Once upon a time, in a splendid palace on the bed of the bluest ocean, lived the Sea King, a wise old triton with a long flowing white beard. He lived in a magnificent palace, built of gaily coloured coral and seashells, together with his five daughters, very beautiful mermaids.
Arielle, the youngest and loveliest of them all, also had a beautiful voice, and when she sang, the fishes flocked from all over the sea to listen to her. The shells gaped wide, showing their pearls and even the jellyfish stopped to listen. The young mermaid often sang, and each time, she would gaze upwards, seeking the faint sunlight that scarcely managed to filter down into the depths.
"Oh, how I'd love to go up there and at least see the sky, which everyone says is so pretty, and hear the voices of humans and smell the scent of the flowers!" "You're still too young!" said her mother. "In a year or two, when you're fifteen. Only then will the King let you go up there, like your sisters!" Arielle spent her time wishing for the world of humans, she listened to her sisters' stories, and every time they returned from the surface, she would ask them questions, to satisfy her curiosity. And as she waited for the day when she too would be allowed to reach the surface of the sea and meet the unknown world, Arielle spent her time in her wonderful sea garden. The seahorses kept her company, and sometimes a dolphin would come and play. Only the unfriendly starfish never replied when she called. At last, her long-desired birthday came. The night before, Arielle could not sleep a wink.
In the morning, her father called her and, stroking her long golden hair, slipped a lovely carved flower into her locks . ."There! Now you can go to the surface. You'll breathe air and see the sky. But remember! It's not our world! We can only watch it and admire! We're children of the sea and have no souls, as men do. Be careful and keep away from them; they can only bring bad luck!" In a second, Arielle had kissed her father and was darting smoothly towards the surface of the sea. She swam so fast with flicks of her slender tail, that even the fish could not keep up with her.
Suddenly she popped out of the water. How wonderful! For the first time, she saw the great blue sky, in which as dusk began to fall, the first stars were peeping out and twinkling. The sun, already over the horizon, trailed a golden reflection that gently faded on the heaving waves. High overhead, a flock of gulls spotted the little mermaid and greeted her arrival with shrieks of pleasure.
"It's so lovely!" she exclaimed happily. But another nice surprise was in store for her: a ship was slowly sailing towards the rocks on which Arielle was sitting. The sailors dropped anchor and the ship swayed gently in the calm sea. Arielle watched the men go about their work aboard, lighting the lanterns for the night. She could clearly hear their voices.
