Name a kid who does not like fairy tales. We dare you! At least up until a point, if we are to be sheepish about it :p
Found none, right?
That is the magic of fairy tales! These hand-me-down fantasy sagas have been enthralling us for centuries. And they show no sign of stopping, like ever! Thanks, Disney. And also congratulations on completing 100 years! That is HUGE!
Well, moving on. Since we are all about fairytales today, we thought we would give you a lowdown on one of the most loved tales of all time.
The Little Mermaid story for kids! Woohoo!
Keep reading and you will find so much in here! Everything you need to know about it is just a 5-minute read away.
First up, is The Little Mermaid a true story? What is the history of The Little Mermaid?
The Little Mermaid is not a true story. But it does have an original story which is quite different from Disney’s. Massively different if we were to be totally honest. And that story is…
A Danish story!
Called Den lille havfrue, which actually means a ‘a little sea maid’, this one was written way, way back in the 1800s. 1837 if you wanted to know the actual date. Hans Christian Andersen was the genius behind this fantastical tale.
What type of story is The Little Mermaid?
As you already know, it is a fairytale with its origins in a Danish folktale. Pretty interesting, if you ask us about it!
And what are the characters in it?
Oh, there are oh-so-many! Here we go:
- The Little Mermaid herself
- Her father, the king of the seas
- Her 5 sisters
- Her grandma
- Her friend who is a fish
- Her friend who is a crab
- The young prince (and the hero)
- His parents
- His fiance
- And finally, the sea witch
There are more characters (long list, right?), but these are the ones to know.
How does The Little Mermaid story go?
The Little Mermaid story for kids goes something like this:
Deep in the wide, blue seas, the Little Mermaid lived with her father, her sisters and her grandma. She had only one dream since she was a little girl.
To go up the surface of the sea and see all the magic that lies above water.
A wish that was not allowed to come true till she turned 15. After all, that was the rule of the Sea King’s family. No going up there till you are old enough to! Only her sisters who were of age were allowed. And they would enrapture the Little Mermaid with the stories of their adventures.
To wait out her turn, the Little Mermaid would roam the seas with her sea-creature friends, exploring wrecked ships as she sang songs in a voice that would enchant the entire sea kingdom.
One day the Little Mermaid finally got her chance. She gleefully swam up to the surface, singing songs and rejoicing in this wonderful new experience she had never had before! She swam up to a ship and saw they were having a party. Celebrating the birthday of the most handsome prince that she had ever seen.
But soon the skies turned and the celebrations turned murky. A storm shook the ship and the prince fell over, drowning. The Little Mermaid rushed to his rescue! She took him ashore and sang to him as he lay unconscious. Her singing woke him up but by the time he could thank her, she was gone as people from the city had come to rescue the prince. From then on, the prince vowed that he would marry the girl with the magical voice!
The Little Mermaid returned home, all sad and depressed, thinking she had lost her prince forever. And ardently wishing that she had legs so she could be with him. Her family saw her moping and her grandma suggested that she go to the Sea Witch if she wants legs. But she should be careful as the Sea Witch is evil and she would ask for a dear price in exchange.
The Little Mermaid went anyway, deeply in love and willing to do anything. She struck a deal with the Sea Witch, admitting to exchanging her voice for a pair of legs upon the condition that she will live if the prince marries her. But if he does not, she will die.
The Little Mermaid agreed anyway and took this major risk to be with her prince. She drank the Sea Witch’s potions and suddenly she had two legs!
She swam ashore where the prince found her. He asked her if she was lost but she could not say a word. All she could was nod to his questions so he would understand that she cannot talk. He took her home and the two became very close friends. So close that the prince started falling in love with her.
But lo behold! Little Mermaid’s dreams were shattered when the prince’s parents fixed his wedding with a neighbouring princess, who had the voice of Little Mermaid. Shocking!
The prince was overjoyed, thinking he had finally found his love. But as was the Sea Witch’s trap, Little Mermaid would die on the night of the prince’s wedding because the prince had rejected her. Little Mermaid’s sisters struck a deal with the Sea Witch, exchanging their long, beautiful locks of hair for a knife with which Little Mermaid had to kill the prince’s fiance.
The Little Mermaid refused but she kept the knife. So the king of the sea went to save his daughter, exchanging his sceptre with the Sea Witch for the life of his daughter. But that was not enough for the evil Sea Witch. She wanted to ruin the prince’s wedding and kill the people there. So she turned into a big, mean monster with tentacles and got to the ship on which the wedding was to happen.
The Little Mermaid acted on instinct, wanting to save her prince at all costs! She took the knife and stabbed the Sea Witch in the heart with it. The evil Sea Witch died and Little Mermaid’s voice returned. His fiance’s voice went back to its hoarse, unpleasant self. And the prince realised who was his true love all along. He asked her if he could marry and she agreed, and the two of them had a happy ending!
How about a short summary of The Little Mermaid?
The Little Mermaid is a story about the adventures of a mermaid who swims up to the surface of the sea on her 15th birthday with much gusto and excitement. She finds a prince celebrating on a ship when a storm hits and the prince drowns. She saves the prince and goes back home underwater, pining in his love. The Sea Witch offers the mermaid legs so she can go to the city and meet her prince in exchange for her beautiful voice.
The mermaid and the prince meet and fall in love. However, the prince is due to be married to another princess with the mermaid’s voice aboard a ship! On the wedding day, the Sea Witch attacks the ship to kill everyone aboard but the Little Mermaid saves the day, and the prince and she get married, living happily ever after.
Is there a moral to the Little Mermaid story for kids? How can your child apply it in real life?
Yes! And that is that evil will never win as long as people have pure intentions and love in their hearts. You can teach your child not to indulge in wrongdoings as every wrong act has a consequence. They have to pay for what they do, just like the Sea Witch had to pay. Use the Little Mermaid’s example to show them how to do good deeds without expectations.
And what about other short mermaid stories for kids? Are there any?
Yes, again! There are so many short mermaid stories for kids that you will find online! Many of them cover important themes too such as preventing plastic pollution, saving sea animals and more. These are bound to have a positive effect on your kids!
Loved this mermaid story for kids? Then you would also love knowing that we read such stories to our preschool students at EuroKids! Yep, our Language curriculum is chock-a-block with interesting tales and stories that keep kids engrossed while teaching them an important moral. You can know a lot more about our curriculum simply by visiting us!
