The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid, sometimes translated as The Little Sea Maid, is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children. It follows the journey of a young mermaid princess willing to give up her life in the sea to gain a human soul, has been the subject of scholarly analysis of its themes and Andersen's choice to write a tragic story with a happy ending, and has since been adapted into musical theatre, anime, ballet, opera and film, with a statue of the mermaid standing in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the story was written and first published.