Juvia the Little Mermaid

Once upon a time, far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King.

The Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother Porlyusica kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, and exceedingly proud of her high birth, She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. They were six beautiful children; Erza, Evergreen, Bisca, Laki, Levy and Juvia, but the youngest Juvia was the prettiest of them all. All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls, but nothing gave Juvia so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance, and not those below the sea; that the trees of the forest should be green; and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to hear them. Her grandmother called the little birds fishes, or she would not have understood her; for she had never seen birds.

"When you have reached your sixteenth year," said the grand-mother, "you will have permission to rise up out of the sea, to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships are sailing by; and then you will see both forests and towns."

At last she reached her sixteenth year.

"Well, now, you are grown up," said Porlyusica "you may go to the surface

Juvia then took to the surface

"Farewell," she said and she rose as lightly as a bubble to the surface of the water. The sun had just set as she raised her head above the waves; A large ship was there were Juvia had risen. There was music and song on board Juvia swam close to the cabin windows; and now and then, as the waves lifted her up, she could look in through clear glass window-panes, and see a number of well-dressed people within. Among them was a young prince, the most beautiful of all, with large black eyes; he was sixteen years of age, and his birthday was being kept with much rejoicing. The sailors were dancing on deck, but when the prince came out of the cabin, more than a hundred rockets rose in the air, making it as bright as day. It was very late; yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince, but the sea became restless, and a moaning, grumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves. After a while, the sails were quickly unfurled, the ship set sail; but soon the waves rose higher, heavy clouds darkened the sky, and lightning appeared in the distance. A dreadful storm was approaching; once more the sails were reefed, and the great ship was tossed about in the waves. The waves rose mountains high, as if they would have overtopped the mast; but the ship dove like a swan between them, and then rose again on their lofty, foaming crests. At one moment it was so pitch dark that Juvia could not see a single object, but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene; she could see every one who had been on board excepting the prince; when the ship parted, she had seen him sink into the deep waves, and she was glad, for she thought he would now be with her; and then she remembered that human beings could not live in the water, But he must not die. So she dove deeply under the dark waters, rising and falling with the waves, till at length she managed to reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea. His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance. She held his head above the water, and let the waves drift them where they would.

In the morning the storm had ceased; the sun rose up red and glowing from the water, and its beams brought back the hue of health to the prince's cheeks; but his eyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his forehead, and stroked back his wet hair, and she kissed him again, and wished that he might live. She swam with the handsome prince to the beach and there she laid, she saw a young girl approach the spot where he lay. She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; then she fetched a number of people, and the mermaid saw that the prince came to life again, and smiled upon those who stood around him. But to her he sent no smile; he knew not that she had saved him. This made her very unhappy. When she returned her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to the surface of the water; but she would tell them nothing. Many an evening and morning did she rise to the place where she had left the prince, but she never saw the prince, and therefore she returned home, always more sorrowful than before. At length she could bear it no longer, and told one of her sisters all about it. Then the others heard the secret, and very soon it became known to two mermaids whose intimate friend happened to know who the prince was. She had also seen the festival on board ship, and she told them where the prince came from, and where his palace stood.

"Come, little sister," said the other princesses; then they entwined their arms and rose up in a long row to the surface of the water, close by the spot where they knew the prince's palace stood. Juvia swam much nearer the shore than any of the others ventured to do; indeed once she went quite up the narrow channel under the marble balcony, which threw a broad shadow on the water. Here she would sit and watch the young prince, who thought himself quite alone in the bright moonlight. She grew more and more fond of human beings, and wished more and more to be able to wander about with those whose world seemed to be so much larger than her own. They could fly over the sea in ships, and mount the high hills which were far above the clouds; and the lands they possessed, their woods and their fields, stretched far away beyond the reach of her sight. There was so much that she wished to know, and her sisters were unable to answer all her questions. Then she applied to her old grandmother, who knew all about the upper world, which she very rightly called the lands above the sea.

