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This is a truly moving and beautiful story. You will be transported to the magical underworld gardens of the mermaids. This famous tale is every bit as lovely as Hans Christian Andersen's other masterpiece, The Snow Queen .
But be warned, it's a long story, and it's very powerful. It might well make you cry. I am sure that it will stay with you for the rest of your life.
The Little Mermaid longs to experience the human world. On her fifteenth birthday she is at last allowed to rise to the surface. She saves a prince from drowning, and falls in love with him.
The first of three parts.
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Told by Natasha. Duration 15.23
FAR out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.
The Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, and exceedingly proud of her high birth; on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail; while others, also of high rank, were only allowed to wear six. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. They were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish's tail. All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. The large amber windows were open, and the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the windows, excepting that the fishes swam up to the princesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be stroked. Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers, and blossoms like flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the blue sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea. In calm weather the sun could be seen, looking like a purple flower, with the light streaming from the calyx. Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and plant as she pleased. One arranged her flower-bed into the form of a whale; another thought it better to make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; but that of the youngest was round like the sun, and contained flowers as red as his rays at sunset. She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful; and while her sisters would be delighted with the wonderful things which they obtained from the wrecks of vessels, she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers, like the sun, excepting a beautiful marble statue. It was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted by the statue a rose-colored weeping willow. It grew splendidly, and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue, almost down to the blue sands. The shadow had a violet tint, and waved to and fro like the branches; it seemed as if the crown of the tree and the root were at play, and trying to kiss each other. Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance, and not those below the sea; that the trees of the forest should be green; and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to hear them. Her grandmother called the little birds fishes, or she would not have understood her; for she had never seen birds.
"When you have reached your fifteenth year," said the grand-mother, "you will have permission to rise up out of the sea, to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships are sailing by; and then you will see both forests and towns."
In the following year, one of the sisters would be fifteen: but as each was a year younger than the other, the youngest would have to wait five years before her turn came to rise up from the bottom of the ocean, and see the earth as we do. However, each promised to tell the others what she saw on her first visit, and what she thought the most beautiful; for their grandmother could not tell them enough; there were so many things on which they wanted information. None of them longed so much for her turn to come as the youngest, she who had the longest time to wait, and who was so quiet and thoughtful. Many nights she stood by the open window, looking up through the dark blue water, and watching the fish as they splashed about with their fins and tails. She could see the moon and stars shining faintly; but through the water they looked larger than they do to our eyes. When something like a black cloud passed between her and them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head, or a ship full of human beings, who never imagined that a pretty little mermaid was standing beneath them, holding out her white hands towards the keel of their ship.
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 human beings, and then to hear the merry bells peal out from the church steeples; and because she could not go near to all those wonderful things, she longed for them more than ever. Oh, did not the youngest sister listen eagerly to all these descriptions? and afterwards, when she stood at the open window looking up through the dark blue water, she thought of the great city, with all its bustle and noise, and even fancied she could hear the sound of the church bells, down in the depths of the sea.
In another year the second sister received permission to rise to the surface of the water, and to swim about where she pleased. She rose just as the sun was setting, and this, she said, was the most beautiful sight of all. The whole sky looked like gold, while violet and rose-colored clouds, which she could not describe, floated over her; and, still more rapidly than the clouds, flew a large flock of wild swans towards the setting sun, looking like a long white veil across the sea. She also swam towards the sun; but it sunk into the waves, and the rosy tints 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; palaces and castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest; she heard the birds singing, and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face. In a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children, quite naked, and sporting about in the water; she wanted to play with them, but they fled in a great fright; and then a little black animal came to the water; it was a dog, but she did not know that, for she had never before seen one. This animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, and rushed back to the open sea. But she said she should never forget the beautiful forest, the green hills, and the pretty little children who could swim in the water, although they had not fish's tails.
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 had seen the ships, but at such a great distance that they looked like sea-gulls. The dolphins sported in the waves, and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction.
The fifth sister's birthday occurred in the winter; so when her turn came, she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up. The sea looked quite green, and large icebergs were floating about, each like a pearl, she said, but larger and loftier than the churches built by men. They were of the most singular shapes, and glittered like diamonds. She had seated herself upon one of the largest, and let the wind play with her long hair, and she remarked that all the ships sailed by rapidly, and steered as far away as they could from the iceberg, as if they were afraid of it. Towards evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered the sky, the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, and the red light glowed on the icebergs as they rocked and tossed on the heaving sea. On all the ships the sails were reefed with fear and trembling, while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg, watching the blue lightning, as it darted its forked flashes into the sea.
When first the sisters had permission to rise to the surface, they were each delighted with the new and beautiful sights they saw; but now, as grown-up girls, they could go when they pleased, and they had become indifferent about it. They wished themselves back again in the water, and after a month had passed they said it was much more beautiful down below, and pleasanter to be at home. Yet often, in the evening hours, the five sisters would twine their arms round each other, and rise to the surface, in a row. They had more beautiful voices than any human being could have; and before the approach of a storm, and when they expected a ship would be lost, they swam before the vessel, and sang sweetly of the delights to be found in the depths of the sea, and begging the sailors not to fear if they sank to the bottom. But the sailors could not understand the song, they took it for the howling of the storm. And these things were never to be beautiful for them; for if the ship sank, the men were drowned, and their dead bodies alone reached the palace of the Sea King.
When the sisters rose, arm-in-arm, through the water in this way, their youngest sister would stand quite alone, looking after them, ready to cry, only that the mermaids have no tears, and therefore they suffer more. "Oh, were I but fifteen years old," said she: "I know that I shall love the world up there, and all the people who live in it."
At last she reached her fifteenth year. "Well, now, you are grown up," said the old dowager, her grandmother; "so you must let me adorn you like your other sisters;" and she placed a wreath of white lilies in her hair, and every flower leaf was half a pearl. Then the old lady ordered eight great oysters to attach themselves to the tail of the princess to show her high rank.
"But they hurt me so," said the little mermaid.
