morning, noon
But the poor Mermaid was too sad to play nowadays . She no longer took any pleasure in the gay life which the Mer-folk lived beneath the waves . She wandered instead here and there , up and down the sea , calling , calling for her lost baby . The sound of her sobbing came from the sea at morning , noon , and night . She did not know her child 's fate , but she feared that he had been captured by the dreadful Men-folk , who , so her people said , were ever seeking to snare the sea-creatures in their wicked nets . Day after day the unhappy Mermaid swam along the shore trying to see the places where the Men-folk dwelt , hoping that she might catch a glimpse of her lost darling . But that good hap never befell her .