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The little mermaid lived deep in the sea with her father, the sea king, her grandmother and her five sisters. She was the prettiest little mermaid in the entire ocean, but she longed for something more. All her life, the little mermaid had heard stories of the surface where people breathed air and walked on legs. She could not wait until she too could go to the surface to see the wonders that awaited her there.
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When the little mermaid was finally old enough, she was sent to the surface. She could not believe what she saw there! There was a ship filled with sailors celebrating the birthday of a young prince, who was on board with them. The moment the little mermaid laid eyes on the prince, she was in love.
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But right at that moment, the sea began to stir, the wind howled, the sky grew dark, and the boat was tossed about in the water by the power of the ocean. All the sailors were thrown from the ship into the water, but the concerned little mermaid could not spot the prince among them.
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When she finally saw him she realized he was drowning! The little mermaid swam as fast as she could to the handsome prince and pulled his head above water, saving his life.
She then swam him to the nearest shore where she laid him down and said goodbye with a kiss on her love's forehead.
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When he woke up, the prince had no memory of the courageous young mermaid that had saved his life, so the little mermaid's love was not returned. This made her very sad for a long time, until she could stand it no longer, and decided to go see the sea witch, who was a very scary evil sorceress.
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The sea witch already knew the little mermaid's problem. "I will use my magic to give you human legs instead of a tail. They will cause you great pain, but you'll be the most beautiful girl in the world.
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The little mermaid nodded in agreement. The sea witch then warned her: "However, you must know that once you become a human, you can never be a mermaid again, meaning you will never be able to return to the ocean to see your family and home." "I understand," said the little mermaid. The witch did as she had promised, however, in exchange she took the voice of the little mermaid so she couldn't talk or sing anymore.
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The little mermaid awoke on the shore and found that the handsome prince was at her side! The prince took the little mermaid back to the castle and had her dressed in beautiful clothes, but every step towards the castle felt like stepping on knives to the mermaid. The prince and the little mermaid became best friends, even though she could not talk. They spent all their time together and went on many adventures.
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One day, the king and queen decided it was time for their son to get married and sent him to meet a princess in a neighboring kingdom. The prince confessed to the little mermaid that he was not happy to meet the princess because he was already in love with someone else. "I was in a shipwreck," the prince began, "and when I washed up on shore a girl was there, and she cared for me. She is the one I love, but sadly, I never found out who she was."
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This made the little mermaid sad because she knew she was the one who had saved him. But the prince continued on, "you remind me very much of this girl and this has caused me to love you. I would rather marry you than the princess I'm going to meet." The little mermaid was very excited about this and she wished to exclaim her joy to the prince, but was unable to because of the witch's spell.
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The prince still had to go meet the princess to please his parents. When he met her, he discovered she was the girl he was in love with from the shore! Wedding plans were made immediately, much to the dismay of the little mermaid. The little mermaid now knew that the prince had not fallen in love with her; he only said that because she had reminded him of his true love. She had given up being a mermaid, her home, and her family for nothing.
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On the day of the wedding, the little mermaid sat on the shore and her family came to visit her. Her father, grandmother, and sisters, floated at the surface and said their goodbyes to their dear little mermaid. They knew that when the prince married someone else the little mermaid could no longer be human, but as the sea witch had warned her, she couldn't be a mermaid either.
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As the wedding began the little mermaid's heart was broken and her spirit floated down to the surface of the water. Because the little mermaid had suffered so greatly for love she did not become the sea foam that is quickly washed away. The broken hearted little mermaid was turned into the spirit of the wind. She was now able to fly around the whole world delivering cool ocean breezes on warm days and exploring just like she had always wished to do.