"Pride must suffer pain," replied the old lady. Oh, how gladly she would have shaken off all this grandeur, and laid aside the heavy wreath! The red flowers in her own garden would have suited her much better, but she could not help herself: so she said, "Farewell," and rose as lightly as a bubble to the surface of the water. The sun had just set as she raised her head above the waves; but the clouds were tinted with crimson and gold, and through the glimmering twilight beamed the evening star in all its beauty. The sea was calm, and the air mild and fresh. A large ship, with three masts, lay becalmed on the water, with only one sail set; for not a breeze stiffed, and the sailors sat idle on deck or amongst the rigging. There was music and song on board; and, as darkness came on, a hundred colored lanterns were lighted, as if the flags of all nations waved in the air. The little mermaid swam close to the cabin windows; and now and then, as the waves lifted her up, she could look in through clear glass window-panes, and see a number of well-dressed people within. Among them was a young prince, the most beautiful of all, with large black eyes; he was sixteen years of age, and his birthday was being kept with much rejoicing. The sailors were dancing on deck, but when the prince came out of the cabin, more than a hundred rockets rose in the air, making it as bright as day. The little mermaid was so startled that she dived under water; and when she again stretched out her head, it appeared as if all the stars of heaven were falling around her, she had never seen such fireworks before. Great suns spurted fire about, splendid fireflies flew into the blue air, and everything was reflected in the clear, calm sea beneath. The ship itself was so brightly illuminated that all the people, and even the smallest rope, could be distinctly and plainly seen. And how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of all present and smiled at them, while the music resounded through the clear night air.
It was very late; yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince. The colored lanterns had been extinguished, no more rockets rose in the air, and the cannon had ceased firing; but the sea became restless, and a moaning, grumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves: still the little mermaid remained by the cabin window, rocking up and down on the water, which enabled her to look in. After a while, the sails were quickly unfurled, and the noble ship continued her passage; but soon the waves rose higher, heavy clouds darkened the sky, and lightning appeared in the distance. A dreadful storm was approaching; once more the sails were reefed, and the great ship pursued her flying course over the raging sea. The waves rose mountains high, as if they would have overtopped the mast; but the ship dived like a swan between them, and then rose again on their lofty, foaming crests. To the little mermaid this appeared pleasant sport; not so to the sailors. At length the ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks gave way under the lashing of the sea as it broke over the deck; the mainmast snapped asunder like a reed; the ship lay over on her side; and the water rushed in. The little mermaid now perceived that the crew were in danger; even she herself was obliged to be careful to avoid the beams and planks of the wreck which lay scattered on the water. At one moment it was so pitch dark that she could not see a single object, but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene; she could see every one who had been on board excepting the prince; when the ship parted, she had seen him sink into the deep waves, and she was glad, for she thought he would now be with her; and then she remembered that human beings could not live in the water, so that when he got down to her father's palace he would be quite dead. But he must not die. So she swam about among the beams and planks which strewed the surface of the sea, forgetting that they could crush her to pieces. Then she dived deeply under the dark waters, rising and falling with the waves, till at length she managed to reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea. His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance. She held his head above the water, and let the waves drift them where they would.
In the morning the storm had ceased; but of the ship not a single fragment could be seen. The sun rose up red and glowing from the water, and its beams brought back the hue of health to the prince's cheeks; but his eyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his high, smooth forehead, and stroked back his wet hair; he seemed to her like the marble statue in her little garden, and she kissed him again, and wished that he might live. Presently they came in sight of land; she saw lofty blue mountains, on which the white snow rested as if a flock of swans were lying upon them. Near the coast were beautiful green forests, and close by stood a large building, whether a church or a convent she could not tell. Orange and citron trees grew in the garden, and before the door stood lofty palms. The sea here formed a little bay, in which the water was quite still, but very deep; so she swam with the handsome prince to the beach, which was covered with fine, white sand, and there she laid him in the warm sunshine, taking care to raise his head higher than his body. Then bells sounded in the large white building, and a number of young girls came into the garden. The little mermaid swam out farther from the shore and placed herself between some high rocks that rose out of the water; then she covered her head and neck with the foam of the sea so that her little face might not be seen, and watched to see what would become of the poor prince. She did not wait long before she saw a young girl approach the spot where he lay. She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; then she fetched a number of people, and the mermaid saw that the prince came to life again, and smiled upon those who stood round him. But to her he sent no smile; he knew not that she had saved him. This made her very unhappy, and when he was led away into the great building, she dived down sorrowfully into the water, and returned to her father's castle. She had always been silent and thoughtful, and now she was more so than ever. Her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to the surface of the water; but she would tell them nothing. Many an evening and morning did she rise to the place where she had left the prince. She saw the fruits in the garden ripen till they were gathered, the snow on the tops of the mountains melt away; but she never saw the prince, and therefore she returned home, always more sorrowful than before. It was her only comfort to sit in her own little garden, and fling her arm round the beautiful marble statue which was like the prince; but she gave up tending her flowers, and they grew in wild confusion over the paths, twining their long leaves and stems round the branches of the trees, so that the whole place became dark and gloomy. At length she could bear it no longer, and told one of her sisters all about it. Then the others heard the secret, and very soon it became known to two mermaids whose intimate friend happened to know who the prince was. She had also seen the festival on board ship, and she told them where the prince came from, and where his palace stood.
"Come, little sister," said the other princesses; then they entwined their arms and rose up in a long row to the surface of the water, close by the spot where they knew the prince's palace stood. It was built of bright yellow shining stone, with long flights of marble steps, one of which reached quite down to the sea. Splendid gilded cupolas rose over the roof, and between the pillars that surrounded the whole building stood life-like statues of marble. Through the clear crystal of the lofty windows could be seen noble rooms, with costly silk curtains and hangings of tapestry; while the walls were covered with beautiful paintings which were a pleasure to look at. In the centre of the largest saloon a fountain threw its sparkling jets high up into the glass cupola of the ceiling, through which the sun shone down upon the water and upon the beautiful plants growing round the basin of the fountain. Now that she knew where he lived, she spent many an evening and many a night on the water near the palace. She would swim much nearer the shore than any of the others ventured to do; indeed once she went quite up the narrow channel under the marble balcony, which threw a broad shadow on the water. Here she would sit and watch the young prince, who thought himself quite alone in the bright moonlight. She saw him many times of an evening sailing in a pleasant boat, with music playing and flags waving. She peeped out from among the green rushes, and if the wind caught her long silvery-white veil, those who saw it believed it to be a swan, spreading out its wings. On many a night, too, when the fishermen, with their torches, were out at sea, she heard them relate so many good things about the doings of the young prince, that she was glad she had saved his life when he had been tossed about half-dead on the waves. And she remembered that his head had rested on her bosom, and how heartily she had kissed him; but he knew nothing of all this, and could not even dream of her. She grew more and more fond of human beings, and wished more and more to be able to wander about with those whose world seemed to be so much larger than her own. They could fly over the sea in ships, and mount the high hills which were far above the clouds; and the lands they possessed, their woods and their fields, stretched far away beyond the reach of her sight. There was so much that she wished to know, and her sisters were unable to answer all her questions. Then she applied to her old grandmother, who knew all about the upper world, which she very rightly called the lands above the sea.
