At the bottom of the wide ocean is a world called the Sea Kingdom.
This kingdom lies at the deepest part of the ocean.
It is deeper than any anchor can go.
It is so deep that humans, who live on land in the Upper World, can never visit.
In the Sea Kingdom, blue water covers everything.
The water there moves like the waves above.
When the ocean is calm, the sun's rays reach down to this deep place.
And on a still night, the moon and stars send pale light sparkling down through the water.
The most beautiful trees grow at the bottom of the sea.
Some have purple branches and blue leaves.
There are gardens with many brightly colored flowers too.
The plants all move slowly back and forth with each ripple of the water.
Many kinds of fish, large and small, swim among the leaves and the flowers.
They play all day and sleep among the rocks.
Sea folk live in the Sea Kingdom, and they are called mermaids and mermen.
They love to swim and play tag with the fish.
The mermaids also love to feed the fish from their pretty hands.
Like their fish friends, the mermaids and mermen have tails to help them swim.
The sea folk love the ocean and everything in it.
They would never want to live anywhere else.
And they live a very long time, about three hundred years.
The sea folk are happy to spend their days singing and playing in the gardens.
A long time ago, a king lived in a palace at the deepest part of the sea.
He lived with his six young daughters, the mermaid princesses.
His palace had walls of bright orange coral.
Black mussels covered the roof.
Their shells opened and closed with the changing of the tide.
When each shell was open, a silver pearl twinkled from within.
The Sea King was kind and ruled over all the beings living underwater.
He loved to make them happy, but he lived with a broken heart.
"How sad that my wife, the Queen, died many years ago." He sighed.
"Now I care for the six mermaid princesses all by myself."
"Oh no, you don't," said his mother, the Wise Mermaid.
"I'm the one who takes care of them.
And I make sure the palace is clean and tidy too.
Son, you always forget about everything I do around here!"
"You are right, Mother," said the Sea King with a smile.
"This family is very lucky to have you."
The Wise Mermaid knew a lot about the world.
And she taught her granddaughters well.
"When you are ready," she always told the princesses, "I will teach you about life above the sea."
The sisters were each born one year apart.
When each sister turned 15, she would be allowed to swim up to the sea surface.
Then the mermaid princess would see the Upper World for the first time.
The mermaid princesses were happy with their simple lives in the Sea Kingdom.
Every one of their days was spent in fun and laughter.
But the youngest princess was different.
She was quiet, thoughtful—a bit unusual.
Because she was the youngest and the smallest, they called her the Little Mermaid.