The Princep et Syreni

**Le Princep et Syreni** *(Trans: The Prince and the Mermaid)* is an old Fairy Tale written by Puer Somnis. The story is told to young children in the world of Ailerra. According to the Wizard of Willoby, the tale's purpose is to teach children that beauty is deceptive, love is blind, and to trust what your parents say.

## History

The story was written originally by Puer Somnis, a story teller from Silvae. *Le Princep et Syreni*was the first story written down with paper and ink by Somnis. He wrote the story and then attempted to publish it as a short story in the paper, but failed several times. Finally, Somnis took to self-publishing. He created his now renowned newspaper, *Le Farfadet*. The first issue of Le Farfadet included the very first published story of Somnis, Le Princep et Syreni, as well as other articles and drawings by Somnis, all about magical creatures such as fairies and elves.

The story of *Le Princep et Syreni* became wildly popular overnight, and it's fame spread through all of Ailerra, as well as other European countries. The story became the first known fairy tale of it's kind, and is the oldest fairy tale known to date. It has retained much of it's popularity over the centuries and remains popular among children and parents.

The original draft of the story, handwritten by Somnis, has never been found. Only the first page was discovered by historians and artifact seekers, but the rest remains lost, or perhaps destroyed.

## Synopsis

*Le Princep et Syreni*takes place in the fictional city of *Raen.*The main character is *Le Princep Verrom,*also known as Verr throughout the story. Verr is the heir in line to the throne. The story begins on Verr's seventh birthday, where he runs away from his own party and escapes to a secluded area of rocks and tidepools by the beach of Raen. There, he meets a mermaid, who comforts him. The two become friends and Verr tells her his name and stature. She does not know what a Prince or King is, but introduces herself only as Syreni. Verr asks about the chains around her tail, and Syreni sadly explains that she was cursed as a child, and must now serve as the slave of the Sea Witch. Verr comforts Syreni. The two promise to meet again the next day. Later that day, the King and Queen ask Verr where he was. He tells them that he met a very beautiful and kind mermaid and that she will see her again the next day.

The Queen and King warn Verr that mermaids are cruel creatures of the sea who symbolize death and trickery, and who can not be trusted. The Queen explains the myths of mermaids luring sailors to their deaths and drowning ships. Verr does not believe that Syreni is like this. The King forbids Verr from seeing Syreni again, but the next day Verr returns. He asks Syreni if is is true that mermaids are evil. She cries, saying that her sisters are, but she is not like them and wishes they would stop their cruelty. Verr believes Syreni.

For the next several years of his life, Verr comes to the beach and meets Syreni. The two can only meet at sunrise or at sunset, for reasons that Syreni refuses to reveal. Years pass and Verr comes to fall in love with Syreni after he grows older. On his fifteenth birthday, Verr brings Syreni a present, ready to declare his love for her. However, after he gives her his present, Syreni wheeps and says that they do not have a lot of time left together. Syreni reveals that she was once a human, like Verr, when she was a baby. However, her parents, who were very poor, made a deal with the Sea Witch in exchange for a great amount of wealth and fortune. After her parents became rich, they left town to travel the world, not fulfilling their half of the bargain with the Sea Witch. The Sea Witch became angry and, in revenge, created a large storm at sea. She attached the boat where Syreni's parents were traveling, and stole Syreni. She then cursed Syreni, their only child, into becoming a mermaid and her slave. The Sea Witch took Syreni's heart and replaced it with a drop of water.

Part of the curse was not only that Syreni would lose her legs and live at sea for the rest of her life, but that she would endure great pain. Her body, especially her chest and tail, would hurt more and more as she grew older. Eventually, the pain would become too much to bear, and at that time Syreni was destined to die from the pain. The only way to break the curse was to steal Syreni's heart back from the Sea Witch, who lived in the darkest and most terrifying parts of the sea.

Verr, completely in love with Syreni, knew he had no choice but to free her, or she would die. Syreni promised that once she got her heart back, she could become human again and be with Verr for the rest of her life. Verr then decides to go on a journey to free Syreni by taking her heart back. Syreni gives Verr a potion to drink that will give him fins so that he can swim well and breathe under water. She also gives him a pouch of more potions to drink when the effects of the first one wear out. Verr takes off into the sea. As he travels along, he encounters many sea animals and creatures who warn him that mermaids can not be trusted. Many of the creatures resemble the King and the Queen. Verr does not trust them, as he loves Syreni and knows she is kind and true.

Halfway through his journey, he begins to loose his fins. He drinks another of Syreni's potions, and this time, rather than just fins, his legs become full of scales. Verr continues to swim until he becomes lost. There, he meets another mermaid. She is much uglier than Syreni. The mermaid calls herself Anigenu, and tells Verr that if she continues like this, he will become lost at sea forever. Verr tells Anigenu about his quest to free Syreni. Anigenu tells him that Syreni's curse can not be broken that easily, for a curse involving the heart is much more complicated and can wither away a person's kindness. Verr does not believe the ugly Anigenu, and continues on his way. The next time he drinks a potion, his legs become two tails.

