The Little Mermaid

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tourists around The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen
Tourists around The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen

The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published in 1836. In contrast to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, Andersen invented the story. The brothers Grimm simply collected stories they then wrote down. There is a statue of the mermaid in the harbour of Copenhagen.

The story is about a mermaid who falls in love with a prince. She is ready give up everything, also her immortality, to become human.

[edit] Adaptations

The story has been adapted many times. In 1957, Germaine Tailleferre wrote a three act opera with the subject. In 1968 there was a Soviet animated film. In 1976, a co-production fo the Soviet Union and Bulgaria resulted in a llive-action film (with people). Both films are called Rusalochka.

In 1989 Walt Disney also produced such a film. The film is different from Andersen's story, because the little mermaid lives happily ever after with a human prince.

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