The little mermaid - Books & magic

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HOLD WITH BOTH HANDS NO TOUCH REQUIRED LOOK FROM ALL ANGLES

The Little Mermaid is one of Hans Christian Andersen’s best-loved fairy tales. For almost two centuries, this timeless story of desire, love and immortality has inspired readers of all ages all over the world.

This edition of The Little Mermaid is an unabridged version that remains true to the H.C. Andersen’s original text from 1837. To make the universe of the story more accessible for new readers, the punctuation, spellings and some of the old language have been given a more contemporary form that makes it easier to read aloud. However, you’ll find that many of the old phrases and expressions have been left untouched to retain the sense of a story from another time.

An app accompanies the book and opens a window into the magical world of the fairy tale.

Hold your mobile device above the book, and you’ll enter a living digital space that lets you freely explore, try out the games and perhaps be inspired to go deeper into the story.

The digital gaming universe is directly related to the fairy tale, but can still be experienced and explored freely, intuitively and independently of the story. Although the book and the story will never change, over time the digital gaming universe will offer more. See the inside flap to find out how to use the app.

This edition of the fairy tale has been carefully divided into sections that give a natural break in the story. Of course, you can also just read the book from start to finish – for your own pleasure or for others – as they did in H.C. Andersen’s time, and as we will continue to do.

Enjoy the story!

The Original Fairy Tale by

Hans Christian Andersen

allowed to wear six. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea princesses, her granddaughters. They were six beautiful children but the youngest was the prettiest of them all. Her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea. But like all the others, she had no feet. Her body ended in a fishtail.

All day long they played in the great halls of the castle where living flowers grew out of the walls. The large amber windows were opened and the fish swam through to them, just as swallows might fly in when we open our windows, except the fish swam up to the princesses, ate out of their hands and allowed themselves to be stroked.

Outside the castle there was a great garden where bright red and dark blue flowers grew. The flowers shone like flames of fire. The fruit glittered like gold.

And the leaves and stems continually swayed back and forth. The ground itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. Down there a peculiar blue glow lay over everything. You might think you were high in the air with the sky above and below you instead of in the dark depths of the sea. In calm weather you could even see the sun. It looked like a purple flower with light streaming from its center.

ar out in the ocean, the water is as blue as the petals of the loveliest cornflower and as clear as crystal. But it is very, very deep. In fact, so deep that no rope could reach its depths and many church steeples would have to be piled one upon the other to reach from the sea bed to above the water.

Down there is where the Sea Folk live.

Now you mustn’t imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but the bare white sandy ground. No, for that’s where the most curious trees and plants grow. Their leaves and stems are so supple that even the slightest movement of the water causes them to stir as if they were alive. Fish of all sizes glide between the branches just like birds fly through the trees up here on land. In the deepest spot of all stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral. Its tall pointed windows are made of the clearest amber. And its roof is formed of shells that open and close as the water flows over them. This is a beautiful sight as in each lies a glittering pearl fit for the crown of a queen.

DOWN THERE, the Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. She was a wise woman, and proud of her rank so she wore twelve oysters on her tail, while the other high ranking people were only 6