The Little Mermaid - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Overview

"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...

about a young mermaid

Mermaid

A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...

willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince.

Written originally as a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

, the tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media including musical theatre

The Little Mermaid (musical)

The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...

and animated film

The Little Mermaid (1989 film)

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...

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The Little Mermaid lives in an underwater kingdom with her father the sea king; her grandmother; and her five elder sisters, each born one year apart.

Unanswered Questions

Who see mermaid?

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Quotations

I'm 16 years old! I'm not a child anymore!

You're not getting cold fins now are you?

Don't be such a guppy.

Flounder, will you relax? Nothing is going to happen.

Music? Oh, the concert! Oh my gosh, my father's going to kill me.

If only I could make my father understand. I just don't see things the way he does. I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things, could be bad.

He's very handsome, isn't he?

[Last lines] I love you, Daddy.

Ariel, please, will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water, where it belongs?

Someone's gotta nail that girl's fins to the floor.

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