The Little Mermaid

Long, long ago, there were people who lived under the ocean. The King of the mer-people had his palace in the depths of the sea. He had a daughter who had never visited the world above the sea. She loved to hear her mother telling stories about the world above and dreamed about going there someday.

One day, when the little mermaid was swimming, she heard the sound of a storm raging above the sea. Suddenly a

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ship began sinking, and in the wreck the little mermaid could see a young man. The mermaid hurried to the young man and swiftly rescued him. She took him to shore and laid him on the sand. The young man's eyes were closed and so the little mermaid swam into the water and waited to see what would happen. Just then, a couple of people came out of the castle by the sea. When they saw the young man lying on the beach, they dashed to him saying, "Oh, Prince! He's here. He is still breathing." Soon the Prince opened his eyes and sat up. As the little

mermaid watched, her heart was filled with sadness. The Prince would never know that she was the one who had saved his life. Sadly, the little mermaid swam back to the palace under the sea. The little mermaid could not forget about the Prince after that. She often returned to the surface of the sea where she could see the castle that the Prince lived in. She wished that she could have legs so that she could visit the Prince.

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One day, the little mermaid went to see the witch. She told her the story of the Prince and pleaded with the witch to give her legs. "Very well. But if the Prince marries someone else, you will become nothing but foam on the sea," said the witch. "I would still like to do it," said the little mermaid. "One more thing," continued the witch. "You must give me your voice as payment." The little mermaid loved the Prince so much that she agreed to give up her voice. The witch cast a spell on the little mermaid. Suddenly the little mermaid felt a bolt of pain and lost her consciousness.

When the little mermaid woke up, she found herself lying on the beach. She had legs instead of her tail, and she also found that she had lost her voice.

The little girl walked to the castle. The people there were in the middle of a party. The Prince saw the pretty girl and asked her for the next dance. The girl danced so gracefully that all the guests admired the silent mysterious girl. The Prince himself became very fond of the girl and told her about the girl who had saved his life. "I would like to marry her but I don't know where she is. You look a little like her." The little mermaid wished that she could tell the Prince that she was the girl who had saved him. But without her voice,

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she could only look at him sadly. Later, the Prince was introduced to a princess of a neighboring country. The Prince was fascinated by her beauty because she looked like the girl who had rescued him. Soon the Prince proposed to her and they decided to have a wedding at the castle. The night before the wedding, under the light of the moon, the little mermaid stood on top of the cliff. She knew that she would die when the sun rose. Just then, her mother appeared in front of her. She was pale and her long hair had gone. "I gave my hair to the witch in return for a magic knife," she said. "Kill the Prince with it before sunrise, and you will be saved and become a mermaid again."

The little mermaid took the knife. She slipped into where the Prince was sleeping and gazed at the Prince's face. Her heart was still full of love and she could not bring herself to kill him. She quietly slipped out of the room and went back to the cliff.

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After taking a last look at the castle, the little mermaid threw herself into the sea. But instead of becoming foam, the little mermaid's body rose up into the sky and turned into one of the brightest stars. The little mermaid heard a voice saying in the wind, "Having a pure soul, you will continue shining in the sky forever." And that is where she is until this day.