Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the petals of the loveliest cornflower and as clear as the purest glass, there lived the Sea King with his six daughters. The youngest was the most beautiful of them all — her skin was as translucent as a rose petal, her eyes were as blue as the deepest sea, and her voice was the most exquisite in the entire underwater kingdom. But like all mermaids, she had no legs — only a graceful, shimmering tail that caught the light like liquid silver.

The Sea King's mother, a wise and stately old mermaid, had told the princesses about the world above. She described the ships, the cities, the forests, and most tantalisingly, the humans — strange, fascinating creatures who walked on two legs and lived their brief lives under an open sky.

Each mermaid princess was permitted to visit the surface when she turned fifteen. The youngest listened with burning envy as her older sisters returned from their visits with tales of sunsets that set the horizon ablaze, of church bells ringing across harbour towns, and of children playing on sandy beaches.

When her own fifteenth birthday finally arrived, the little mermaid rose through the darkening water with a heart full of anticipation. She broke the surface just as the sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson. A large ship lay nearby, its deck glittering with lanterns. Music and laughter drifted across the water.

Through the cabin windows, she saw a young prince — tall, dark-eyed, and laughing among his companions. It was his birthday, too. Fireworks erupted overhead, showering the sky with cascading light. The mermaid watched him, transfixed. She had seen beautiful things before — coral palaces, luminous fish, gardens of sea anemones — but she had never seen anything like this young man. Something stirred in her chest, deep and irreversible, like a tide that would not turn.

Then a violent storm struck. The ship broke apart. The prince was thrown into the black water. The mermaid dove after him, held his head above the waves, and carried him through the night to a distant shore. She laid him on the sand near a temple and hid among the rocks to watch. A young woman from the temple found the prince and brought him inside. He never saw the mermaid. He never knew who had saved him.

The little mermaid sank back beneath the waves, carrying with her a love that would consume everything she was.