The maelstrom i was visiting norway when i met an old fisherman. he took me up one of the mountains near the coast to show me the famous whirlpool or maelstrom. the sea was calm when we got to the top of the mountain but then we 5 heard a frightening sound in the distance. suddenly, the sea became rough and the whirlpool appeared, going round and round and making a louder noise than niagara falls. we watched it for some time and then started to go down the mountain again. then the 10 fisherman started to speak. 'about three years ago, something terrifying happened to me. those six hours of terror have broken my body and soul. you think i am a very old man - but i am not. it took less than a single day to change my hair from black to white. one day in the summer, my two 15 brothers and i were coming back from the islands, where the fishing is excellent. our boat was full of fine fish after a good day's work. all at once the horizon was covered with a cloud and in less than a minute we were in a terrible storm. it was the worst storm i have ever seen. an enormous wave covered our boat and i watched in horror as my younger brother fell overboard. our boat survived and i was trying to recover when 20 my elder brother put his mouth close to my ear, and screamed out the horrifying word "whirlpool! " with the wind and waves, we were going in the direction of the whirlpool and nothing could save us! we soon heard the horrible noise of the whirlpool in the distance and got closer and closer to it. it may seem strange but at that 25 moment, when we were moving towards it. we went round and round, nearer and nearer to the edge of the whirlpool. suddenly, we went over the edge. i said a prayer to god; i thought my life was over. but moment after moment went by and i was still 30 alive. the boat was on the inside of the enormous whirlpool and we were going round in circles at great speed. i saw clearly that there were other objects in the whirlpool - trees, barrels, parts of ships and even pieces of furniture. gradually, we went down more quickly than the smaller, lighter ones. so i tied 35 myself to a barrel to help me float and got ready to throw myself into the water. i tried to make my brother understand but he was terrified and stayed in the heavy boat. without waiting, i dived into the sea to try and escape. i'm telling you this story now - so you see that i did escape. i will bring my story quickly to a conclusion. some time after i left the boat, with my brother in it, it sank once and forever into the bottom of the whirlpool. soon afterwards, the whirlpool grew gradually less and less violent. the sky was clear, the winds calmer and the moon was shining. i was still tied to the barrel and the waves soon carried me to an area where the other fishermen were. in the end, a boat picked me up. i was completely exhausted. the fishermen were my old companions but they did not recognise me. when i told them my story, they did not believe it. now i have told you, and i cannot expect you to believe me more than the fishermen did.' сократить текст до 12-15 предложений