The Little Mermaid

Far out in the ocean, where the water is blue and very, very deep, lived the Sea King and his subjects. His castle stood in the deepest spot of the ocean. Its walls were built of coral, and the long windows were of the clearest amber. The roof was made of shells that opened and closed as the water flowed over them.

The Sea King had six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all. Her skin was as clear and delicate as a roseleaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea. Like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail. All day long she played with her sisters in the great halls of the castle. Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers, and blossoms like flames of fire. Over everything shined a beautiful blue light. Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where they planted different flowers. One arranged her flower-bed into the shape of a whale; another made hers look like the figure of a mermaid. The youngest sister made hers round like the sun, with red flowers. She was a quiet child. Her sisters liked to find different wonderful things at the wrecks of vessels, but she cared for nothing but her flowers and one beautiful marble statue. It was a statue of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted a rose-colored weeping willow by the statue. It grew fast, and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue. She also loved to hear stories about the world above the sea. To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land had fragrance; that the trees of the forest were green; and that the fish among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to hear them.

Once the princesses reached their fifteenth year, they would be allowed to rise up out of the sea and see the world above. But the youngest would have to wait five years before it was her turn to rise to the surface.

Each princess promised to tell the others what she saw on her first visit, and what she thought the most beautiful. As soon as the eldest was fifteen, she was allowed to rise to the surface of the ocean. When she came back, she had hundreds of things to talk about; but the most beautiful, she said, was to lie in the moonlight, on a sandbank, in the quiet sea, near the coast, and to gaze on a large town nearby, where the lights were twinkling like hundreds of stars; to listen to the sounds of the music, the noise of carriages, and the voices of humans.

In another year the second sister rose to the surface of the water. It was at sunset, and this, she said, was the most beautiful sight of all. The sky was full of gold, while, violet and rose-colored clouds, which she could not describe. Above her flew a large flock of wild swans. She swam towards the sun; but it sunk into the waves, and the rosy color faded from the clouds and from the sea.

The third sister’s turn followed. She was the boldest of them all, and she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea. On the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines. There were palaces and castles amid the trees of the forest; she heard the birds singing, and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she had to dive down under the water a few times to cool her burning face. She said she should never forget the beautiful forest and the green hills.

The fourth sister was more timid. She remained in the midst of the sea, but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land. She could see for so many miles around her, and the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She saw ships, but at such a great distance that they looked like seagulls.

The fifth sister’s birthday was in the winter, so she saw what the others could not see the first time they went up. The sea looked green, and large icebergs were floating about. They glittered like diamonds. Towards the evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered the sky, the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg.

When the sisters grew up, they became indifferent about the surface. Now they said it was much more beautiful down below, at home. Yet often, in the evening hours, they all would swim to the surface to sing, for they all had beautiful voices.

At last the youngest sister reached her fifteenth year and rose to the surface of the water. The sun had just set; the clouds were tinted with red and gold. The sea was calm, and the air was mild and fresh. A large ship was slowly sailing nearby. There was music and songs on board; and, as darkness came on, a hundred colored lanterns were lighted. The little mermaid swam close to the cabin windows. Now and then, she could look in and see a number of well-dressed people within. Among them was a young prince, the most beautiful of all. He was sixteen years of age, and it was his birthday.

It was very late; yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince. The sea became restless; still the little mermaid remained by the cabin window. The ship continued sailing; but soon the waves rose higher, the clouds became darker, and lightning appeared in the distance. A storm was approaching; the waves rose mountains high. The main mast snapped and the ship turned to its side. The water rushed in. The little mermaid saw that the crew was in danger; she could see everyone on board, except the prince. In the next moment, she saw him sink into the deep waves. She swam to the young prince. He was tired and almost dead, but she held his head above the water, and let the waves drift them away.

In the morning the storm was gone. The sun rose up. Prince’s eyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his forehead, and stroked back his wet hair. He looked like the marble statue in her little garden. Then she saw land; the sea here formed a little bay, in which the water was still, but very deep. She swam with the prince to the beach. Then bells sounded in the large white building nearby. The little mermaid swam out farther from the shore and hid behind some high rocks. She saw one of the girls approach the spot where the prince lay. She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; then she called more people. The prince came to life again, and smiled at the people around him. He didn’t know that the mermaid saved him. This made her very unhappy.

When the little mermaid returned home, she was very quiet. Her sisters asked her about the surface, but she told them nothing.

Many times she swam to the place where she left the prince. But she never saw him again. So she would sit in her garden near the beautiful marble statue which looked like him; but she gave up tending her flowers, and that the whole place became dark and gloomy. Then, she could not bear it any longer and told one of her sisters all about it. Then the others heard the secret. Soon it became known to a mermaid that knew who the prince was.

Her sisters took the little mermaid to his palace. It was built of bright yellow stone, with long flights of marble steps, one of which reached down to the sea. It was very beautiful. Now that the mermaid knew where he lived, she spent many evenings and nights near the palace. She would swim much nearer the shore than any of the others. Here she would sit and watch the young prince. She grew more and more fond of humans, and wished more and more to be able to walk among them.

