Boy put a fish in pond near the sea. Then mermaid comes up of the pond. He plays the flute and gets along with her. They go into the sea and play together. After they enjoy playing he asks her to go his house but she can't walk because she don't have legs. So he carries her to his house. In his house he put her in water burial and shows her to his family. However his family can see only a fish and never see the mermaid. In those days people don't allow the freedom of imagination, therefore he is sent to jail. Whenever he recognizes the mermaid though the screen, he has to take the electric shock. That 's to say he is trained to refuse the mermaid. After that he runs to his house for mermaid, but there is just a fish, not her. Finally he brings and puts back the fish beyond the sea. When the fish starts to swim and goes away, the fish seems to be mermaid for him in the end.
I think Tezuka want to tell all of the pelple freedom of immagination and human's imagination can remain forever in one's mind evevn if someone prohibit them to imagine.
