ISSN: 2397-9607 Issue 396In this 396th issue of the Baba Indaba’s Children’s Stories series, Baba Indaba narrates the Mexican legend, ‘THE MERMAID” by H. C. Andersen.You may be wondering why this book is titled “The Mermaid” and not “The Little Mermaid?””The Mermaid” is the original title and, it is thought, was only changed to the more poetic sounding “The Little Mermaid” after the author’s death in 1875. Because this is a translation of the original version, we have retained the original title, however, the story is essentially the same.The Little Mermaid dwells in an underwater kingdom with her widowed father (the sea king or Mer-King), her dowager grandmother, and her five older sisters, each of whom had been born one year apart. When a mermaid turns fifteen, she is permitted to swim to the surface for the first time to glimpse the world above, and when the sisters become old enough, each of them visits the upper world one at a time every year. As each returns, the Little Mermaid listens longingly to their various descriptions of the world inhabited by human beings.When the Little Mermaid’s turn comes, she rises up to the surface, watches a birthday celebration being held on a ship in honor of a handsome prince, and falls in love with him from a safe distance. A violent storm hits, sinking the boat, and the Little Mermaid saves the prince from drowning. She delivers him unconscious to the shore near a temple. Here, she waits until a young woman from the temple and her ladies in waiting find him. To her dismay, the prince never sees the Little Mermaid or even realizes that it was she who had originally saved his life.The Little Mermaid becomes melancholy and asks her grandmother if humans can live forever. She is told yes, but that once she becomes a human, she will never be able to return to the sea. Only her father can grant her wish. Her Father is astounded at her request and furiously refuses. Even though she tries hard, she cannot forget the prince.Well, what happened next you ask? Did the mermaid princess find a way of joining her prince? Even if she did have her wish granted, how would she find the prince in the world above? To find the answers to these questions, and others you may have, you will have to download and read this story to find out for yourself!Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children’s stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as ‘Father of Stories’.Each issue also has a ‘WHERE IN THE WORLD – LOOK IT UP’ section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story. HINT – use Google maps.Buy any of the 390+ Baba Indaba Children’s Stories on Google Play using the URL listed in the book.ALSO INCLUDES LINKS TO DOWNLOAD 8 FREE STORIES33% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities.
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