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Each princess had her own small garden. One princess made her flower bed in the shape
of a whale. Another princess made her garden in the shape of a shell. The sisters filled
their gardens with odd things they had found in sunken ships. But the Little Mermaid's
garden was simple. It had only red flowers and a statue of a human boy. The statue had
been her mother's, and the Little Mermaid loved it.
While her sisters played in their gardens, the Little Mermaid sat quietly in hers. Looking
at the boy, she wondered about humans and the world above.
"What is it like in the Upper World?" she asked her grandmother one day.
"Oh, little one, there is so much to see!" said the Wise Mermaid. "There are thick forests
of trees that turn colors when the air turns cold. Soon after, their leaves fall to the
ground. Then the snow comes." "Snow?" said the Little Mermaid. "What's that?"
"Snow is made of thousands of small ice flakes," replied her grandmother. "In winter these
flakes fall from the sky. But in summer green grass covers the ground. And the flowers give
off a lovely scent." "It sounds wonderful," the Little Mermaid
said. "Here our trees always look the same. And the flowers have no smell at all."
The Wise Mermaid told her more. "In the Upper World, you can look up in the sky and clearly
see the sun, moon, and stars. And birds fly from tree to tree, singing lovely songs."
"Tell me about the animals, Grandmother," the Little Mermaid begged.
"Some fly, as I said. But many have four legs and walk on the ground. Humans walk on two
legs, and they are very good at building things. They make lots of houses, which become towns."
The Little Mermaid wanted to hear more. "They also build ships, don't they?"
"Oh yes, little one," her grandmother said. "But you already know that."
"I know, but I love to hear about humans. They come so close to us, sailing above. But
their world seems so far away." "Yes, humans are very different from us,"
said her grandmother. "They don't live as long as sea folk. We live for three hundred
years! But humans have souls." "What is a soul?" the Little Mermaid asked.
"I don't know, little one," the Wise Mermaid replied. "I have heard a soul can live forever.
But humans don't really know what a soul is either. Whatever it is, I think it must be
something special." "I want to know everything about humans!"
"When you are 15 years old, you will see," said her grandmother. "You'll swim to the
surface and watch the ships sail by." "But I want to go now!" the Little Mermaid
pleaded. "Be patient—your turn will come in five
years," said her grandmother, smiling. "But you will find, dear, that our home down here
is better than any place else." The years passed and the Little Mermaid's
sisters went to the Upper World. But she had to wait. So on clear nights, she looked up
at the moon and stars. Whenever a shadow swept across them, she knew it was a ship passing
overhead. Eagerly the Little Mermaid stretched her white arms up toward the bottom of the
ship. Someday she would touch the world above.