One day, there was a ball at the palace of the Sea King. Mermaids danced and sang to the music. The little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all. The whole court applauded her. For a moment she felt happy. But she soon thought again of the world above her, and the charming prince. She thought: “My wishes depend on him and I will be happy with him. I will go to the sea witch and ask her for help.”

And then the little mermaid went out from her garden, and took the road to the witches’ house. She had never been that way before. The house stood in the centre of a strange forest. The little mermaid was scared and wanted to go back. But then she thought of the prince and her courage returned.

The house was built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings. And inside it sat the sea witch. “I know what you want,” said the sea witch; “it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way. You want to get rid of your fish’s tail, and to have legs instead of it, so that the young prince may fall in love with you. I will prepare a potion for you. You must swim with it to land tomorrow before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will disappear, and you will get legs. You will feel great pain; your every step will feel as if you were walking on sharp knives. If you will bear all this, I will help you.”

“Yes, I will,” said the little princess in a trembling voice.

“But think again,” said the witch; “for when you become human, you can no more be a mermaid. You will never return to your sisters, or to your father’s palace again. And if you do not win the love of the prince, and he marries another, your heart will break, and you will become sea foam.”

“I will do it,” said the little mermaid.

“And as payment for my help, I’ll take your voice.”

“But if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?”

“You are beautiful; surely you can enchain a man’s heart. Well, have you lost your courage?”

“Alright,” said the little mermaid.

Then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, and prepared the magic potion. When at last it was ready, it looked like the clearest water. “There it is for you,” said the witch. Then she cut off the mermaid’s tongue, so that she would never again speak or sing.

The mermaid left and quickly went back to the palace. She went into the garden, took one last look at her home and then swam to the surface. When she got to the prince’s palace, it was night. She swam to the marble steps and drank the potion. She felt pain and fainted. When the sun arose, she recovered, and saw the prince near her. She looked down and saw that her fish’s tail was gone, and that she had a pair of legs. The prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, but she could not speak. He took her to the palace. Every step she took hurt and she felt like she was walking on needles. But she stepped lightly and the prince wondered at her graceful movements. She was very soon given a few beautiful dresses and she became the most beautiful creature in the palace.

Once, there were dancers performing for the prince. Their dance was very beautiful. The little mermaid raised her arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and danced like no one else. Everyone was enchanted, especially the prince.

As the days passed, the mermaid loved the prince more. He loved her as he would love a little child, but it never came into his head to make her his wife.

“You are dear to me,” said the prince; “for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me. You remind me of a young maiden whom I once saw. I was in a ship wreck, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple. She found me on the shore, and saved my life. She is the only one in the world whom I could love; but you are like her, and you have almost driven her image out of my mind. She belongs to the holy temple, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her; and we will never part.”

“Ah, he doesn’t know that I saved him,” thought the little mermaid. “I carried him to the shore; I saw the pretty maiden that he loves.” And the mermaid sighed deeply. “He says the maiden belongs to the holy temple, so she will never return to the world. They will never meet.”

Very soon it was said that the prince must marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife.

“I must travel,” he said to the mermaid; “I must see this beautiful princess; my parents want it. I cannot love her. If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you.”

And so they got on a ship and sailed to meet the princess. The next day they got to the harbor of a beautiful town. The church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets.

But the princess had not yet appeared. People said that she was being brought up and educated in a religious house. At last she came. She was beautiful: her skin was delicately fair, and her blue eyes shone with truth and purity.

“It was you,” said the prince, “who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach! Oh, I am too happy!”

The little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart was already broken. His wedding morning would bring death to her, and she would turn into the foam of the sea.

The wedding happened at once. The little mermaid, dressed in silk and gold, held up the bride’s train; but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, and her eyes saw not the holy ceremony. She thought only of what was going to happen in the morning.

Once everyone on the ship went to sleep, the little mermaid came up to the edge of the ship and looked towards the east. She saw her sisters rise out of the water. They were as pale as herself; but their long beautiful hair had been cut off.

“We have given our hair to the witch,” said they, “to help you. She has given us a knife. Here it is, and it is very sharp. Before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince; then you will turn into a mermaid again. Be quick; he or you must die before sunrise.” And then they sank down beneath the waves.

The little mermaid went into the tent, where the prince and his bride were sleeping. She bent down and kissed his forehead; then she glanced at the sharp knife. Then she flung it far away from her into the waves and the water turned red where it fell. She cast one more glance at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea.

She thought her body was dissolving into foam. The sun rose above the waves, and she saw the bright sun, and all around her floated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings. She could see through them the white sails of the ship, and the red clouds in the sky. The little mermaid realized that now she had a body like theirs.

“Where am I?” asked she.

“Among the daughters of the air,” answered one of them. “We fly to warm countries, and cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence. We carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration.”

The little mermaid lifted her eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, the prince and his beautiful bride were searching for her. Unseen, she kissed their foreheads, and rose with the other children of the air to a rosy cloud high in the sky.