Once upon a time, deep in the ocean in Atlantica, lived King Triton and Queen Athena. Together they had a baby. She was a beautiful girl with scarlet hair, black eyes, and an emerald tail. They named her Ariel. She grew up to be a well-educated girl. She learned different forms of martial arts and also learned how to rule the kingdom. Her whole family was very proud of her.
One day, her grandmother secretly pulled her aside and whispered “I have to let you in on a secret. A secret I’ve never told anyone before.
“What is it, grandma”, asked Ariel excitedly.
“First, promise me. Promise me, Ariel, that you’ll never ever tell anyone what I’m about to to tell you.”
She kept her hand on her heart and said, “I promise, Grandma. I’ll never tell anyone.”
“Yesterday I went to the surface. I heard humans talking. They were saying that they want to capture us mermaids and want to sell us in the market. Their ship will arrive tomorrow.”
“But, what can I do, grandma?”
“I am giving you this necklace. As long as you keep helping and serving the people of the city, it will keep you protected. But, if you lose it, it’s only up to you to protect everyone.
Ariel gently took the necklace and tied it around her neck.
A few days later, Ariel’s grandmother’s words came true. A big ship started circling the area. After a few days, many advanced machines were launched underwater. Ariel’s necklace gave her an idea. She told everyone to hide under the ship so that the fishermen won’t see them. After a few days, the fishermen started sailing toward the shore. Everyone was jubilant. Ariel’s plan had worked!
But Ariel thought that something was fishy.
She was right. The ship had left because there was a hole in it and was getting bigger every minute.
She followed the ship for a while and was shocked to see that the ship was sinking a few inches every second.
Suddenly! The ship tilted. Hundreds of people fell out.
A man on the ship caught Ariel’s eye. Instead of saving himself he was helping everyone else and providing them with life jackets.
Suddenly, he slipped! Ariel swam as fast as she could and wrapped her arms around him. She took him to the shore. Luckily, he was alive and well.
“I am Ariel. What’s your name?”, she asked.
“I am Eric”, he said. “Are you a mermaid?”
“Yes, I am, and I will soon be crowned the Queen of Atlanta.”
“Atlanta? What is that?”
Ariel said with a smile, “Can I trust you?”
“Yes, you can. I promise to never tell anyone what you’re about to tell me.”
“It will be impossible to tell you about the wonders beneath the surface of the water. Just hold my hand and repeat after me and you will become like one of us. Now say “Sipeli Tudri mechana Debdi Gunishi Patronus.”
Eric was a bit confused but did as he was told to do. Ariel was right! He immediately turned into a Merman. Ariel took him to Atlanta. She was surprised to see what an excellent swimmer and quick learner Eric was.
Ariel took Eric to her father. King Triton had a worried and serious look on his face.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Where were you?” He looked at Eric and said, “Why have you brought this human along with you? Don’t you know that they are the greatest threat to us?”
Eric introduced himself and told Triton what had happened.
Suddenly, a witch entered the hall and snatched Ariel’s necklace.
Eric got petrified and swam away.
She said, “Give me your voice if you want Atlanta to be saved. You can refuse but if you do so, I will join forces with the humans and you won’t be able to do anything because I have your lucky necklace.”
“Take my voice”, Ariel said. “I don’t want Atlanta to suffer because of me.”
The witch took Ariel’s voice, put it in a jar, and went away after giving her the necklace.
That night, when everyone was asleep, Ariel crept out of her bed and went to the witch’s Laboratory. She saw a big cupboard. When she opened it she saw thousands of jars filled with the voices of thousands of people. A sheet of paper was attached to the cupboard door. Ariel was shocked when she read what was written on it. The witch was planning to mix all the voices and hypnotize everyone so that she could rule the whole Ocean!
She quickly grabbed a bag that was kept nearby. She filled the bag with all the jars. She returned every last one of the jars to their owners.
When the Atlantans and her family got to know of her kind and brave deed, they all were very proud of her. That day she was crowned Queen. She made a speech in which she said, “I don’t need a prince to protect me. I am brave enough to protect myself and all women should be brave too.”
Moral: We should be courageous and should always help others.
The original story shows Ariel as weak and Eric as her savior. She gives up her voice for an unknown man. We all should know that Girls and Boys are equally brave and strong.
