I got told this one when I was a kid and for whatever reason, it's stuck with me.


A farmer with two sons wakes up one morning to find out that his cow has died in the night. He runs to the nearby river to drown himself and there finds a mermaid. The mermaid tells him that if he can make love to her five times, she'll bring back the cow.

The man does his best but fails to live up to the task, and she drowns him.

The first son wakes and upon finding the cow dead and his father is gone, begin to look for his father. When he gets down to the river, he finds the mermaid. She tells him that if he can make love to her ten times, she'll bring back both the cow and his father.

The son does his best but fails to live up to the task, and she drowns him.

The second son wakes up, and upon finding an empty house and a dead cow, begins to search for his father and brother. When he gets down to the river, he too finds the mermaid. She tells him that if he can make love to her twenty times, she'll bring back his father, brother, and the cow.

The second son looks skeptical at the proposition. "How do I know that making love to you twenty times won't kill you like it did the cow?"

225 words.