Fractured Fairy Tales

Fairy tales have changed since they first were written. They were gory, crazy, and even had endings that did not end with "And they all lived happily ever after." Nowadays, fairy tales are happy, with trivial trials, and everything works out in the end - a "happily ever after."

I would often read - or watch - a fairy tale and change parts that I didn't like. Whether that is the end, or in the middle, I would add my own flair.

Recently, I tasked my students to create a fractured fairy tale. I decided that I would do what I had often imagined and create my own fractured fairy tale. But which one?

I eventually went with The Little Mermaid; it is one of my favorites, I love the ocean, and I have always wanted mermaids to be real. But instead of a mermaid coming to land to live, mine is of a human (land walker) becoming a mermaid. That was the first fracture. To know the rest, you'll just have to read the rest…

Down to the Sea: Fractured Fairy Tale

The Little Mermaid: Hans Christian Andersen

There was once a beautiful island in the vast, blue ocean. The island was filled with the greenest, most lush forest, flowers that were a tall as a your waist, and days that were the prettiest and sunniest in all the land. The ocean surrounding the island was the blue of the finest sapphires, glistening like a diamond and deep, very, very deep. No one knew how deep the ocean went. Stories were passed around down that a whole city with sky-scratchers had been swallowed up by the ocean. One such princess dreamed of it.

The King had been widowed for many years, and his mother helped out with his seven princesses. His mother was an exceedingly proud woman and very wise. She loved her granddaughters and took very good care of them. They ranged from ages nineteen to thirteen and the eldest two were married and living away from home at this time. The princesses were beautiful but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was rosy and delicate as a rose-leaf, her hair was a bright as the sun, and her eyes were the deep green of the grass that surrounded her. All day long they played in the great halls of the palace; the windows were opened to feel the loving sea-air on their faces. Outside, they planted flowers in their own special gardens flowers of all shapes and sizes. One sister only planted daisies – big and small, colorful and white. Another only liked roses and so her garden was full of every type of rose imaged. But the youngest was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful. Her garden was filled with irises and lilies. She had flowers of all kinds, but the showpiece of her garden was the waterfall and pond in the middle. It wasn’t an ordinary pond – it had been created with water from the ocean. She had fish and coral within it and right beside the waterfall, there was a bench to read. She spent hours each day looking at the water, watching it fall over the rocks, glorying in the mist from the fall, longing to get into the water and swim. But she wasn’t allowed yet.

“When you reach your fifteenth year,” the grandmother said, “you will have permission to go swimming in the ocean. But you can never go at night.” She warned them that strange things happened in the nights.

The youngest princess watched as her sisters grew and turned fifteen, heading out to swim and play in the ocean. She stood silently on the golden banks, aching to be out in the middle, swimming and playing as dolphins. Her time was spent wandering the dunes, watching the ocean for any sign of the hidden city. At last her year arrived. “You are grown now,” her grandmother commented, brushing out the silky, strawberry-blond hair. “It is your turn now to go and play in the water. But first, you must always remember where you come from. You will wear the crown in the water and these necklaces so that all may know.” She laid the heavy necklace on her youngest granddaughter.

“They’re too heavy,” the princess’ arms strained as she held the necklaces off her neck.

“Pride must suffer pain,” replied the grandmother, once again cautioning her about going out in the night.

The young princess hurried to the beach, sliding her feet in the soft, white sand. Reaching the water’s edge, she took a deep breath and stepped into the ocean. So great was her delight that she didn’t noticed when the sun sank to its’ rest, or the moon rising to keep watch over the night. She only noticed the colors in the ocean, how much brighter they made everything, the fish that cautiously swam around her and how graceful she could be in the water. The young princess didn’t realize how far she had swum out, near to the middle, or how tired she was until she began sinking lower and lower. She fell beneath the waves, her eyes struggling to keep open to see the wonders she had long wanted to see. Feeling movement behind her, she tried to turn and speak but swallowed water. She had only a brief glance of a dashing man with ink black hair and eyes that matched the ocean. The weightlessness of her tired body ran through her mind as she sank deeper into the quiet darkness.

The next day dawned bright, with the cheerful sun and puffy white clouds to play with. The princess woke on the dunes, unsure of exactly what had happened. Feeling the weight of the necklaces, she took them off, carrying them back to the palace. Her sisters asked how her first swim was and she smiled, thinking of the dark haired man in the ocean with her. He had saved her she was sure. “Where does our soul go when we die?” She asked, curious about death and life after her experience yesterday.

Her wise grandmother smiled, “The swim always makes us wonder about our mortality and immortality. When we die, our bodies will turn to dust eventually, but our souls float up the clear, pure air past the glittering stars.”

“What about mermaids? Where do their souls go?” She held her breath for her grandmother’s answer. The swim yesterday had opened her eyes to the magic within her and the island. She knew that the city under the water existed.

“They do not have an immortal soul; they turn back to foam when they die. But they have a longer life. I’ve heard some say they can live close to three hundred years.” She put the brush down and looked at her granddaughter. “Don’t dwell too much on what lives under the ocean. We have a harmony here, and that is a good thing.” She patted her hand and walked out the room. The princess went to her garden, slipping into her ocean pond for the first time. She gloried swimming, floating on her back to see the bright sun chase the fluffy clouds around.

Days, then years passed, and she still wondered about the city under the ocean. She remembered the merman who had saved her and try as she might; she hadn’t seen him again, sneaking out in the middle of the night, when strange things may happen. She watched her sisters dancing with her father at the ball, pulled along to dance with him as well. She sang prettily with her sisters, all the while dreaming of going down to the sea. She saw a fin flipping one night, and believed it was him. “I’ll go to the witch, even though I’m scared, I need to go down there. She can give me advice and help. He can’t die and turn to sea foam.”

The princess gathered an iris for her hair and made her way past the castle, and into the woods. Veering off to the left, she followed the scraggly path, deeper into the dark woods that touched the ocean. The long, spindly arms of the trees reached for her, thorns of the vines tore at her clothes, roots raised higher on the ground tripping her. Deeper into the woods she went, to a place where light did not touch. The princess’ heart beat in triple time, she was frightened and very nearly turned around, but kept going, her curiosity of the water world overwhelmed her fear. Finally, she arrived at the witch’s house; the shape bent and twisted reflecting the person who lived inside. Knocking shakily, she jumped at the sound of the snarls.

“I know what you want,” the witch grinned, “and it is stupid. You wish to go down to the sea just to see if the city is there.” The witch looked at her closely, the girl’s expressive eyes desiring to live longer clearly etched onto her face. The princess wasn’t a very impulsive person, but she wanted to live longer so that she experience things to the fullest and be a little rash. “You want to live longer. You’d give up your immortal soul, just to see the city and live a couple hundred years.” The witch kept her hands on the wolf beside her, not easing his snarling but keeping it going. The princess bravely nodded, fighting down her urge to scream. 

The witch chuckled long and low, raising goose-bumps on the princess. “You’re in luck, princess. It is almost winter solstice, which after that, I would not have been able to help you. But, I can spell a drink to give you; you must go into the ocean at dusk tomorrow and drink it. Your legs will disappear, fusing together to form a fish’s tail. Your grace and beauty will not be diminished by the tail; instead they will be enhanced by it. But each time you take a breath, your heart will hurt, and your lungs will seize; it will feel like you can’t catch a breath. If you can bear all this, I will help you.” The princess nodded quickly, her thoughts on the underwater castle.

“But think again,” added the witch, “for once you lose your immortal soul and become like a mermaid, you can no longer be human. You will never return above to live on the land with your sisters or father’s palace; and if you do not win the love of the prince, so he will choose you above all to love and marry, then you will not live a long life. The first morning after he chooses another, your heart will break and you will become like foam on the crest of the waves.”

“I understand, I will do it,” said the princess, her face pale as death.

