At last it was the Little Mermaid's fifteenth birthday.
"Today will be your first day in the Upper World," announced her grandmother.
"I'm so excited!" squealed the Little Mermaid.
"I've been waiting so long for this day."
The Wise Mermaid placed a wreath of white lilies in the Little Mermaid's hair.
Then she hooked four oysters on her tail, a sign of royalty.
"Ouch! That hurts!" cried the Little Mermaid.
"A small sacrifice for becoming a 15-year-old princess," said her grandmother.
The Little Mermaid had to agree the oysters looked lovely.
But she was anxious to start her adventure.
"Please hurry, Grandmother," she begged.
"Go ahead, dear," her grandmother said.
"But don't stay too long.
Remember, your place is here, under the sea."
Impatiently the Little Mermaid hugged her grandmother good-bye and swam away.
When the Little Mermaid got to the surface, the sun was just setting.
She saw the sky turn from blue to pink.
As night fell, the sky turned deep purple and sparkled with stars.
Soon the moon poured light on the sea.
"It's so beautiful in the Upper World!" exclaimed the Little Mermaid.
In the distance the mermaid saw a ship with three tall masts.
She swam closer and saw that the ship was standing still in the water.
Music was playing, and she saw bright, colored lights.
Sailors moved about on the ship's top deck.
They walked on two legs.
"Humans?" she wondered. "What a strange sight."
Excited, she swam right up to the side of the ship and peeked through a window.
Inside, more humans were singing and dancing.
All of them were dressed in fine clothes.
"It looks like a party!" she thought.
The mermaid studied each human carefully until her eyes fell upon a young man.
"Oh, how handsome," she thought.
Her eyes followed him as everyone went up on deck.
"We remember when you were born, dear Prince, 16 years ago,"
said a woman with a blue feather in her hair.
"He's a prince!" exclaimed the Little Mermaid.
Another guest said, "With your kind heart, you'll be a great king some day!"
"May every year be as happy as this one!"
added a man, holding up his glass.
"Happy Birthday, Prince!" the crowd cheered.
"Everyone loves him," thought the Little Mermaid.
"He must be wonderful."
Rockets shot into the air and exploded into a thousand tiny lights.
The water reflected the fireworks, and the entire ocean glowed.
"Oh my!" The mermaid had never seen such a sight.
Frightened, she quickly dived underwater.
But looking up through the water, she soon lost her fear.
"So many sparkling flowers in the sky!" she exclaimed.
The Prince hugged his guests, shook their hands, and said,
"Thank you for a lovely celebration."
The Little Mermaid swam up to the surface and watched.
The Prince was the most beautiful of all the humans.
He was as beautiful as the statue in her garden.
But soon the music stopped, and the colored lights were put away.
"Thanks for all your help!" said the Prince to his crew.
"It was a great party."
Then the Prince and his guests went below the deck to sleep.
But the Little Mermaid could not swim away from the ship or the handsome Prince.
For her it was love at first sight!