said to the lamia, “You should call your child Aitor.”  

“You must wait until the sun rises again, and then you may cross,” the lamia said to him, and she disappeared.  But, by the light of the rising moon, the shepherd could see the beautiful woman turning her own body into a huge stone bridge that grew overnight like tree branches across the wide river.

In the morning, the shepherd was able to cross the river with his flock, and the bridge stands in that place to this day.

Historical picture of the bridge near the town of Lamia.  This bridge was intentionally destroyed
during WWII to disrupt Nazi supply lines.