"If human beings are not drowned," asked the little mermaid, "can they live forever? do they never die as we do here in the sea?"
"Yes," replied the old lady, "they must also die, and their term of life is even shorter than ours. We sometimes live to three hundred years, but when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water, and we have not even a grave down here of those we love. We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, like the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water, and behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see."
"Why have not we an immortal soul?" asked the little mermaid mournfully; "I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day, and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of that glorious world above the stars."
"You must not think of that," said the old woman; "we feel ourselves to be much happier and much better off than human beings."
"So I shall die," said the little mermaid, "and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun. Is there anything I can do to win an immortal soul?"
"No," said the old woman, "unless a man were to love you so much that you were more to him than his father or mother; and if all his thoughts and all his love were fixed upon you, and the priest placed his right hand in yours, and he promised to be true to you here and hereafter, then his soul would glide into your body and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind. He would give a soul to you and retain his own as well; but this can never happen. Your fish's tail, which amongst us is considered so beautiful, is thought on earth to be quite ugly; they do not know any better, and they think it necessary to have two stout props, which they call legs, in order to be handsome."
Then the little mermaid sighed, and looked sorrowfully at her fish's tail. "Let us be happy," said the old lady, "and dart and spring about during the three hundred years that we have to live, which is really quite long enough; after that we can rest ourselves all the better. This evening we are going to have a court ball."
It is one of those splendid sights which we can never see on earth. The walls and the ceiling of the large ball-room were of thick, but transparent crystal. May hundreds of colossal shells, some of a deep red, others of a grass green, stood on each side in rows, with blue fire in them, which lighted up the whole saloon, and shone through the walls, so that the sea was also illuminated. Innumerable fishes, great and small, swam past the crystal walls; on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone like silver and gold. Through the halls flowed a broad stream, and in it danced the mermen and the mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs. The little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails; and for a moment her heart felt quite gay, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea. But she soon thought again of the world above her, for she could not forget the charming prince, nor her sorrow that she had not an immortal soul like his; therefore she crept away silently out of her father's palace, and while everything within was gladness and song, she sat in her own little garden sorrowful and alone. Then she heard the bugle sounding through the water, and thought- "He is certainly sailing above, he on whom my wishes depend, and in whose hands I should like to place the happiness of my life. I will venture all for him, and to win an immortal soul, while my sisters are dancing in my father's palace, I will go to the sea witch, of whom I have always been so much afraid, but she can give me counsel and help."
And then the little mermaid went out from her garden, and took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the sorceress lived. She had never been that way before: neither flowers nor grass grew there; nothing but bare, gray, sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool, where the water, like foaming mill-wheels, whirled round everything that it seized, and cast it into the fathomless deep. Through the midst of these crushing whirlpools the little mermaid was obliged to pass, to reach the dominions of the sea witch; and also for a long distance the only road lay right across a quantity of warm, bubbling mire, called by the witch her turfmoor. Beyond this stood her house, in the centre of a strange forest, in which all the trees and flowers were polypi, half animals and half plants; they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground. The branches were long slimy arms, with fingers like flexible worms, moving limb after limb from the root to the top. All that could be reached in the sea they seized upon, and held fast, so that it never escaped from their clutches. The little mermaid was so alarmed at what she saw, that she stood still, and her heart beat with fear, and she was very nearly turning back; but she thought of the prince, and of the human soul for which she longed, and her courage returned. She fastened her long flowing hair round her head, so that the polypi might not seize hold of it. She laid her hands together across her bosom, and then she darted forward as a fish shoots through the water, between the supple arms and fingers of the ugly polypi, which were stretched out on each side of her. She saw that each held in its grasp something it had seized with its numerous little arms, as if they were iron bands. The white skeletons of human beings who had perished at sea, and had sunk down into the deep waters, skeletons of land animals, oars, rudders, and chests of ships were lying tightly grasped by their clinging arms; even a little mermaid, whom they had caught and strangled; and this seemed the most shocking of all to the little princess.
She now came to a space of marshy ground in the wood, where large, fat water-snakes were rolling in the mire, and showing their ugly, drab-colored bodies. In the midst of this spot stood a house, built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings. There sat the sea witch, allowing a toad to eat from her mouth, just as people sometimes feed a canary with a piece of sugar. She called the ugly water-snakes her little chickens, and allowed them to crawl all over her bosom.
"I know what you want," said the sea witch; "it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. You want to get rid of your fish's tail, and to have two supports instead of it, like human beings on earth, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may have an immortal soul." And then the witch laughed so loud and disgustingly, that the toad and the snakes fell to the ground, and lay there wriggling about. "You are but just in time," said the witch; "for after sunrise to-morrow I should not be able to help you till the end of another year. I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land tomorrow before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what mankind calls legs, and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you. But all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw. You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly; but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives, and that the blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I will help you."
"Yes, I will," said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul.
"But think again," said the witch; "for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid. You will never return through the water to your sisters, or to your father's palace again; and if you do not win the love of the prince, so that he is willing to forget his father and mother for your sake, and to love you with his whole soul, and allow the priest to join your hands that you may be man and wife, then you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will become foam on the crest of the waves."
"I will do it," said the little mermaid, and she became pale as death.
"But I must be paid also," said the witch, "and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give to me; the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught. My own blood must be mixed with it, that it may be as sharp as a two-edged sword."
"But if you take away my voice," said the little mermaid, "what is left for me?"
"Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a man's heart. Well, have you lost your courage? Put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught."
"It shall be," said the little mermaid.
Then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, to prepare the magic draught.
"Cleanliness is a good thing," said she, scouring the vessel with snakes, which she had tied together in a large knot; then she pricked herself in the breast, and let the black blood drop into it. The steam that rose formed itself into such horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear. Every moment the witch threw something else into the vessel, and when it began to boil, the sound was like the weeping of a crocodile. When at last the magic draught 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 became dumb, and would never again speak or sing. "If the polypi should seize hold of you as you return through the wood," said the witch, "throw over them a few drops of the potion, and their fingers will be torn into a thousand pieces." But the little mermaid had no occasion to do this, for the polypi sprang back in terror when they caught sight of the glittering draught, which shone in her hand like a twinkling star.
