you drink until youre drunk and then sing without shame until the neighbors throw stones at you . so let it be known , my dear people , that whatever punishment they receive , they deserve a fate a thousand times worse . but ... what if she was n't sure about me ? after a moment , the mermaid 's body started to drift away from the boat and the dolphin kept pace . for the most part , they seemed to ignore her . our fathers had no idea what they were doing to us . 