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She wants more than a prince
Hans Christian Andersen’s mermaid longs for the world above the water. After rescuing a prince, she also learns that human beings have immortal souls. Her desire for a different life includes both love and a hope that reaches beyond death. Removing the question of the soul changes what she stands to lose.
What the sea witch takes
The witch offers a potion that will replace her tail with legs. The transformation comes with pain: each step will feel like walking on sharp blades. The price is her beautiful voice. She cannot tell the prince who saved him, explain her bargain or ask for the future she believes he can give her.
The knife and the wedding
The prince marries another woman. The mermaid’s sisters bring her a knife obtained from the witch in exchange for their hair. If she kills the prince and lets his blood touch her feet, she can return to the sea. She looks at him sleeping beside his bride and throws the knife away.
The story continues after the sea foam
The mermaid enters the sea and her body dissolves into foam. Andersen does not stop there. She finds herself among the daughters of the air, with another path toward an immortal soul. Calling the ending simply “she dies” leaves out the final movement of the tale and its religious framework.
Two episodes, one complete story
Dark Fairytales presents The Little Mermaid in two parts, based on the public domain edition of Stories from Hans Andersen illustrated by Edmund Dulac. E05 ends with her decision to seek the witch. E06 carries the bargain and the ending. The planned release dates are November 27 and December 4, 2026.
Source edition: Read the tale ↗. Episode credits identify the English version used in the reading.
The Dark Fairytales episode
The Little Mermaid — Part 1 — episode page ↗
Scheduled for Nov 27, 2026. New tales every Friday: video at 4:00 PM ET, podcast at 9:00 PM ET.
The recording will appear here when it is publicly available.