the Little Mermaid story

Far away into the deep sea, the Sea King used to rule the undersea world. His castle was in the deepest spot of the sea. The walls of the castle were made of blue coral. On the roof of the castle were shells that opened and closed when water passed through them. The Sea King lived there with his mother and four daughters, each child born a year apart.

The Little Mermaid was the youngest of the four princesses and spent most of her time swimming to ships that had sunk to the bottom of the sea. These ships held treasures from the world above, and the Little Mermaid would fill her arms and set up her collection while singing. The Little Mermaid's voice was the most melodious one under the sea, and the fishes circled around to hear her.

The princesses knew that when they turned 15, they would be allowed to swim up to the surface. But as the Little Mermaid was the youngest, it would be a long time before she could swim to the surface. So, the Little Mermaid made her grandmother tell her all about life on land. Stories about ships and towns and all bits of information about humans that she knew.

Soon the eldest princess turned 15 and was the first one to be allowed to swim up to the surface. When she came back, she had many wonders to tell her siblings about. She told them about resting on the soft white sand, a deep blue sky with puffy white clouds, the beautiful sunset, the birds flying high above her, and more.

When the next princess turned 15, it was winter. She told her sisters about icebergs floating in the sea, ships that stayed far away from the icebergs, etc.

When it was the third princess turned 15, she talked about moving close to the gate of a town, hearing people call out, horses that went clip-clopping down the street, and the music she had never heard before.

The Little Mermaid heard all this with wonder and thought that it wasn't fair for her to wait for the longest. At last, the day came when the Little Mermaid turned 15. Now she could swim over the surface and see for herself.

When she came up at the surface, she was next to a large ship, where some beautiful music was being played, and the sailors were dancing on the deck. People were laughing and having a good time. Now and then, as the waves lifted her up, she could see even better. Suddenly, a handsome young man stepped out on the deck, and a hundred rockets rose in the air as the party was for him. The Little Mermaid swam closer.

The men on the deck all seemed to like that young man. When the young man spoke, the sailors would laugh and patted him on his back. But when his crown fell down, the men picked it up. "A crown! He must be a prince," thought the Little Mermaid.

Suddenly, it was very dark, and the wind picked up. The sailors started to run here and there and pulled the sail down. The ship slipped and swooped, rolled side to side, and up and down on the huge waves. Then lightning, thunder, and a strong rainstorm hit the poor ship. It was very dark, and the Little Mermaid could not see anything. The lightning struck the sky, and she could see the young man on deck, who seemed to be the only one standing there. He was trying his best to keep the ship afloat. He was helping his men with the ropes. But the waves got very rough, and the ship started to tip over. The prince was thrown overboard and fell into the sea. The Little Mermaid knew that human beings could not live under the water. So, she dove deep and reached out and grabbed him by his shirt. Then she swam up to the surface and pulled his head above the water. They kept floating like that as the waves rose and fell.

By the next morning, the storm had passed, but the price had been still all night. The Little Mermaid saw the top of the hill and shouted, "Land!"

She swam to the shore and pulled the prince behind her. But it was not easy to pull a man up onto dry sand. "Is he dead?" she thought and started singing a sad song. All of a sudden, the young prince started to move. "Oh! You all right?" the Little Mermaid asked and touched his forehead.

Just then, she heard a group of girls coming over. She dove back into the sea and hid behind a big rock. The girls found the prince and called for help, and soon he was led off. "The prince would never know that the Little Mermaid saved his life," she thought and sank into a deep gloom. When she went back to her home, her siblings wanted to know all about her trip. But the Little Mermaid was too sad to say anything.

Days and weeks went by. The princesses went to their grandmother for help. The grandmother asked the Little Mermaid, "What is the matter, my child?"

The Little Mermaid told her grandmother about the prince and how she saved his life, "Grandmother, I will never be happy again unless I can somehow walk on land and be with that prince."

"My child," said the grandmother, "You know that it's impossible for a mermaid to walk on two legs. The only one who can do that is the Sea Witch. But, of course, it is too dangerous to go to her."

Before she knew it, the Little Mermaid was at the far corner of the sea, where the Sea Witch lived.

"This is not a problem," said the Sea Witch when the Little Mermaid told her about her wish. "I've fixed problems harder than this. If you want to have legs, all you need to do is to drink this potion." the Sea Witch said. "But I don't just give my potion, you understand."

The Little Mermaid asked, "What is the price of your potion?"

"Oh, not too much. You must give up your voice for the potion." the Sea Witch replied.

"My voice?" said the Little Mermaid. She knew her voice was what everyone loved about her.

"Oh, you don't need it," said the Sea Witch, "Talking, what a waste of time. What if the young prince marries someone else, and the next you must die? And your voice, your voice, will stay with me forever. But then again, who knows? The prince might choose YOU."

The Little Mermaid's heart leapt.

Then next moment, the Sea Witch held out a glass with the beautiful green potion. "Whatever are you going to do? Make up your mind, little child. I don't have all day." she said.

