The Little Mermaid

Far away, in the endless sea, lived the Sea King with his six daughters. The youngest of the mermaids was gentle, had the most beautiful voice, and one great dream.

One day, after hearing yet another story from her older sister about the world of humans, the Little Mermaid sighed: “Oh, how I wish I could see that wonderful world above the waves!”

Her grandmother smiled softly and nodded. “Your time will come, my dear child. When you turn fifteen, you’ll be allowed to rise to the surface and see it all with your own eyes.”

The years passed, until at last the long-awaited day arrived. The grandmother adorned the youngest mermaid with flowers made of water lilies. “Go, my dear,” she said kindly, “and remember not to wander too far!”

The Little Mermaid swam upward, through beams of sunlight, and for the very first time broke through the surface of the sea. She saw a great ship, and on it a young prince, laughing and dancing with his friends. “How handsome he is…” she whispered, mesmerized.

Suddenly, the wind grew wild and a fierce storm began to rage. The ship was tossed about and started to sink. “I must save him!” cried the Little Mermaid. Without hesitation, she dove into the waves and pulled the prince to safety, laying him gently on the shore beside shining white marble temples. She hid behind a rock and watched as a young human girl came running to help the unconscious prince.

The Little Mermaid felt her heart ache. “He doesn’t know it was I who saved him…” she whispered sadly, as she returned to the underwater kingdom.

From that day on, she often swam up to look at the prince’s palace from afar. Her sisters noticed the longing in her eyes. “Why do you look so sad, little sister?” they asked with concern.

The mermaid lowered her gaze. “I dream of becoming human… of being with him… of having an immortal soul.”

Her grandmother took her into a gentle embrace. “Remember, dear child, we mermaids may live for three hundred years, but when we die, we turn into sea foam. Only humans have immortal souls.”

“Is there any way to gain one?” asked the Little Mermaid hopefully.

Her grandmother sighed. “Only if a human loves you with all his heart and makes you his wife…”

Determined, the Little Mermaid swam down into the deepest part of the sea, to the lair of the Sea Witch. In the dark cave, she heard a hissing voice: “I know what you desire, child of the sea,” said the witch, her tentacles curling around her. “I can give you a potion that will turn you into a human. But in return - you must give me your voice.”

The Little Mermaid trembled. “My voice? That’s my most precious gift…”

“If the prince falls in love with you and marries you, you will gain a soul and be human forever,” warned the witch. “But if he marries another, you will turn into sea foam at dawn.”

The mermaid nodded bravely. “I agree,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

She drank the potion, and pain pierced through her like a thousand knives. Her tail split and transformed into human legs.

The next morning, the prince found her lying by the shore. “Who are you, beautiful stranger?” he asked gently, helping her to her feet.

The mermaid could not answer - she had lost her voice. She only smiled shyly and lowered her eyes.

“You cannot speak?” the prince said in surprise. “Then come with me to my palace.

Perhaps, in time, your voice will return.”

The mermaid stayed by his side for many days. They walked together, laughed together - but the prince treated her as a dear friend.

“You are very special to me, lovely girl,” he said, “but my heart belongs to another - the one who, I believe, once saved my life…”

The Little Mermaid froze, her heart aching, for she could not tell him the truth.

One day, the prince announced, “My father wishes me to marry the princess from the neighboring kingdom. You will meet her at the ball, my friend.”

When the prince saw the princess, he recognized in her the girl from the shore - unaware that it was truly the mermaid who had saved him. “It’s her!” he said with joy. “She is the one I will marry!”

The Little Mermaid watched him with tears in her eyes, unable to cry out or protest.

On the night before the wedding, her sisters swam to the ship, calling to her through the waves: “Sister! The witch agreed to help us if we gave her our hair. Take this knife - if you kill the prince and let his blood fall upon your feet, you will become a mermaid again!”

The Little Mermaid took the knife with trembling hands. She entered the room where the prince slept beside his beloved bride. She looked at him and began to weep. “I cannot do it,” she whispered softly. “I love him too much…”

Instead of harming him, she threw the knife into the sea.

As the first rays of dawn touched the sky, the Little Mermaid felt her body dissolve into sea foam. But before she disappeared completely, she heard a gentle voice carried by the breeze: “For your kindness and sacrifice, you may become a daughter of the air, little mermaid.

After one hundred years of good deeds, you shall gain an immortal soul.”

The Little Mermaid smiled softly, her heart filled with love and hope.

And so ends the story of the Little Mermaid - who gave up everything for love, and showed that sometimes, kindness is worth more than a happy ending.