Finally, Verr arrives at the Sea Witch's palace. Once inside, he realizes that it is empty. He finds two large black doors and enters. Inside, in a throne of black seaweed, sits the Sea Witch. Next to her there are many shelves of hearts. Verr does not know which heart belongs to Syreni. He sees a glowing, golden heart sitting on the Sea Witch's lap. The heart has slowly been rusting. He decides that is Syreni's heart, as she is so kind that hers must be made of gold. As he moves to steal the heart, the Sea Witch awakens. He begs her for Syreni's curse to be broken. The Sea Witch tells Verr:

*"Your heart is true and pure. You are an honest boy who has never uttered a lie or committed a cruel deed. All you have done is kind and good. But the world, my dear boy, is not kind and good. And it will not return you the favor."*

The Sea Witch gives Verr another box, and says that he must not open it if he truly trusts Syreni. Inside the box is Syreni's heart. The Sea Witch says that she will collect the end of her bargain later. Verr thanks her and turns back to meet Syreni. He drinks another potion as the other fades, but is so focused on returning Syreni's heart that he does not notice that his legs have become one green tail.

Verr arrives at the dock where he meet Syreni. She sits on the dock, waiting for him. Verr eagerly returns Syreni's heart. Syreni opens the box, smiles, and sets it aside. Syreni leans down and kisses Verr on the lips, thanking him for freeing her. Verr asks why her lips are so cold and hard, and Syreni replies, "Lies and ruthlessness have made them that way." Confused, Verr asks if she lies often. Syreni merely smiles. Verr then begins to notice that his sight is becoming blurry, and his heart is pounding painfully. The prince begins to groan as his body is ransacked with seaing pain. He glances down and for the first time realizes that his legs have turned into a tail. As he cries, drowning in pain and agony as gills appear on his body, Verr sees chains appeaing around his tail.

Terrified, Verr looks up towards Syreni and sees that she now has grown legs. He cries out to her for help. Syreni turns towards him and continues to smile. Slowly, her body transforms into a normal humans, complete with a beautiful princess dress and crown. Syreni kneels down and reaches out her hand to Verr, who frantically takes it only to find that her touch is freezing cold.

"My name is Menda," She says, before standing up and turning away. As she walks off towards the city, she knocks over the box containing her heart. Verr opens the box and sees that inside lays a black clump of coal. Verr writhes in pain for many days, waiting at the docks for Syreni to return. Eventually, he becomes able to move despite the pain. After a month of waiting for Syreni to return, he goes back into the sea.

At sea, he once again meets the mermaid Anigenu. She looks at him pitifully and cries, saying, "You poor boy. Despite your good heart, you ended up like this." Verr cries, telling Anigenu what happened. Anigenu gasps once she hears the name Menda, and tells Verr that Menda was the slave of the Sea Witch. She was a human girl who made a deal with the Sea Witch when she was sixteen, so that she could become extremely beautiful and capture the heart of a prince that she loved. However, Menda tricked the Sea Witch, and tried to kill the Sea Witch so that she would not have to fulfill her end of the bargain. The Sea Witch, however, instead captured Menda and cursed her, turning her into a mermaid and her slave, while cursing her so that she would been incredible pain every day. Menda, whose heart was full of lies and selfishness, became known by the sea creatures for being cruel, ruthless and full of bitterness. She did horrible things to sea creatures out of spite and anger for her curse.

And she had, in fact, made a deal with the Sea Witch: If Menda could find a foolish human boy to replace her as the Sea Witch's slave, Menda could become a human again and be free. And so Menda had met Verr, and seen that his heart was loving and trusting, and she had taken advantage of him, and was now free, but he was now the Witch's slave, taking the curse upon himself. Verr wheeps for himself, wishing that he had listened to his parents about the deceptive nature of mermaids. Anigenu comforts him, saying that Menda's beauty could be very deceptive, and that love makes everyone blind. Anigenu explains that the potions Menda had given him so he could breathe underwater, were actually potions made of the curse, by the Sea Witch.

For many years, Verr lives at sea, working for the Sea Witch and suffering endless pain. Eventually, the pain becomes unbearable, and Verr seeks out the poisoned sea fruit to eat it and end his misery. Anigenu finds him and cries for him to stop, saying that death is not the way. Anigenu promises him that with his pure heart, he can break the curse. Verr decides not to commit suicide, and him and Anigenu ask the Sea Witch for a bargain to break his curse. The Sea Witch says that she is not willing to set him free unless she gives him something of equal value. The Sea Witch then turns to Anigenu and tells Verr that she will set him free in return for Anigenu's beauty. Anigenu, confused, says, "But I am very ugly. Even my family did not wish to see my any longer for my horrible face. How can I give you beauty?" The Sea Witch says that Anigenu's heart is the most beautiful of all, and that she can turn her heart's beauty into physical beauty. Verr questions what will happen to Anigenu if she does this, but Anigenu quickly agrees to the bargain. She turns to Verr and kisses him. Verr notices that her lips are warm.

