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The Little Mermaid Story

The Little Mermaid is a classic story from Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, for children aged 5–9. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 3 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 6 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

Andersen's original, not the Disney film: the little mermaid trades her voice for legs and becomes a daughter of the air. With native English narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

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Read The Little Mermaid

Deep under the sea, there was a palace. The Sea King lived there with his six daughters. They were mermaids, with fish tails instead of legs. The youngest one was quiet, and she had the most beautiful voice. She loved to hear about ships, towns and people.

"When you are fifteen, you may swim up and look," said Grandmother. At last, she was fifteen. She swam up and saw a big ship with lights and music. It was a young prince's birthday.

That night, a storm came. The ship broke, and the prince fell into the sea. The little mermaid held his head above the waves. In the morning, she took him to the beach. A girl came and found him. He did not know who saved him.

"Do people live forever?" the little mermaid asked. "No," said Grandmother, "but they have a soul that never dies. We live for three hundred years, and then we become foam on the sea. If a person loves you with all his heart, you can get a soul too."

So she went to the sea witch. "I can give you legs," said the witch. "But every step will hurt like knives. And you must give me your voice. If the prince marries another girl, you will become foam." "I will," she said.

She drank the drink, and her tail became two legs. The prince liked her very much. She danced for him. It hurt, but she smiled. But the prince loved her like a little sister. He still dreamed of the girl from the beach.

One day, he met a princess. "It's you!" he cried. "You saved me!" She was the girl from the beach. They had their wedding on a ship.

That night, her sisters came up from the sea. "We gave the witch our hair for this knife," they said. "Hurt the prince before the sun comes up, and you can come home!" The little mermaid looked at the sleeping prince. Then she threw the knife into the sea and jumped in after it.

But she did not become foam. She rose up into the air. "We are the daughters of the air," said soft voices. "We bring cool winds and the smell of flowers. After three hundred years of good work, we get a soul. Come with us."

The little mermaid looked up at the sun, and for the first time, she felt tears. She kissed the bride, smiled at the prince, and flew up into a pink cloud.

The Chinese version: 海的女儿

在大海很深很深的地方，海水蓝得像晴天。海王的宫殿就在那里，珊瑚做墙，琥珀做窗。海王有六个女儿，都是小人鱼，没有脚，只有一条漂亮的鱼尾巴。最小的公主最安静，歌声也最好听。她最爱听奶奶讲海面上的事：那里有船，有城市，有会唱歌的鸟，还有用两条腿走路的人。

奶奶说：“等你们满了十五岁，就可以浮到海面上去看看。”姐姐们一个接一个浮上去，回来讲了好多新鲜事。小公主等啊等，终于也满了十五岁。

她浮出海面时，太阳刚刚落山。不远处有一艘大船，挂满了彩灯，人们在船上唱歌跳舞，原来是一位年轻的王子在过生日。小公主看着王子，怎么也舍不得离开。

半夜里，海上起了风暴，浪头像小山一样高。大船裂开了，王子掉进了海里。小公主知道，人在水里是活不成的。她拼命游过去，托起王子的头，不让他沉下去。天亮的时候，她把王子送到岸边，轻轻吻了吻他的额头，然后躲到礁石后面。一个姑娘从附近的白房子里走出来，发现了王子。王子醒过来，对着那个姑娘微笑。他不知道，真正救他的是谁。

回到海底，小公主一天比一天沉默。奶奶告诉她：“人活得没有我们长，可是人有一个永远不会消失的灵魂。我们能活三百年，最后却会变成海上的泡沫。除非有一个人全心全意地爱你，和你结婚，你才能得到灵魂。”

小公主下了决心。她穿过冒泡的漩涡，找到了海巫婆。巫婆说：“我给你一瓶药水，你的尾巴会变成两条腿。可是你每走一步，都会像踩在刀尖上一样疼。我还要你最宝贵的东西——你的声音。要是王子娶了别人，第二天早上，你就会变成泡沫。”小公主轻轻地说：“我愿意。”

她在王宫的台阶上喝下药水，醒来时，已经有了一双腿，王子就站在她面前。王子很喜欢这个不会说话的姑娘，带她骑马，带她爬山。她跳起舞来像羽毛一样轻，没有人知道她每一步都疼得钻心。可是王子只把她当作可爱的小妹妹，心里一直想着海边的那个姑娘。

