24th
Story Of The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid lives with her sisters on the bottom of the sea. One day she sees a handsome prince on a ship and falls in love with him but the ship is wrecked and she saves his life by carrying his unconscious body to shore. She wants to become a human to be with her prince but is told that humans only live a short time (Mermaids live for 300 years) although (unlike mermaids) humans have an immortal soul and can live forever after their death. Thereafter the Little Mermaid wants to be human and have an immortal soul. She is granted the ability to walk but it causes huge pain for her to do so. She is also told that the only way for her to gain an immortal soul is at the point of marrying the prince. Despite the pain she dances for the prince when he asks her. The prince, however, marries a princess and the Little Mermaid is condemned to tragedy. She is given a magic knife and told that if she kills the prince with it she can return to a pain free life as a mermaid but she cannot kill the man she loves and so throws herself into the sea. As she touches the water she dissolves into foam and discovers her has become a special kind of spirit called a Daughter Of The Air. Her fellow spirits tell her that becuase of her goodness she now has the opportunity to earn an immortal soul by doing good deeds.