So she passed quickly through the wood and the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools. She saw that in her father's palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished, and all within asleep; but she did not venture to go in to them, for now she was dumb and going to leave them forever, she felt as if her heart would break. She stole into the garden, took a flower from the flower-beds of each of her sisters, kissed her hand a thousand times towards the palace, and then rose up through the dark blue waters. The sun had not risen when she came in sight of the prince's palace, and approached the beautiful marble steps, but the moon shone clear and bright. Then the little mermaid drank the magic draught, and it seemed as if a two-edged sword went through her delicate body: she fell into a swoon, and lay like one dead. When the sun arose and shone over the sea, she recovered, and felt a sharp pain; but just before her stood the handsome young prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her so earnestly that she cast down her own, and then became aware that her fish's tail was gone, and that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little maiden could have; but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair. The prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, and she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes; but she could not speak. Every step she took was as the witch had said it would be, she felt as if treading upon the points of needles or sharp knives; but she bore it willingly, and stepped as lightly by the prince's side as a soap-bubble, so that he and all who saw her wondered at her graceful-swaying movements. She was very soon arrayed in costly robes of silk and muslin, and was the most beautiful creature in the palace; but she was dumb, and could neither speak nor sing.
Beautiful female slaves, dressed in silk and gold, stepped forward and sang before the prince and his royal parents: one sang better than all the others, and the prince clapped his hands and smiled at her. This was great sorrow to the little mermaid; she knew how much more sweetly she herself could sing once, and she thought, "Oh if he could only know that! I have given away my voice forever, to be with him."
The slaves next performed some pretty fairy-like dances, to the sound of beautiful music. Then the little mermaid raised her lovely white arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided over the floor, and danced as no one yet had been able to dance. At each moment her beauty became more revealed, and her expressive eyes appealed more directly to the heart than the songs of the slaves. Every one was enchanted, especially the prince, who called her his little foundling; and she danced again quite readily, to please him, though each time her foot touched the floor it seemed as if she trod on sharp knives.
The prince said she should remain with him always, and she received permission to sleep at his door, on a velvet cushion. He had a page's dress made for her, that she might accompany him on horseback. They rode together through the sweet-scented woods, where the green boughs touched their shoulders, and the little birds sang among the fresh leaves. She climbed with the prince to the tops of high mountains; and although her tender feet bled so that even her steps were marked, she only laughed, and followed him till they could see the clouds beneath them looking like a flock of birds travelling to distant lands. While at the prince's palace, and when all the household were asleep, she would go and sit on the broad marble steps; for it eased her burning feet to bathe them in the cold sea-water; and then she thought of all those below in the deep.
Once during the night her sisters came up arm-in-arm, singing sorrowfully, as they floated on the water. She beckoned to them, and then they recognized her, and told her how she had grieved them. After that, they came to the same place every night; and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, who had not been to the surface of the sea for many years, and the old Sea King, her father, with his crown on his head. They stretched out their hands towards her, but they did not venture so near the land as her sisters did.
As the days passed, she loved the prince more fondly, and he loved her as he would love a little child, but it never came into his head to make her his wife; yet, unless he married her, she could not receive an immortal soul; and, on the morning after his marriage with another, she would dissolve into the foam of the sea.
"Do you not love me the best of them all?" the eyes of the little mermaid seemed to say, when he took her in his arms, and kissed her fair forehead.
"Yes, you are dear to me," said the prince; "for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me; you are like a young maiden whom I once saw, but whom I shall never meet again. I was in a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple, where several young maidens performed the service. The youngest of them found me on the shore, and saved my life. I saw her but twice, and 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 knows not that it was I who saved his life," thought the little mermaid. "I carried him over the sea to the wood where the temple stands: I sat beneath the foam, and watched till the human beings came to help him. I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;" and the mermaid sighed deeply, but she could not shed tears. "He says the maiden belongs to the holy temple, therefore she will never return to the world. They will meet no more: while I am by his side, and see him every day. I will take care of him, and love him, and give up my life for his sake."
Very soon it was said that the prince must marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife, for a fine ship was being fitted out. Although the prince gave out that he merely intended to pay a visit to the king, it was generally supposed that he really went to see his daughter. A great company were to go with him. The little mermaid smiled, and shook her head. She knew the prince's thoughts better than any of the others.
"I must travel," he had said to her; "I must see this beautiful princess; my parents desire it; but they will not oblige me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her; she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple, whom you resemble. If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dumb foundling, with those expressive eyes." And then he kissed her rosy mouth, played with her long waving hair, and laid his head on her heart, while she dreamed of human happiness and an immortal soul. "You are not afraid of the sea, my dumb child," said he, as they stood on the deck of the noble ship which was to carry them to the country of the neighboring king. And then he told her of storm and of calm, of strange fishes in the deep beneath them, and of what the divers had seen there; and she smiled at his descriptions, for she knew better than any one what wonders were at the bottom of the sea.
In the moonlight, when all on board were asleep, excepting the man at the helm, who was steering, she sat on the deck, gazing down through the clear water. She thought she could distinguish her father's castle, and upon it her aged grandmother, with the silver crown on her head, looking through the rushing tide at the keel of the vessel. Then her sisters came up on the waves, and gazed at her mournfully, wringing their white hands. She beckoned to them, and smiled, and wanted to tell them how happy and well off she was; but the cabin-boy approached, and when her sisters dived down he thought it was only the foam of the sea which he saw.
The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of a beautiful town belonging to the king whom the prince was going to visit. The church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets; and soldiers, with flying colors and glittering bayonets, lined the rocks through which they passed. Every day was a festival; balls and entertainments followed one another.
But the princess had not yet appeared. People said that she was being brought up and educated in a religious house, where she was learning every royal virtue. At last she came. Then the little mermaid, who was very anxious to see whether she was really beautiful, was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty. Her skin was delicately fair, and beneath her long dark eye-lashes her laughing blue eyes shone with truth and purity.
"It was you," said the prince, "who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach," and he folded his blushing bride in his arms. "Oh, I am too happy," said he to the little mermaid; "my fondest hopes are all fulfilled. You will rejoice at my happiness; for your devotion to me is great and sincere."
