Су перісі (Андерсен Г.Х.) Fairy Tale

In the endless depths of the sea lived mermaids. The sea king had six beautiful daughters. The princesses were allowed to rise to the surface only after their fifteenth birthday.

Years passed, and the youngest princess also reached this age. She rose to the surface, sat on a rock, and looked around. Suddenly, she saw a large ship nearby.

There were many people on board, but one young prince stood out among them. Suddenly, a storm began: the waves rocked the ship until it finally sank. The mermaid immediately rushed to find the prince, saved him, and carried him to shore. She laid him on the sand and waited for someone to come and help him. At that moment, a group of girls came out of a nearby white house. One of them noticed the young man lying on the ground and cried out, calling for help. The mermaid hid behind a rock. The prince regained consciousness and smiled at the girl. Seeing this, the mermaid felt a deep sadness and returned to her underwater home. Later, she wanted to learn more about humans. Her grandmother told her that people had immortal souls, but mermaids did not. 

— Grandmother, why don’t we have an eternal spirit? — the princess asked sadly.

 — We were not given such a gift, — the old woman replied.

 — But if a human loves you deeply and marries you in a church, you will receive his soul. Hearing this, the mermaid firmly decided: "I love him! He must be with me!" And she went to the sea witch.

— This is a foolish idea! — said the witch. 

— But I can help you. I will give you a potion. If you drink it, your tail will turn into legs, but walking will be painful, as if stepping on sharp knives. I will help you only if you give me your voice.

— I agree! — the mermaid said. She drank the potion. An unbearable pain surged through her body. When she regained consciousness, she was in the prince’s palace. He was mesmerized by her beauty and asked who she was, but she could not answer. The mermaid stayed in the palace and soon became attached to the prince. However, he treated her like a younger sister. One day, the prince said: 

— A girl once saved me from death. If I find her, I will marry her. If not, I will marry you. The mermaid’s heart raced with joy, but knowing that he did not know the truth caused her deep sorrow. Soon, the prince traveled to a neighboring kingdom. There, he met the very girl who had found him on the shore and decided to marry her.

This news was a heavy blow for the mermaid, but she did not show it. On the day of the wedding, while everyone was celebrating, she remained alone. Suddenly, her sisters appeared from the sea. Their hair was gone. 

— We gave our hair to the witch in exchange for this dagger. If you plunge it into the prince’s heart, you will become a mermaid again and live! — they said. That night, the mermaid took the dagger and approached the sleeping prince. But she could not bring herself to kill him. Instead, she kissed his forehead as a farewell and ran toward the sea.

At dawn, she dived into the water, and her body turned into white foam. However, instead of disappearing, she felt herself rising into the sky. Around her floated transparent beings — air spirits. 

— Who are you? — the mermaid asked.

— We are the souls of kind-hearted creatures who had no souls of their own. Now we are given the chance to help people. If we do good deeds, we will gain eternal life, — they answered. From that moment on, the mermaid became one of them. She promised to help people so that she, too, could earn immortality.