The Little Mermaid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "The Little Mermaid" |
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Illustration by Charles Robinson
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| Author | Hans Christian Andersen |
| Original title | Den lille Havfrue |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Characters | Little Mermaid Sea Witch Human Prince Prince's bride Little Mermaid's sisters Daughters of the Air |
| Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale |
| Published in | Fairy Tales Told for Children (third volume) |
| Publication type | Fairy tale collection |
| Publisher | C. A. Reitzel |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 7 April 1837 |
| Notable adaptations | The Little Mermaid (animated movie, Disney) |
| Followed by | The Emperor's New Clothes |
The Little Mermaid is a famous fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1837. This story was part of a book called Fairy Tales Told for Children.
The tale is about a young mermaid who dreams of living on land. There is a well-known statue of The Little Mermaid in the harbor of Copenhagen. This classic story has been made into many different things, like operas and animated movies.
Contents
The Story of the Little Mermaid
This section tells you what happens in Hans Christian Andersen's original story.
A Mermaid's Dream
A young mermaid princess swims up to the ocean's surface. There, she sees a human prince and immediately falls in love with him. She really wants to meet him again. However, she is a mermaid, and her father, the King of the Sea, would not let her go to the human world.
A Difficult Choice
The mermaid wants to find a way to win the prince's love. She also hopes to gain an immortal soul, which mermaids do not have. She learns she can get one if a human loves her. So, she visits the sea witch's cave. The sea witch offers her a deal: human legs in exchange for her beautiful voice and her tail. The mermaid agrees to this very difficult trade.
Life on Land
The mermaid gets her human legs but cannot speak. The prince becomes her close friend and companion. He likes her very much but does not fall in love with her. Instead, he falls in love with another person.
The Final Decision
The mermaid's sisters offer her a way to return to the sea. She must kill the prince to become a mermaid again. But the mermaid loves the prince too much to hurt him. She refuses to do it.
A New Beginning
Instead of dying, the mermaid turns into a "daughter of the air." She learns that she can still gain an immortal soul. She will receive one if she does good deeds for three hundred years.
Adaptations of the Story
The story of The Little Mermaid has inspired many other works. People have retold it in different ways over the years.
Movies and Shows
In 1957, a composer named Germaine Tailleferre wrote an opera based on the story. Later, in 1968, the Soviet Union made an animated movie. In 1976, the Soviet Union and Bulgaria worked together on a live-action movie version.
One of the most famous adaptations is the animated movie made by The Walt Disney Company in 1989. In 2008, Studio Ghibli made a movie called Ponyo, which was also inspired by Andersen's tale.
Images for kids
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Original manuscript, last page
See also
In Spanish: La sirenita para niños