The little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart were already broken. His wedding morning would bring death to her, and she would change into the foam of the sea. All the church bells rung, and the heralds rode about the town proclaiming the betrothal. Perfumed oil was burning in costly silver lamps on every altar. The priests waved the censers, while the bride and bridegroom joined their hands and received the blessing of the bishop. 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 of the night of death which was coming to her, and of all she had lost in the world. On the same evening the bride and bridegroom went on board ship; cannons were roaring, flags waving, and in the centre of the ship a costly tent of purple and gold had been erected. It contained elegant couches, for the reception of the bridal pair during the night. The ship, with swelling sails and a favorable wind, glided away smoothly and lightly over the calm sea. When it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit, and the sailors danced merrily on the deck. The little mermaid could not help thinking of her first rising out of the sea, when she had seen similar festivities and joys; and she joined in the dance, poised herself in the air as a swallow when he pursues his prey, and all present cheered her with wonder. She had never danced so elegantly before. Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul and now she could never win one. All was joy and gayety on board ship till long after midnight; she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart. The prince kissed his beautiful bride, while she played with his raven hair, till they went arm-in-arm to rest in the splendid tent. Then all became still on board the ship; the helmsman, alone awake, stood at the helm. The little mermaid leaned her white arms on the edge of the vessel, and looked towards the east for the first blush of morning, for that first ray of dawn that would bring her death. She saw her sisters rising out of the flood: they were as pale as herself; but their long beautiful hair waved no more in the wind, and had been cut off.
"We have given our hair to the witch," said they, "to obtain help for you, that you may not die to-night. She has given us a knife: here it is, see it is very sharp. Before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince; when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again, and form into a fish's tail, and you will be once more a mermaid, and return to us to live out your three hundred years before you die and change into the salt sea foam. Haste, then; he or you must die before sunrise. Our old grandmother moans so for you, that her white hair is falling off from sorrow, as ours fell under the witch's scissors. Kill the prince and come back; hasten: do you not see the first red streaks in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die." And then they sighed deeply and mournfully, and sank down beneath the waves.
The little mermaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince's breast. She bent down and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy dawn grew brighter and brighter; then she glanced at the sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams. She was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid: then she flung it far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood. She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was dissolving into foam. The sun rose above the waves, and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feel as if she were dying. 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; their speech was melodious, but too ethereal to be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. The little mermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. "Where am I?" asked she, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
"Among the daughters of the air," answered one of them. "A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being. On the power of another hangs her eternal destiny. But the daughters of the air, although they do not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves. 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. After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul and take part in the happiness of mankind. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing; you have suffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit-world by your good deeds; and now, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul."
The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, in which she had left the prince, there were life and noise; she saw him and his beautiful bride searching for her; sorrowfully they gazed at the pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves. Unseen she kissed the forehead of her bride, and fanned the prince, and then mounted with the other children of the air to a rosy cloud that floated through the aether.
"After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdom of heaven," said she. "And we may even get there sooner," whispered one of her companions. "Unseen we can enter the houses of men, where there are children, and for every day on which we find a good child, who is the joy of his parents and deserves their love, our time of probation is shortened. The child does not know, when we fly through the room, that we smile with joy at his good conduct, for we can count one year less of our three hundred years. But when we see a naughty or a wicked child, we shed tears of sorrow, and for every tear a day is added to our time of trial!"
See Review The Little Mermaid and Fairytale Morals
great story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Azzy — January 5, 2009
i like mermaid
modeyana — June 8, 2015
Decent, I guess
Anonymous — February 26, 2016
to me it was very,very ,very boring
sorry
tina — January 5, 2009
I *LOVE* mermaids so i *LOVE*the little mermaid
Lucy — April 7, 2015
Bertie, the dumb word in this story doesn’t make sense. Can you please tell me what that is supposed to mean? ‘Cause I think that is a bit inappropriate.
Jazz — April 23, 2016
Good story
Chris Brown — December 13, 2016
I LIKE THIS STORY
ALEXIA — January 7, 2009
I don’t just like this story, I lopve it!
Moxie — January 8, 2009
IT’s really good but bears a sad ending
Anonymous — January 8, 2009
Thanks Anon. I don’t won’t to give too much away, but it’s not the Disney version.
Bertie — January 8, 2009
hey very nice story, great voice!!
rakesh — January 8, 2009
nice story
Tammy — January 11, 2009
thinkes
waleed — January 13, 2009
Is Part III avaliable?
Yeh-Jun — January 13, 2009
Part three of Little Mermaid will be here next Sunday or Monday
Bertie — January 14, 2009
how about the lord of the rings
~eli
eli — January 14, 2009
I love the story do you. I love lord of the ring
taliyah — April 14, 2015
no i like it how it is so do not change the story
lol — September 15, 2015
that story was nice and sweet too.
hannah — January 14, 2009
um this website is good cause you learn bout ppl you dont knoe.
but yeah other then that is okay.
illy — January 15, 2009
i think this is the best and boring story i ever read i only liked it in the middle part.
Alejandra — January 18, 2009
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lyric — January 21, 2009
this is the most fun web site of story`s but i think you need like a short movie that goes with the story
Candy — January 22, 2009
I LOOOOOOVE IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOD
chloe — January 22, 2009
I LIKE IT IT IS FUN FOR BABIES TO READ IT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL I LOVE THE LITTLE MERMAID
ZOUBIDA — January 22, 2009
too long
Anonymous — January 23, 2009
Its a nice calm story
and I really enjoyed it.
charlie — January 25, 2009
Your storys are the best i wish i can have them.I love your website.
Thaks
Riley
Riley — February 1, 2009
It was kwite entertaining to hear it was such a ARTISTIC story I like to use BIG WORDS when I can bye bye from
ZOHA
zoha — February 17, 2009
why is this long
aaliyah — February 18, 2009
Wow!!!!!!!You made me want to hear more!!!!I just love it!!!^_^
Cattien — February 20, 2009
this is a very good story but it is not complete the write and the audio i hope you complete the audio
nadhum — March 2, 2009
Parts 2 and 3 are available
storynory.com/2009/01/12/the-little-mermaid-part-two/
storynory.com/2009/01/20/the-little-mermaid-part-three/
Bertie — March 2, 2009
I love the story. The voice is so nice and calm. I understood everything.Thanks.
Dianna (Ireland) — March 6, 2009
this story is my favorite one!
Dharma — April 9, 2009
Longing for more
Swetha — March 6, 2016
i want copy this storie on my desktop pleas telll me what can i do
kesar — April 13, 2009
Dear Kesar, To keep the story on your desktop, please right click it (ctrl-click if you are on a Mac). You will see a menu pop up. Select “Save Link as” or “Save Copy” or similar. This will save to your desktop.
Bertie — April 13, 2009
it is toooooooooooooooo long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
coocoo — April 14, 2009
I loved it and I think that there should be a section of story nory for teens and older people.
amyk — May 12, 2009
Thanks Amyk, that’s a good idea
Bertie — May 12, 2009
so will there be a new section for teens bertie?
amyk — May 12, 2009
Amyk, We would love to do more for teens, but we are short of time and resources, so I don’t think there will be a special section soon. We will always have a few stories that are a bit more sophisticated. The Little Mermaid is a good example. Even adults will feel moved by it.