后来，王子去邻国见一位公主。一见面，他就高兴地喊：“就是你救了我！”原来，那位公主就是海边的姑娘。王子和公主要在大船上举行婚礼了。

婚礼那天夜里，小公主站在船边，望着东方。天一亮，她就要变成泡沫了。忽然，姐姐们从海里浮上来，她们美丽的长头发都不见了。“我们用头发向巫婆换来了这把刀。太阳出来以前，只要你用它伤了王子，就能变回人鱼，回家去！”

小公主拿着刀，走进帐篷。王子睡得正香，梦里还叫着新娘的名字。小公主看了他很久，最后把刀远远地扔进了大海。她又看了王子一眼，然后跳进了海里。

太阳升起来了。小公主觉得身体像泡沫一样轻轻化开，却没有消失，而是慢慢飘了起来。她身边有许多透明的身影，她们说：“我们是空气的女儿。我们给炎热的地方送去凉风，给花儿送去香味。做满三百年的好事，就能得到一个永远不灭的灵魂。你那么善良，跟我们一起来吧。”

小公主抬头望着太阳，第一次感到眼里有了泪水。她飞到新娘身边，吻了吻她的额头，又对王子笑了笑。然后，她和空气的女儿们一起，乘着一朵粉红色的云，飞上了天空。

The Little Mermaid Story: the moral of the story

Real love thinks of the other person and does not demand something back. A kind heart is carried toward the light in the end.

Chinese words in The Little Mermaid

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

  • 大海dà hǎi

    the sea

  • 人鱼rén yú

    mermaid

  • 尾巴wěi ba

    tail

  • 王子wáng zǐ

    prince

  • 声音shēng yīn

    voice

  • 巫婆wū pó

    witch

  • 泡沫pào mò

    foam

  • 灵魂líng hún

    soul

Bedtime storytelling tips

  • The story is long for one bedtime. You can split it over two nights: stop when she saves the prince, and start the next night with the sea witch.
  • After she loses her voice, act out her part with gestures and faces instead of words, so your child feels what it is like to have no voice.
  • Slow down for the daughters of the air. The next day, when you feel a cool breeze or smell flowers, you can say: maybe they sent it.

Things to talk about afterwards

  • What did the little mermaid give up so she could walk on land?
  • Her sisters gave her a knife. Why did she throw it into the sea?
  • Do you think the little mermaid was happy at the end? Why?

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The Little Mermaid Story: common questions

Is this the Disney version of The Little Mermaid?
No. This is Hans Christian Andersen's original story from 1837. The 1989 Disney film changed the ending so that the mermaid, named Ariel, marries the prince. In Andersen's story she has no name, the prince marries someone else, and she becomes a daughter of the air.
What is the moral of The Little Mermaid?
Real love thinks of the other person, not of what you get back. The little mermaid would rather turn to foam than hurt the prince, and her kindness lifts her up to the daughters of the air, with the hope of one day having a soul.
Who wrote The Little Mermaid?
The Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published in 1837. It is an Andersen fairy tale, not a Grimm one.
What did the little mermaid give the sea witch?
Her voice, the most beautiful voice under the sea. In return she got two legs, but every step hurt like knives, and she could no longer speak or sing.
How does the original Little Mermaid end?
The prince marries a princess he believes saved him. That night, the little mermaid's sisters bring her a knife: if she hurts the prince before sunrise, she can come home. She throws the knife into the sea and jumps in after it. She does not become foam but rises into the air as a daughter of the air, kisses the bride, smiles at the prince and flies up into a pink cloud.

Source and how we retold it

By the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, Den lille Havfrue, first published in 1837 and now in the public domain. The original is long; our retelling follows Andersen's plot but is much shorter, and does not use any existing Chinese translation. In the original, the sea witch cuts out the little mermaid's tongue; here she gives the witch her voice. In the original, her sisters tell her to plunge the knife into the prince's heart; here they only tell her to hurt him with it, and there is no blood. We kept the ending in which she becomes a daughter of the air, and left out Andersen's last lines about good and naughty children making the daughters of the air wait a shorter or longer time for their souls.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked The Little Mermaid Story, there are more stories in Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.

More Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales