Welcome to our magical retelling of The Little Mermaid! This famous fairy tale is now a special English story for A2 Elementary learners. You will follow a young mermaid who falls in love with a human prince after saving him from a shipwreck. To be with him, she makes a daring deal with the sea witch-trading her voice for legs. But the price is high, and she only has a few days to win his love.
Our version uses simple words and short sentences to help you read with confidence. As you enjoy the story, you can click any word to see its meaning instantly-perfect for building vocabulary! Plus, you can play the story audio to practice listening. After the story, simple lesson notes help you review key language. Best of all, it's completely free. Just scroll down to start your reading adventure under the sea!
Far under the sea, where the water is blue and clear, lived a little mermaid. She loved to look up at the dancing on the . 'I want to be part of that world!' she said every day.
On her , she swam up to the . There, she saw a big ship and a handsome prince. Suddenly, a came. The ship broke, and the prince fell into the cold water.
The little mermaid deep and the prince to the shore. 'Please live,' she whispered. She stayed until a girl came. The prince opened his eyes and saw the girl, not the mermaid. He smiled. 'Thank you,' he said to the girl.
The little mermaid wanted legs to be with the prince. She swam to the dark of the Sea Witch. 'I can make you human,' the witch , 'but you must give me your beautiful voice. And if the prince marries another, you will die.' The mermaid agreed. 'I love him,' she thought.
She drank the and her tail became legs. Every step hurt like knives, but she smiled. The prince found her on the beach. 'Who are you?' he asked. She could only look at him with her big blue eyes. He was kind to her, but he often talked about the girl who saved him.
The prince had to meet the princess from the next kingdom. When he saw her, he cried, 'It's you! You saved me!' The little mermaid wanted to speak but could not. That night, there was a big on a ship. She danced with pain, her heart .
Her sisters rose from the sea. 'We gave our hair to the witch for this knife. the prince, and you will be a mermaid again!' But the little mermaid looked at the prince. She loved him. She threw the knife into the sea.
As the sun rose, she felt her body become . She turned into a spirit of the air. 'You have a good heart,' the air spirits said. 'Now you can earn an by helping people.' She smiled and flew up into the warm, golden sky.
Under the sea, a little mermaid lived. She watched the sunlight on the waves and wished every day to be part of that world.
On her fifteenth birthday, she swam to the surface. She saw a ship and a handsome prince. Then a storm hit, the ship broke, and the prince fell into the cold water.
She saved the prince and took him to shore. She stayed until a girl came. The prince woke up, saw the girl, and thanked her.
Wanting legs to be with the prince, she visited the Sea Witch. The witch gave her a potion in exchange for her voice, warning that she'd die if the prince married another. She agreed out of love.
She drank the potion and got legs, but every step hurt. The prince found her, but she couldn't speak. He was kind but often talked about the girl who saved him.
The prince met the princess and mistakenly thought she saved him. The mermaid couldn't speak. At their wedding on a ship, she danced in pain, heartbroken.
Her sisters gave her a knife from the witch, telling her to kill the prince to become a mermaid again. But she loved him and threw the knife away.
At sunrise, she turned into an air spirit. The spirits said her good heart would let her earn an immortal soul by helping people. She flew joyfully into the sky.
This classic story brings many useful words. Let's look at some key nouns and verbs that appear in the tale.
We see characters like 'mermaid' (half-woman, half-fish), 'prince' (a royal son), and 'witch' (a magic woman, often bad). Actions like 'swim', 'dive', 'pull', and 'smile' are common in everyday English too.
- mermaid - a creature with a woman's upper body and a fish's tail
- prince - the son of a king or queen
- witch - a woman with magic powers, sometimes evil
- shore - the land next to the sea
Notice how the story uses the simple past tense. This is the main tense for telling finished events in the past. Most verbs just add -ed, but many common verbs are irregular.
Look at these examples from the story: 'She loved to look up.' (regular) 'She saw a big ship.' (irregular - see → saw). 'She dove deep.' (irregular - dive → dove). 'The ship broke.' (irregular - break → broke). Try to spot more!
- Regular past: loved, smiled, opened, danced
- Irregular past: swam, saw, broke, fell, threw
- Question: 'Who are you?' (past: 'Who were you?')
- Negative: 'She could not speak.' (could = past of can, no 'did')
The little mermaid often says, 'I want to be part of that world!' We use 'want to' + verb to talk about desires or goals. It's very common in everyday conversations.
After 'want', we can put an object before 'to': 'She wanted the prince to love her.' Remember, for he/she/it in present, it's 'wants to', but in past it's 'wanted to' for everyone.
- I want to swim. / She wants to sing.
- I wanted to go home. (past)
- They want us to help. (with object)
- Question: Do you want to try? / Did she want to leave?
You've read a famous story in simple English. Now you can try! Pick a fairy tale you know, like Cinderella or The Three Little Pigs. Use the simple past to tell the main events.
Don't worry if your sentences are short. Every step is a step forward. Share your version with a friend or write it down. Visit the Yak Yacker library for more stories in easy English-happy reading!
The Little Mermaid comes from an older public-domain story tradition and is best known as a public_domain_fairy_tale_retelling. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on public-domain source material, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. This version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying English.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A2 English Vocabulary List. After that, try 1,200 English Phrases and Expressions for another useful next step.
