It had to happen as we were messing about in our boat

Billy B was as clumsy as he always was

And our bottles of wine soon fell into the sea

Due to the tidal currents we could not retrieve the lost bottles

And when we reached the beach we abandoned our lunch to the birds that lived nearby

I suggested to Julie J that we should return to the mainland

But she insisted that the weather was on the turn

And that such a venture would be very foolish

Nothing much happened as we made our way to the town

Although we were aware that the wind was cooling as it changed direction

We drank a lot that night as a storm battered the small island

The sun rose clearly the following morning and it was then that I decided to retrieve the lost bottles of wine

I left the others asleep and headed for the beach where to my surprise

I found the bottles washed up with the cargoes of many years

I supposed that the violence of the storm had caused this mysterious bounty

Until a mermaid in the shallows said that she had retrieved them during the night

It was a task that was expected of her when the conditions allowed

And other than this she was left quite alone to share her beauty with the breathless sea