Bertie — May 13, 2009
hi sunshine!!! remember me samantha thats the 1 great story ever.
samantha — June 9, 2009
Thanks Samantha
Sunshine Bertie (Though it’s raining on the pond)
Bertie — June 9, 2009
how can i turn into a mermaid i need everyones help please
Anonymous — June 15, 2009
THESE ARE WONDERFUL
CARMEN — June 29, 2009
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous — July 3, 2009
I loved the snow queen story but this one now the little mermaid I think its boooooooooooring I know the little marmaid story is a adventure story but its to boooooooooooooring .I want storys like the snow queen. can you put carm bed time storys on this proggrame make them up.
katie — July 9, 2009
Hi Katie, Thanks for your comment. The little Mermaid does take a while to get going – it starts with a lot of description. It’s the way Hans Christian Andersen wrote it. I think you might like the Ugly Duckling though – it’s a nice balance between description and story-telling – and there’s much more to it than the usual way it’s told in modern books.
Bertie — July 9, 2009
LONG! BUT I LIKE IT
Sarah — August 22, 2009
GHiloveyousoooooooooooooooooooooomuch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous — October 23, 2009
wow this is a good story but i have 2 reed the rest of the parts now let me reed the 2 and 3 part of the story ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jkjkjkjkjkjk i hate this story =>
jennifer — November 19, 2009
Really Nice Story, Even Though It Does Start Out Slow…
PartyInTheUSA — November 28, 2009
nice story ! great!good!
abigail — November 30, 2009
This is my all time favourite story by Hans Christian Anderson,I prefer the disney version better,after all,it does have a happy ending. : )
Lisette — December 5, 2009
i love the sonds it sounds like if your really under the sea!!!!:]
Kiz — December 11, 2009
i love the sounds it like the sea it cooool
zaya — December 11, 2009
This is so beautiful! I love Hans Christian Andersen’s stories! His stories are so delicate, and descriptive. The music is excellent, too. Good job Storynory!
Katie — December 17, 2009
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww i love the little mermaid do you think you code put the story of the little mermaid when her mother deid. pleas reply.
ayra — December 23, 2009
Hi Ayra, I’m not sure i know the story of the Little mermaid when her mother died, but it sounds terribly sad
Bertie — December 23, 2009
cool
Anonymous — January 8, 2010
This story is extremely intresting.Excellent Hans Christian Andersen’s
Nadine Koh — January 9, 2010
this is a great story and i think a lot of people should read it it is a peace full story with interesting events in it if you never read it than you should
berenice — January 12, 2010
Cool I so do want to listen to the next part!!!
Isobel — January 24, 2010
A great resource for kids and parents! Thank you.
Yanming — February 3, 2010
good start,very sweet to good voice thank you.
beth — February 5, 2010
Wow! this story is so beautiful, i can’t wait to hear the second part! It’s so discriptive. i love it! <3 <3 <3
Ugly Doll Girl — February 16, 2010
umm… well i thought this tory was very long and i did like it as well…i love hearing about mermaids,Yes i am only 4 but im very intelligent i really found it long a little too long
but as it is a brilliant story i loved it
so…. thank you Natasha for being soo..kind in telling me this story
i very much apreciate it
with thanks
lauren jackson:)
lauren — February 23, 2010
You know ! I love stories of mermaids.But this one takes the cake.THANK YOU SO MUCH NATASHA cause its COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!
sunidhi — April 11, 2010
it is so long but it is cool
sneha — April 24, 2010
nice stores…
Barbie — May 5, 2010
this is a weird story!!!!!!!
hannah — May 25, 2010
il
keke — May 25, 2010
hi bertie
I think that the music is to creepy
don’t you agree?
It’s so creepy as a bedtime strort
maya — May 31, 2010
I ment tory
whoops
maya — May 31, 2010
story,the song from the story was creepy
maya — May 31, 2010
I’m just charmed.. Thank you! Sagan är mycket bra!! Tack!
(Edit: Swedish for “The Story is Very Good Thanks !”)
Eugenia — June 7, 2010
No it was not nice
Anonymous — June 22, 2010
This story was so brilliant. I want to hear it again and again and again and again!I have heard that story before
and have got the video,but unfortunely I have lost it. I really enjoyed hearing after not hearing for a couple of years!You see, I am 8 years old and I have to sisters.One of them is 8 and the other 5.
Bye!Bye!
LOIS — July 2, 2010
this story is long and werid i like 2 read but not that much but its ok (:
HI PEOPLE(:
silvia — November 10, 2010
Let my little sister listen to this while she was trying to take a nap: it helped her alot! It also saves me from having to tell her a story! YAY! I love this!
Ashleigh — November 25, 2010
THANKYOU IT IS NICE BUT IVAN THIS WEBSITE RAPUNZEL STORY IS NOT AVAILABE AND NINE PRINCESS STORIES ASO PLEASE KEEP THEM IN THIS
YOGITHA — January 12, 2011
What Natasha said was different to what the writing said on the computer so I was very confused when I was r5eading along
pragya — January 27, 2011
i love mermaid stories .and its really very intresting story .. a lirrle mermaid
ayesha — January 30, 2011
i love storynory its really fun and smart i love the movie little mermaid to
mckayla — February 3, 2011
hi Natasha thanks for reading the story it was the best i ever herd even though i’m two years old i can under stand i listen to this story every day
Siniti — February 13, 2011
this is a really interesting storynory
?????? — February 26, 2011
The first part is a little boring.But other than that, I liked the story.
Sofia — March 29, 2011
i liked the sound.
ishadeep — April 10, 2011
I like the sounds!!
blablabla — April 15, 2011
this story was fasinating and very detailed
blahblahblah — April 20, 2011
cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
quinnah — April 28, 2011
YEAH!!!! This was a great story! It was nap time for my cousin, and it was my turn to put her to bed. So I played this story! And it worked!!!!! This was a beautiful story. I was so touched that it felt like I was the one who was last to go out onto the land!
I’m in tears this story was so beautiful. I really loved the 1rst segment. and I hope the 2nd and 3rd segment are as beautiful and heart touching as this segment! Thanks! this is an awesome story
Sarah — June 20, 2011
THIS IS A GOOD STORY SO YOU ALL BETTER BE QUIET JKJKJKJK IT IS SSOOOOOOOOOOO BORRING BUT STILL BEEEEEEE QUIEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
kathy — August 27, 2011
Hello
Thank you for your comment, The Little Mermaid is a sad tale about a young girl who gives up her beautiful voice for the love of the young prince. She is given the chance to save herself in a different in the land at the end of the story, with the mermaids of the waves that come to her rescue.