The witch smiled. “But I must be paid also. It is not a little item. You have the sweetest voice, like the song of a bird.”

“But if you take my voice, what will I do?” said the princess.

“Your beautiful form, your gracefulness, your expressive eyes will surely help you win the love of the merman. Do you not want to go see the castle under the sea? If not, then I will just put this drink aside for another.”

“No! That is fine, take my voice.” the little princess agreed. The witch smiled and cast a spell, raising her vocal cords out so that she may never speak again. Once this was done, the witch handed her the magic drink.

So she quickly ran from the twisted house, hurrying to get back to her father’s palace. She anxiously waited for dusk the following day. When she saw that it was nearly dark, she hugged her family and said her goodbye, confusing them as they exclaimed she would be back before dark. She smiled and went off, quickly getting into the ocean. At dusk, she drank the liquid, burning as it went down, causing her to lose her breath. She flailed her arms, nearly falling with the weight of the tail. The princess ducked under the water, eyes adjusting to see the magnificent tail. It was so dark a purple it looked like midnight, shimmering as it caught reflections of light. She ran her hand over it, and giggled at the sliminess of the tail. Looking up, she gasped. The world above looked so different than she had imagined it would from under the water. The light shimmered and created fractals as the sun went to rest. Seeing fish swim by, she turned, delighted to go and explore. There the handsome mer-prince was, looking at her in confusion.

“Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you so happy?” He asked her. She could not reply as the witch had taken her voice. She smiled, looking deep into his eyes. He asked her again. Her breath hitched, the ache growing in her heart. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, losing her breath. She smiled again, bearing the pain to be with him.

He took her hand and began leading her to the castle. The ground was not only bare yellow sand; instead there were flowers and plants, leaves and stems so pliant that the slightest stir caused them to weave as if living. Fish, both big and small swam by the two, going in and out of the plants and stems, showing off for the new mermaid. She thought they look like birds, flying in the sky. In the deepest part of the ocean, the prince led her to the Sea King’s castle. Its walls were built of the lightest orange coral with accents of red. Its windows were of the clearest amber, high, long gothic windows that made the castle majestic. The shelled roof opens and closes as the water flows over them. Their appearance is stunning, for in each shell is a dazzling pearl, which is fit for a queen. Outside the castles was a huge garden, must like there had been one at her father’s palace. The ache grew in the mermaid’s heart. She pushed on, ignoring the pain, as they swam closer and closer to the castle.

Suddenly, she felt a change come about her. Her hands began moving in motions that she had never done or seen before, but completely understanding what she was saying. She was signing. The mer-prince smiled. He had known this would happen once she swam closer to the castle. The witch had forgotten the tale of old; mer-people can speak any language, be it voice, hands, or body language, there was never a way to not be understood.

“This is gorgeous.” She looked around and back at him, smiling shyly. “Thank you for showing me.”

“Let me take you to my father, the Sea King. He can get your voice back.” The prince signed with her, happy that he could help her. The new mermaid knew however, that she would never be able to speak again. She tilted her head and grinned.

“I am speaking, Prince. I will never use my voice again, but this,” she held out her hands and smiled, “I can use these to communicate.” He grinned widely, enchanted by her simple pleasure of being able to speak.

As the mer-prince brought her further into ocean, the princess heard the mournful sound of her sisters. Her heart hurt more at their cries. They were helpless, unable to remove her from the curse. She sent happy thoughts, unable to tell them that she was in pain, but wanting them to rejoice that she was finally where she belonged – under the sea. She turned and accepted her fate. She told the prince about her life, signing as the descended into the fascinating ocean. He was captivated by her life as a human and asked why she had exchanged her immortal soul for a longer life.

“I belong in the ocean. It has been my dream and when I do die, I want to belong fully to the water.” She smiled beautifully at him. Spellbound by her beauty, her tinkling laugh, and her graceful hands, he asked to marry her so that she would not die of a broken heart. And so they did, and lived happily ever after until a ripe old age of three hundred, dissolving into the foam that rides the waves.