The Little Mermaid quickly took the potion and drank it. She felt a little dizzy and in pain like a sword was being passed through her body. She spun, jerked, and then fell down. When she woke up, she was on the same dry land where she had rescued the prince. Lifting up her head, the Little Mermaid could see that her dream had come true. She had two legs, like humans.

"Girl, are you in trouble?" it was the prince who asked her this. She tried to reply, but no words came out of her mouth. "Can you speak?" he asked. She shook her head in no. "Oh! Allow me to take you to the castle. You can clean yourself up there and change clothes."

The Little Mermaid was very happy and joined the prince to go to the castle. It was a little shaky for her to walk on her two legs at first. But soon, she learnt and got the hang of it. That night, the young prince showed her around the castle. He pointed out a portrait and told her all about them.

When the prince said something funny, she laughed, and when the story was sad, her kind eyes told the prince that she felt sad too.

The next day was a royal party in the castle. The young prince had not been looking forward to going. After all, who likes to stand for hours with finely-dressed people and talk and talk and have nothing to say? But the prince asked the Little Mermaid if she wished to come with him. She nodded, and the prince felt glad.

After that day, the prince wished the Little Mermaid to be by his side every day. He thought of even falling in love with her but still held high hope of marrying the girl with a lovely voice who rescued him.

The king called for his son, the prince, one day and said to him, "Son, your mother and I have made a decision to marry you, and luckily, we already picked a bride for you."

"What!?" the prince panicked as he only wanted to marry the girl with the beautiful voice that he remembered.

"Who is this girl?" the prince asked the king.

"A beautiful princess from a nearby land. She is coming with her parents this night. We will talk about the wedding plans," the king replied.

The prince was crushed, and the Little Mermaid felt fear. She knew what would happen to her once the prince married someone else.

At night, her troubles got worse. What the Little Mermaid did not know was that the evil Sea Witch had put her voice into this princess. She was a stuck-up princess who thought only about herself. Yet when she spoke, it was the Little Mermaid's voice that came out. The prince was stunned and asked the princess to sing, and it was the Little Mermaid's voice that filled the room.

The prince could not believe his luck! At last, he could marry the woman he had longed for all this time! When he shared his joy with the Little Mermaid, she tried to show that she was happy for him. But gloom filled her heart.

The next morning, the Little Mermaid went to the sea. Her sisters were worried since they had not heard from her and rose above the water to see how she was. The Little Mermaid told them of the trouble she was in. The prince's wedding was going to take place the next day, and the day after that, she must die. The sisters had an idea and asked her not to worry. They told the Little Mermaid to come back to the seashore later that night and dove back into the sea.

The Little Mermaid came back to the shore, and her sisters rose up again. But their beautiful long hair was gone. They cut them off to give to the Sea Witch in exchange for a knife. With the knife, they asked the Little Mermaid to kill the princess. The Little Mermaid took the knife, but in her heart, she knew she would not kill the princess.

Finally, the wedding day arrived, and the Little Mermaid stepped up to the wedding ship with the other guests. The wedding was supposed to take place at sunset.

The three princesses had returned home and were met with their angry father. "Where is Little Mermaid?" the Sea King asked them.

They told their father about the trouble their youngest sister was in, and he swam up to the wedding ship. The Sea King saw the prince and princess getting ready to get married. He understood that his daughter did not use the knife.

The Sea King rushed to see the Sea Witch, who laughed at him. She said there was only one way to save Little Mermaid from her fate. If he would just hand over his sceptre to her. With the sceptre in her hand, the Sea Witch could rule the underworld kingdom. The Sea King took a deep breath and agreed as he had no other option.

The Sea Witch grabbed the sceptre and laughed in glee. She rushed to the wedding ship, and now she had become a huge sea monster. Her tentacles were twisting out from her body like an octopus.

The Little Mermaid knew she must protect the prince and even his new bride. So, she took out the knife. Just then, one of the Sea Witch's tentacles reached out and lifted the Little Mermaid right off the ship! "This is the end for you!" crowed the Sea Witch. Before the Little Mermaid knew she was wrapped up in her tentacle. The Little Mermaid was holding the knife and used it and dove deep into the chest of the monster.

The Sea Witch reeled back in pain, and she was freed. The guests on the ships started running around in fear. The prince shot at the monster, and the Sea Witch dropped down deep under the water. As she fell down, the Little Mermaid's voice returned.

The princess the price was marrying then shouted in a harsh gruff voice, "What a lousy kingdom this is! Can't even have a proper wedding!"

The prince heard this and knew that she was not who he thought she was. Then the Little Mermaid started to sing, and the prince knew that the voice he remembered belonged to the very one he had grown to love.

When the Sea King arrived, his sceptre was floating in the sea waiting for him. With a sweep of the arm, it was his again.

"I see my daughter is in good hands," he said.

The prince put his arms around the Little Mermaid. "Now I know it was you all along the way!" the prince said.

Will you marry me?" the prince asked her. The Little Mermaid nodded in happiness, and a wedding on the ship took place after all.

The end