Juvia then learned of a sea witch and decided she had to reach the dominions of the sea witch; she swam for a long time but eventually stood the sea witches house, There sat the sea witch.

"I know what you want," said the sea witch;

"it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. You want to get rid of your fish's tail, and to have two supports instead of it, like human beings on earth, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may have an immortal human soul." And then the witch laughed so

"But think again," Said the witch; "for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid. You will never return through the water to your sisters or to your father's palace again; and if you do not win the love of the prince, then you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will become foam on the crest of the waves."

"Juvia will do it," said the little mermaid,

"But I must be paid also," said the witch, "and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give to me; the best thing you possess will I have."

"But if you take away my voice," Juvia said, "what is left for me?"

"Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a man's heart. Well, have you lost your courage? So do we have a deal."

"It shall be," Juvia said.

Then the witch used her magic and Juvia had passed out from it .

When Juvia awoke the sun had not risen and she was on the beach, and felt a sharp pain; but just before her stood the handsome young prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her so earnestly that she cast down her own, and then became aware that her fish's tail was gone, and that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little maiden could have; but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair. The prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, and she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes; but she could not speak.

The prince who introduced him self as Grey said she should remain with him always, and she received permission to sleep in the castle, He had a page's dress made for her, and they spent much time together. While at the prince's palace, and when the entire household were asleep, she would go and sit on the broad marble steps; and think she thought of all those below in the deep.

Once during the night her sisters came up arm-in-arm, singing sorrowfully, as they floated on the water. She beckoned to them, and then they recognized her, and told her how she had grieved them. After that, they came to the same place every night; and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, who had not been to the surface of the sea for many years, and the old Sea King, her father, with his crown on his head. They stretched out their hands towards her, but they did not venture so near the land as her sisters did.

As the days passed, she loved the prince more fondly, and he loved her as he would love a little child, but it never came into his head to make her his wife; yet, unless he married her, she could not receive an immortal soul; and, on the morning after his marriage with another, she would dissolve into the foam of the sea.

"Do you not love me the best of them all?" the Juvia's Eyes seemed to say, when he took her in his arms, and kissed her fair forehead.

"Yes, you are dear to me," Grey said; "for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me; you are like a young maiden whom I once saw, but whom I shall never meet again. I was in a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple, where several young maidens performed the service. The youngest of them found me on the shore, and saved my life. I saw her but twice, and she is the only one in the world whom I could love; but you are like her, and you have almost driven her image out of my mind. She belongs to the holy temple, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her; and we will never part."

"Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life," thought the little mermaid. "I carried him over the sea to the wood where the temple stands: I sat beneath the foam, and watched till the human beings came to help him. I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;" and the mermaid sighed deeply.

Very soon it was said that the prince must marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife, for a fine ship was being fitted out. Although Grey gave out that he merely intended to pay a visit to the king, it was generally supposed that he really went to see his daughter. A great company were to go with him. Juvia smiled, and shook her head. She knew the prince's thoughts better than any of the others.

"I must travel," he had said to her; "I must see this beautiful princess; my parents desire it; but they will not oblige me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her; she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple, whom you resemble. If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you,"

The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of a beautiful town belonging to the king whom the prince was going to visit and the prince was going to be forced to marry a beautiful princess. Juvia could feel her heart breaking already but only faked a smile; tomorrow his wedding would bring her end

It was the day of the wedding and Grey emerged from his room on the balcony and he saw Juvia sitting on the beach crying

Grey, who was staring at Juvia, was obliged to acknowledge that he had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty. Her skin was delicately fair, and beneath her long dark eye-lashes, her blue eyes shone with truth and purity. Grey then realized it was Juvia that saved his life that day, so Grey ran to Juvia and upon reaching he said

"It was you," said the prince, "who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach," and he folded his blushing bride in his arms.

"Oh, I am too happy," he said to Juvia; "my fondest hopes are all fulfilled. Juvia's happiness rose as the prince kissed her and that day they were married and Juvia was so happy that she regained her voice and was able to sing

And they all lived happily ever after.