Thanks for listening to [email protected]
Bye Bye
N*
Natasha — August 27, 2011
GGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD STTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOORYYYY AOOOOOOOO SHUUUUUUUT UUUUUP
kathy — August 27, 2011
I Iove/hate it
Yuza — September 25, 2011
Great!!!!!
Kyle — November 17, 2011
Hello
Thank you for your comment
The Little Mermaid by HansChristian Andersson is a great and adventurous tale
And we can learn a lot from the young Mermaid who sacrifices her voice in return forvm having her tail replaced by fish legs
Thanks for listening
N*
Natasha — November 17, 2011
Amazing story!
Emily — November 22, 2011
I HATED THE STORY NATASHA READ SO SLOW IT MADE ME GO TO SLEEP AND PLUS THAT STORY IS FOR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Adrian — December 12, 2011
it was OK…i guess, it made me want to go to sleep but was still kinda kool
noneya buissness — December 13, 2011
I love this story!
Sayshegotraped — December 13, 2011
this is a very boring story jkjkjkjkjk it’s really good
lauren — December 14, 2011
i like it
Brizeeiscool — December 15, 2011
i like it soo much
Brizeeiscool — December 15, 2011
Publilius Syrus~ If you refuse where you have always granted you invite to theft.
suunto — January 5, 2012
IT’S TOO MUCH INTERSTING STORY… WHT;S ABOUT GUGS ………
Kitty — January 19, 2012
Hello
This tale by Hans Christian Andersson is all about a young Mermaid who agrees to sacrifice her fish tail for human legs in order to meet with the prince she has fallen in love with on earth. She undertakes this sacrifise with the Sea witch who demands she give up her voice,so when The Little Mermaid reaches dry land, she cannot speak to the prince. The ending of the story reveals if The Mermaid can be united with the Prince or not…
I hope you find time to listen and read
Bye Bye
N*
Natasha — January 19, 2012
Hello! I am from Mexico City and Natasha has a great pronunciation and I can use the stories for my Englis students here at Mexico. I love this story and she is great, everything is perfect, thank you for this website is amazing, really! Congratulations.
viridiana — January 20, 2012
I LOVE IT
KATERINA — January 22, 2012
Not that I don’t like this – I love reading – But that’s a VERY long story!
Kirse — February 9, 2012
that was cool
brianna — February 9, 2012
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I love this very much and want to have it all! I know the song from heart!
Sarah — February 10, 2012
I think that this book is very asome! It takes place in Denmark. I know were Denmark is and have read a book that took place in Denmark. The book was: Number the stars. I have seen all the moives about the little mermaid. This book is one of my favroit books ever! Thank you Natasha for readind this book to all of us out here. I think you read it perfect:] I wonder how many books you have read to every one?
THANKS!
Sarah — February 16, 2012
i love your part 1 the little mermaid
ALEXEE — February 17, 2012
i love it
tina — February 17, 2012
I think the little mermaid was very good.
Jenny — February 28, 2012
OMG OMG I nearly cryed, a clap for this story * appluase * this is burning me with tears OMG
Jenny — February 28, 2012
its great 🙂
KATERINA — March 3, 2012
love it but please right 10000000 story please i love your story even my uncle loves it
meriana — March 5, 2012
love it 🙂
m — March 6, 2012
i love your story and i love mermaids being a mermaid is my dream u r the best
kimberly — March 8, 2012
i love this story thank you natasha and bertie
cookie — March 10, 2012
I used to dream of being a little mermaid as a child, now I can listen to the story with my little one. Ty Natasha.
Kerry — March 27, 2012
That’s so great!I can use this in my presentation about fairy tale!!I have been looking for this for the whole morning!!
shanshan — April 4, 2012
Lol too many comments
Too good story 😀
Kirse — April 27, 2012
Nice story
Preshe — June 9, 2012
Hello,
The Little Mermaid is a nice and sad tale. The young heroine sacrifices her voice and fish tail in order to gain human legs so that she might meet the prince she has seen. The sister spirits of the sea save her in the end.
Thanks for listening
Bye Bye
N*
Natasha — June 9, 2012
THIS BOOK IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LUNA — June 11, 2012
Maddison 13th of july
I think it was graaaaaaaaaaaaaaate
Thanks
Anonymous — July 13, 2012
Maddison 13th of July
I think it was really gooooooooooooooooooooooood
Thank you
Maddison.
Maddison — July 13, 2012
a good story for me
the little mermaid arial — August 28, 2012
Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee IT
JACOB — September 14, 2012
this story das not work
amina — September 27, 2012
it was a good book because there were three parts and i liked all of the parts and i hope everybody that heard this book that they liked it.
abigail — October 11, 2012
I love this because i love mermaid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Helen — December 6, 2012
love the stroy very much
josey — January 14, 2013
Is Natasha the little mermaid please comment back
Bye bye
Mr. Hawlloween — January 16, 2013
Hello
I really love these story’s they put me to bed every night
Camie — January 22, 2013
Thanks Natasha for that soooooooooooo romantic story. There is another comment I posted on the wrong page by mistake! Sorry!!! But I really love this story.(P.S. That other comment is on the video ” How old are you?”
Anna Shelton, age 9.
Anna — January 31, 2013
i like the stoy!!!!!!=)
storylover1 — February 17, 2013
its very sad and sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mykah — March 19, 2013
I love this book and website!!!!!
Daniel — March 20, 2013
So Natasha u put little mermaid picture for the comments to remember u right!!!!!
shireesh — April 5, 2013
make more books…pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase.
#1 fan! — April 20, 2013
Brilliant website!!! Love listening every night!!! Xxxx
Tallulah — April 21, 2013
Fanstatic
Siddh — June 10, 2013
I feel sorry for the little mermaid…. couldn`t she have written the truth on paper for the prince?
gummybearABC — June 17, 2013
I love this story and would like to know where I can find part two
Hermione — June 17, 2013
I LOVE THE LITTE MERMAID AND I SEEN THE MOVIE OF THIS P.S. LOVEIT
BGC — October 21, 2013
dear Natasha,
can you put Esio Trot on story nory please.
vivian — February 18, 2014
#TOLOSWAG BERTIE. }:-) respond plez. my friend is givin meh 10 doolars if chu do.
Wingding — April 14, 2014
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kim — May 1, 2014
This is a great story for my little sister and brother. Thanks a lot.
Cierra — May 16, 2014
i love this movie!!!!!!!!!!
jamee-lee — May 29, 2014
I LOOOOOOVE THIS STORY
ELYSSA — June 4, 2014
Hello
Thank you for coming to story nory.com and I love to read story nory.
