Tale of the Little Mermaid

The little mermaid was the sixth daughter of the sea king. She was
fascinated by the human world,

materialized by a statue of a boy she
placed in her garden. According to the princess's grandmother, mermaids
can live for centuries, but when they die, they dissolve into sea foam.
The only way a mermaid can get an immortal soul, is to marry an human.
Thus the little mermaid wanted such a soul, and get married with a man.

When she reach 16, the little mermaid is authorized to go to the
surface for the first time. She spot the birthday's party of an human
prince on a boat. Suddenly, a storm break and the ship sink. The little
mermaid save the life of the prince and bring him on a beach, but have
to go as young ladies arrive from a nearby convent. The prince believed
that one of the ladies was the one who saved his life.

The little mermaid has fallen in love with the prince, and
decided to marry him to get a soul. She asked for the help of a sea
witch. The witch could turn her into an human, but needed to cut the
princess's tongue as a payment. She warned the mermaid that she must
marry the prince in order to stay human; if he marry another, the
mermaid will dissolve the next day into sea foam.

On the beach, the mermaid drink a magic potion, which turn her
into an human; so painfully, that she pass out. She wake up in the
prince's palace. He found her on the beach, and brought her back. The
little mermaid was the most beautiful lady anybody had seen, but walking
 was as painful for her as walking on sharpened knives.

She was a graceful dancer, but couldn't tell her love to the
prince, who saw her as a friend. The latter was told he has to marry a
princess, and she turned out to be the same girl that he saw at the
convent. Delighted prince believed he was about to marry his savior.
Desperate little mermaid was on the beach when her sisters arrived,
having cut their hair and traded them with the witch in exchange of the
way to escape the curse. They explained to the little mermaid she shall
kill the prince with a knife, and as soon as his blood will touch the
princess's feet, she will become a mermaid again.

The little mermaid was unable to do so, and she plunged into the
sea the morning after the wedding, waiting to turn into sea foam.
However, air girls (or sylphs) told the mermaid she gained the right to
be with them. The sylphs can gain an human soul, after centuries of
being gardian angels for children.

## Variants

-Hans Christian Andersen wrote this story while heartbroken after the wedding of a lover. In fact, his original ending was even sadder, with the mermaid effectively dissolving into sea foam. The editor asked it to be changed. Said ending is still shocking, and people usually remember the mermaid dissolving.

-The ending is unusually sad for a fairy tale, due to the fact the author was depressed and thought you shouldn't try to change who you are. The whole story even look pretty useless, and readers tend to side up with the sea princess.

-It explains that the most famous adaptation, the Disney one, end up with an alive heroin, married to the prince; changing it into a story where anything is possible and love conquers all.

-This story is close to the tale of Undine by Friedrich de La Motte-Fouqué. Also the ballet Rusalka by Antonin Dvořák. In both stories, the heroin's lover end up damned as well as her, instead of being scot free like in Andersen 's story.

-Many adaptations glosses over, as well, the mermaid's tongue being cut or the fact of walking being painful.

-Ironically, Walt Disney tried to do a short movie of *The little mermaid* in the 40's, which was pretty tragic (with the mermaid effectively dissolving into sea foam). The adaptation resurfaced 40 years later.

-In fact, many adaptations end up like the Disney one (including a cartoon version which transpose the story in China, or as a story in story in the manga *Da! Da! Da!*). In that case, the convent princess, or the witch, or both (if they are the same person like in Disney version) are often retooled into villains. If the adaptations end differently , the prince may actually realize at the very end he married the wrong lady and rush after the mermaid about to jump. He either watch her hopelessly (1975 Toei movie and the play inside the story of *Mermaid Melody*) or jump with her even if their final fate is unknown.

-In the cartoon series *Adventures of the little mermaid*(1992), the mermaid, Marina, save the prince Justin, they fall in love and alternatively Marina can become an human for a few hours, or Justin use magic to breath underwater. There is no ending, but if it has one, it would probably be happy.

-In a 2005 manwha by Young A LEE, the little mermaid story is quite unusual. The princess is actually a villainous mermaid who sing to see boats crush into reefs, attracted by her voice. The narrator (instead of a witch) use her pride, and lure her into abandon her voice and try to seduce a prince who's insensible to human beauty. If the mermaid succeeds, she will prove that she does not need her incredible voice to seduce and is indeed the most beautiful woman on earth. If not, she'll dissolve into sea foam. If she wins, she'll gain a wish. The prince, however, turn to also be a quite nasty person, who swore he would only marry the girl whom he kept the necklace for years.

The shocked mermaid recognize it (she loose said necklace the very same day she saved the prince, when they were children). The narrator give her the knife, but once again she cannot kill the prince. The latter finally recognize her, as well. When the narrator ask the mermaid which wish he should grant, the heroin answer she would like to speak again, but with a normal voice. Despite the manwha being sometimes very cruel, this story ironically end happily.

-*Ponyo* or *Mermaid Melody* are both inspired by this story, but also have an happier ending. Same with others movies that revolve around love stories between mermaids and humans like *Splash* or the *Charmed* episode *A witch's tail* . The first include the mermaid saving the human, the second the deal with a sea witch to have legs and the need for the human lover to officialize things. Both mermaids (Madison and Mylie) gets what they want at the end.

## Gallery

1975 movie1976 movie*Adventures of the little mermaid*