‘You’re happy for me, aren’t you, my dear friend?’ the prince asked prnificenthe little mermaid, the night before the wedding. ‘I am happier than I ever dreamed! But you will always be my friend – and hers! For she must love you as well as I do.’
The wedding was a splendid occasion. Bells pealed and heralds trumpeted, and the church was decked with flowers. The bride and groom, gorgeously dressed, held hands and were blessed by the bishop, and proclaimed husband and wife. The little mermaid, dressed in silk and gold, held the bride’s train. But she heard and saw little of the ceremony – she could think only of her coming death, and of all that she had gained, and lost.
The wedding party that night was held on board the prince’s ship. When the dancing began, the little mermaid remembered the first night she had danced for her prince. She would dance again, for the very last time! And she threw herself into the music, skimming, twirling, whirling, and everyone stopped dancing to cheer her. Each step sent pain searing through her feet, yet she hardly noticed, for the pain in her heart was much sharper.
At last the prince and his bride went to their royal bed and the little mermaid stood alone on the deck, gazing out to sea. She would die with the first rays of dawn light. She would never see her beloved prince again, nor have an immortal soul.
Out on the bobbing waves, she saw the glimmer of pale faces, and arms stretched towards her. Her sisters! But she stared – how strange they looked! Their long hair had gone, sheared to stubble!
‘Sister!’ they called. ‘We’ve given our hair to the sea-witch, to make her help us! Do what we tell you!’ The mermaid saw the flash of moonlight on steel. ‘Take this knife! Before the sun rises, you must plunge it into the prince’s heart! When his blood sprinkles your feet, they’ll disappear and turn back into your mermaid’s tail, and you’ll be able to come home with us and live out your three hundred years! But hurry! Can’t you see how the sky is lightening?’
The little mermaid reached down for the knife and her sisters sank beneath the water.
With heavy heart, she crept into the prince’s bedroom. There he slept, with his lovely bride cradled close; the little mermaid kissed him and then he murmured the name of his bride, his beloved. He had no thought for anyone but her!
The little mermaid raised the knife – how heavy it was, and how sharp! – and held it poised. She thought of all the cutting pain she had endured for his sake.
Then, making her choice, she lowered it. She ran to the deck, and with all her strength hurled the dagger into the waves. For a second it hung in the air, catching the first rosy dawn light.
Her eyes already dimming, she threw herself overboard and ovear and her body dissolved into foam of the sea.
Now the sun rose, and its kindly beams warmed the foam, so that the little mermaid did not feel the chill of death. Instead, she saw the sun, and the air above, filled with wispy shapes and silvery voices.
‘Where am I going?’ she asked.
A voice replied, ‘You are with the Daughters of the Air! You, poor little mermaid, had no immortal soul, but you have yearned for something with your whole heart, and now you are rewarded for your good deeds! Come with us!’
And the little mermaid saw that she had a new shape, a wispy, transparent shape like theirs, risen out of the foam. Together they floated, light as bubbles, laughing.
She gazed down at the ship, and thought of her prince lying there asleep, his arms entwined with his bride’s. She felt sad for him; he would never know where she had gone, or what she had done for him.
‘Come sister! Fly higher!’ urged the silvery voice. ‘For our spirit world is more beautiful than you can ever imagine.’
The little mermaid looked up into the golden, streaming light, and at her new sisters, the Daughters of the Air. Then she looked down towards her prince for the last time. She must leave him now.
‘Goodbye,’ she whispered; and for the first time she shed tears.
MAGIC BEANS
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 11965 3
Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
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This ebook edition published 2011
First Published in Great Britain by David Fickling Books, 2011
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Acknowledgements and Publication Details
The Six Swan Brothers first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Adèle Geras, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Ian Beck, 1998.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Anne Fine, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Debi Gliori, 1998.
Hansel and Gretel first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Henrietta Branford, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Lesley Harker, 1998.
Rapunzel first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 1998.
Aesop’s Fables first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Malorie Oneta Blackman, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Patrice Aggs, 1998.
Mossycoat first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Philip Pullman, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Peter Bailey, 1998.
The Seal Hunter first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Tony Mitton, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Nick Maland, 1998.
Grey Wolf, Prince Jack and the Firebird first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Alan Garner, 1998. Illustrations copyright © James Mayhew, 1998.
The Snow Queen first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Berlie Doherty, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Siân Bailey, 1998.
The Goose Girl first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Gillian Cross, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Peter Bailey, 2011.
Rumpelstiltskin first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Kit Wright, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Ted Dewan, 1998.
Cockadoodle-doo, Mr Sultana! first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Michael Morpurgo, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Michael Foreman, 1998.
The Three Heads in the Well first published by Scholastic in 1998. Text copyright © Susan Gates, 1998. Illustrations copyright © Sue Heap, 1998.
The Little Mermaid first published by Scholastic in 2001. Text copyright © Linda Newbery, 2001. Illustrations copyright © Bee Willey, 2001.
Every effort has been made to trace and contact all copyright holders, and to provide the correct information. If there are any inadvertent omissions or errors we will be pleased to correct these at the earliest opportunity.
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Book
About the Authors
Title Page
Adèle Geras
The Six Swan Brothers
Anne Fine
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Henrietta Branford
Hansel and Gretel
Jacqueline Wilson
Rapunzel
Malorie Blackman
Aesop’s Fables
Philip Pullman
Mossycoat
Tony Mitton
The Seal Hunter
Alan Garner
Grey Wolf, Prince Jack and the Firebird
Berlie Doherty
The Snow Queen
Gillian Cross
The Goose Girl
Kit Wright
Rumpelstiltskin
Michael Morpurgo
Cockadoodle-doo, Mr Sultana!
Susan Gates
The Three Heads in the Well
Linda Newbery
The Little Mermaid
Copyright
Acknowledgements and Publication Details
Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairytales From the Storybag Page 17