The Little Mermaid Far out in the ocean, there lived the Sea King and his subject. The Sea King had six daughters. The youngest daughter was the prettiest of them all. But like all the others, she had no feet but a fish tail. She was very interested in the world above the sea. She had always wished to see the world the moment she reached her fifteenth. One by one, her sisters was allowed to go to the surface of the sea. At last, she reached her fifteenth. She went to the surface of the water for the first time. She saw a large ship. A handsome prince was holding a ceremony. However, a storm came. The ship sank, and the prince fell into the sea. The little mermaid brought him to the beach. The prince was lying unconscious on the beach. The little mermaid touched his face gently and she felt extremely happy. A girl was coming near with several maids. The little mermaid hid behind a rock. Just then, the prince woke up, he thought the girl had saved him. The little mermaid went back into the sea. She could not forget the above world and the charming prince. She wanted to live a life with him on land. She went to the sea witch for help. The ugly sea witch had already known what she wanted. The sea witch offered her a draught which could turn her fish tail into legs. But at the same time, she would receive great pain, and if she couldn’t win the love of the prince, she would turn into foams. In return for the draught, the little mermaid gave her beautiful voice to the witch and she herself became dumb. She approached the prince’s palace and drank the magic draught. She fainted in suffering the great pain. The next morning, the prince found her lying on the ground. He helped her to stand up and her feet hurt badly. The prince brought her to his palace. She stayed with the prince for some time. They danced together. When she danced with the prince, her feet did not hurt any longer. The prince liked her very much. However, his parents wanted him to marry a princess of a nearby country. Unexpectingly, the princess was the girl on the beach. So the prince decided to get her for his wife. The little mermaid felt sorrow with despair. Since she could not get the love of the prince, she would become foams. If she wanted to turn back into a mermaid again, she had to stab the prince and kill him. She had to paint her legs with the prince’s blood. But she didn’t do that for she loved the prince so much. She threw herself into the water and was dissolved into foams. However, the foams did not scatter. She changed into the daughter of the air. And finally, after she brought enough pleasure to the humans, she flew into heaven. |