The little mermaid was interested in listening to the wonderful stories about the land from her grandmother. “When you are fifteen,” said her grandmother, “you will have permission to rise up out of the sea.” Her five elder sisters had already been there. She wished her birthday could come sooner.
At last she reached her fifteenth year. She rose as lightly as a bubble to the surface of the water. The sea was calm, and a large ship lay on the water. There was music and song on board. The little mermaid swam close to the ship.
She saw a number of well-dressed people. They were celebrating the prince’s sixteenth birthday. How handsome the young prince looked! The little mermaid could not take her eyes from him.
Suddenly, the sea became restless, and a dreadful storm was coming. The ship was torn into pieces. The prince sank into the deep waves. The little mermaid remembered that humans could not live in the water, so she swam toward the prince and saved him. They floated together with the waves.
The next morning the storm had stopped. The little mermaid laid the prince on the beach. She kissed him, and then hid herself behind some rocks. She saw a young girl come to him, and try to wake him up. He came to life again, and smiled upon the girl. But he sent no smile to the mermaid. He didn’t know that she had saved his life.
This made her very unhappy. When he was led away into the palace, she dived sadly into the water, and returned to her father’s castle. Her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to the surface of the water, but she told them nothing. She became silent and thoughtful.
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