The Sea Witch then reaches into Anigenu's chest. She takes out a heart, which is very large and made of gold. The heart glows brighter than a thousand gems, and Verr is amazed by how beautiful the heart is. The Sea Witch then eats Anigenu's heart, and transforms into a stunningly beautiful young woman. Verr looks towards Anigenu, and notices that she is slowly sinking. He catches her in his arms and asks if she is okay. Anigenu smiles and says, "You are free now, my Prince." Verr asks Anigenu to come with him. She tells him sadly that no one can live without a heart, and as the witch ate hers, she will now die. Verr begins to cry and asks for Anigenu's heart back, but the Sea Witch shakes her head, saying a bargain is a bargain. The chain on Verr's tail is broken.

As Anigenu dies, Verr laments losing her, as he had grown very fond of her. In her last moments of life, Anigenu suddenly transforms into the most beautiful woman that Verr ever saw. The Sea Witch explains that Anigenu had the kindest, most loving and selfless heart in all the seven seas, but that most were blind to it due to her ugly face. She tells Verr not to wheep, as Anigenu sacrificed herself because she loved Verr and wanted him to be free. Verr continues to mourn Anigenu, but then notices that his tail is turning into legs. He swims to the docks and transformsfully into a human boy again.

Verr returns to the palace, where the King and Queen welcome him, crying, as they thought he had disappeared forever or died. He tells them of what happened to him, apologizing for not listening to their wisdom and falling for the mermaid's trickery. He also tells them of Anigenu and how she sacrificed herself for him. The King and Queen comfort him nd rejoice in his return, hosting a large feast and celebration ball for his return.

At the ball, the King and Queen ask Verr to pick a future wife, as he will be of age soon. At the ball, there are many beautiful girls. He sees one in particular with bright golden hair, whom he recognizes as Menda. Angered and outraged, Verr thinks of killing Menda. However, his eyes land on a quiet girl with a kind smile, who reminds him of Anigenu. He remembers the kind Anigenu and how she would not have wanted him to live in spite, as Menda had lived before. And thus Verr leaves Menda free. He accepts dances with many beautiful girls. When it is time for him to ask one to dance, he asks the quiet girl who reminded him of Anigenu to dance with him. As they dance, they laugh and talk of many things. Verr discovers that her name is Amare, and she is very similar to Anigenu, as they have the same warmth and kindness in their eyes. At the end of the night, he announces that he wishes to marry her. The King and Court is very shocked, as the girl is very ugly, and there are many other beautiful girls to choose from. The Queen, however, finds the girl very pretty, as she is the one her son loves.

Verr and Amare marry and eventually become the King and Queen of Raen. They had two children and lived happily ever after.

## Morals, Symbols and Motifs

* **Main Theme/Moral:**The main moral of the story is that it is what's on the inside that matters most. While Syreni was stunningly beautiful, her heart was black, cold and full of selfishness, cruelty and trickery. On the other hand, while Anigenu was horrifyingly ugly, she had the most beautiful, loving and selfless heart in all of the seven seas. When the Sea Witch ate Anigenu's heart, she transformed into a gorgeous young woman, showing that kindness of the heart can make you beautiful on the outside. Likewise, when Anigenu was dying, her "true form" was shown, and she became the most beautiful woman Verr had ever seen, a reflection of her beautiful heart and soul. Verr fell in love with Amare based on her good heart rather than her beauty, and thanks to this they lived happily ever after.
* **Names:** Syreni's real name, *Menda*, is short for *Mendacium*, which means lies in Latin. While Verr's name is short for *Verum*, which means truth, and Anigenu's name is a combination of *Genus* and *Animi*, which mean Kind and Hearted in latin, telling of Anigenu's kind nature. Amare's name also means *love*in Latin, and she resembles the kind Anigenu and becomes Verr's wife.
* **Cold and Warmth:** When Syreni kisses Verr, he notices that her lips are cold. However, when Anigenu kisses him, he notices that her lips are warm. Syreni's hand is also cold, insinuating that kind, true people are warmth, while ruthless, lying, and evil people are made cold.
* **Love is blind:**Verr thought that he was in love with Syreni, but in reality he was only drawn in by her beauty. His infatuation for Syreni resulted in Verr being cursed and betrayed. However, when he married and fell in love with Amare, he did it despite her ugly face, and the two lived happily ever after.
* **Beauty is deceptive:**Verr is deceived into thinking that Syreni is a good person because of her beautiful face.
* **Listen to your parents:** Because Verr did not listen to the King and Queen's advice to stay away from Syreni, he ended up being tricked and falling under the Sea Witch's curse.