Natasha — June 23, 2014
Awesome story my sister and I listen to this all the time
Shemiya — October 6, 2014
How are u so good at story telling tell tips
Shemiya — October 6, 2014
I Love this story a hundered times as any think in the world who does not like are mean and evil
Shemiya — October 6, 2014
I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve it so much it is so cool!I like the music so much. I have herd this store befor! I stil love the story!
JoBecka — November 5, 2014
i love the story so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Harper — November 5, 2014
hated it
phiphi the dog — November 5, 2014
The end is happy?!! Or is that just Disney??
Hannah — November 10, 2014
It’s kinda nice
☺
shaaf — November 26, 2014
this not shreck
Pluto Nash 3d — December 2, 2014
its good
TO HOT — December 4, 2014
Liked the story♥♥
naomi — December 18, 2014
I liked the story I’m a big fan of the little mermaid ♥♥♣♠⑩
naomi — December 18, 2014
I like this story
Sudharshana — January 10, 2015
I like this story very much
Sudharshana — January 10, 2015
Less sound effects plz
b — January 12, 2015
I love the little mermaid
Swapnil Mujumdar — January 17, 2015
to long take till all day long past my bedtime good coments
freya ward — January 18, 2015
I thought that was very,very very good
Millie — April 2, 2015
Gd
Anonymous — June 3, 2015
i liked it. good story!
Peter — August 3, 2015
weird music
heaven — September 15, 2015
I HATE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE MUSIC OR MERMAIDS OR MAGIC!…….
secret person — September 18, 2015
LOVE THIS STORY SO SO SO SO SO MUCH
ANOYMOUNOUS — October 11, 2015
I LOVE IT GOOD STORY
melody — December 1, 2015
I listened to all of the three parts of the Little Mermaid and I enjoyed it ?
Emily — December 2, 2015
i loved this story!!!
juan — February 17, 2016
It is a really nice story.It was okay!!!??????
Angel — February 18, 2016
that story made me cry
S.wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww — March 17, 2016
really sweet
emily — April 20, 2016
i love little mermade it is my fav! You should mack up a 2nd story to the little marmade?
cora — July 24, 2016
I love this story really good and sad thank you for writing this lovely book of a mermaid that
wanted to become human thank you for this great
book you are amazing
thank you
Eli — August 16, 2016
yes i loved the story an i realy want more
emma — September 20, 2016
Does anyone know what year Hans wrote this book? I’m drawing an illustration of it for school and I’m curious of what he imagined the boats would look like, I know they aren’t our years speedboats 😉 thank you!
Turtle — September 27, 2016
does anybody know if there are any romanceish books, if not it’s fine, just wonderin
kitteh — October 12, 2016
I’m six years old and I like this part because l like mermaids and I wish they were real. I also like the book because of its details.
Ashlinn — December 12, 2016
It’s good
Maricela — December 13, 2016
Cool book
Chris Brown — December 13, 2016
Boring
Poor — February 12, 2017
mermaids are real
Anonymous — March 13, 2017
It is sooooo long. I want a story a little shorter.
Sam — March 13, 2017
they are real six year old
k — March 13, 2017
Sad!!!!!😭
Jocelyne — May 9, 2017
it was so long
Duy — May 28, 2017
this was really good cant wait to listen to part 2
you — August 17, 2017
Sad but fun
Sarah — August 29, 2017
hate it
lezlie — September 11, 2017
Sad😔 story but a good story I loved it it is 😊
Izza — December 24, 2017
I love it.
Colyn — January 11, 2018
I love it.🧝🏻♀️
Gao Zoo — January 19, 2018
I love this little mermaid. 🧜🏻♀️
Gao Zoo — January 19, 2018
i love the story sooooooooooooo much/omg
summer — February 6, 2018
Awesome story.
Carley — March 8, 2018
i love the little mermaide
summer — March 26, 2018
I like the story and it is amazing
and I love the mermaid and make more stories like this one
Charis — April 17, 2018
this one is such a great story
Charis — April 17, 2018
like it
kai — April 20, 2018
The story is amazing
Kiana — May 2, 2018
Wow, I loved this story.
katie — May 21, 2018
good
Lynton — July 30, 2018
i think it is boring
joe — September 19, 2018
Love love love love love love love l
Love 💩 2009 of February 9 — September 23, 2018
I love this story/song
So cool 😎
L-February 22 '2009 — September 23, 2018
This is a really great story who ever you are you are a great person I hope you have other fun stories 👍🏿😇😍🤗😯.
Temidayo — September 24, 2018
Great story better than Disney version
Zmya — October 18, 2018
Kinda boring
Harry Potter — November 15, 2018
I love it!💦🧜🏾♀️.
ryeleipony — November 16, 2018
wow wow wow.
pony — November 16, 2018
Y r there so much innapropiate comments
Anonymous — February 14, 2019
Great Story
Ashleigh — February 14, 2019
trash
Anonymous — February 20, 2019
Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!&nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pipercoolllllllllllllllllllllllllllll — March 1, 2019
Made me cry!!! LOL!!
queen — March 11, 2019
It was good but,like,EVERY princess in every fairytale has white skin!!!!😡😡same with all the princes.
Eva 8 — March 17, 2019
Awful terrible u guys suck
Anonymous — March 26, 2019
wow
lex — September 30, 2019
The song creeps me out 😱 but it’s boring put more CAT story’s on
Ayla — October 31, 2019
This is boring sorry but I am only 8 years old, plz reply……. Love the cat story’s 😻
-Ayla O’kagu
AYLA — October 31, 2019
the music is scery
kelsie — November 28, 2019
sooooooooooooo boring
he he — March 15, 2020
Very good story
LaurenZside — April 8, 2020
i feel it is long for homework
Elias — April 29, 2020
I think I like the story of the snow queen better this one is booooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooring
Luna — June 4, 2020
I loved it so much and I loved the Snow Queen 👑 to❤️💖❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️💖💖❣️
Faustina — June 4, 2020
traaaash
Anonymous — August 3, 2020
borrible
WOT U LOOKIN AT??!!1!11!1 — August 3, 2020
too long
0000000 — September 9, 2020
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.
click here to investigate nexxus aloe rid ingredients — September 29, 2020
It was very sad, but I loved it. It is one of my favorites.
Stay Safe,
Sarah — September 30, 2020
This story was very sad
Anonymous — October 16, 2020
I’am amazed
check this — November 12, 2020
You’re so amazing. Oh my Lord. Jesus bless you.
마사지구인구직 — November 20, 2020