I'm Joanne, and this is Drift Off, the sleep podcast with bedtime stories to help you sleep.

It's been an exciting week since we launched this podcast, and I'm so grateful for all

the listeners that have been tuning in to our first few episodes.

If you're enjoying my bedtime stories, please consider sharing our podcast with family

and friends. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and leaving a review or a rating on Apple

podcasts can really help grow our audience. Thank you so much for your support.

In tonight's episode, I'm going to read you a bedtime story called The Mermaid and the Boy

by Andrew Ling, a story of a king and a queen who send their prints out into the world

and a mermaid who comes to collect the prints on a promise made by the king years before.

And so, my friend, it's time to pack your wormies away and sweep your thoughts to the side,

then snuggle under the covers, and let me be your guide.

Long, long ago, there lived a king who ruled over a country by the sea.

When he had been married about a year, some of his subjects, inhabiting a distant group of

islands, revolted against his laws, and it became needful for him to leave his wife and go

in person to settle their disputes. The queen feared that some ill would come of it,

and implored him to stay at home. But he told her that nobody could do his work for him,

and the next morning, the sails were spread and the king started on his voyage.

The vessel had not gone very far when she ran upon a rock and stuck so fast in a cleft

that the strength of the whole crew could not get her off again.

To make matters worse, the wind was rising too, and it was quite plain that in a few hours,

the ship would be dashed to pieces, and everybody would be drowned.

When suddenly, the form of a mermaid was seen dancing on the waves, which threatened every moment

...