Classic tales level elementary 1 the little mermaid

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Retold by Sue Arengo Illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi

ELEMENTARY |

The Little

Mermaid

Retold by Sue Arengo

Illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi

ELEMENTARY 1

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

was very beautiful

There was a garden with wonderful flowers and

trees The little mermaid played there with all

the fish and she was happy

2

But one day she looked up and asked,

‘What is up there? What is above the sea?’

‘A sea of air called the sky,’ said her

grandmother ‘And fish called birds can fly!

The people up there have no tails They walk

on two legs on the ground.’

‘Oh,’ said the little mermaid, ‘I want to see

the sky, the birds and the people.’

‘Not now,’ her grandmother said ‘When you are older When you are fifteen.’

At last she was fifteen She swam up

at once and she saw

a ship

She swam near to it and she heard music

There was music and dancing

Then she saw a young man — a prince with

wonderful eyes He laughed and danced with his friends He was sixteen years old and it was

his birthday

‘Oh!’ said the little mermaid, ‘He is lovely.’

Ị

Suddenly the sky went black

‘It’s a storm!’ shouted the men on the ship,

‘A storm!’

The sea was black and angry Water came up

onto the ship and it began to break

‘Help!’ shouted the people, ‘Help!’

And they all jumped into the water

The little mermaid looked for the Prince He must

not die Then she found

him His eyes were closed

and he did not move

But he was alive She put her arms around him and swam with him

She took him to a beach and left him in the sun

Then she waited

Soon a young girl and her friends came and

found him Nobody saw the little mermaid

And she went back to the sea.

The little mermaid thought about the Prince

She asked her grandmother,

‘How long do people live up there?’

‘Down here we can live for three hundred years,’

said the old mermaid “Then we change to water

People only live for eighty or ninety years But

their souls do not die when their bodies die

Their souls fly up to the sky!’

‘Oh, grandmother, I want to have a soul.’

‘It’s not easy to get a soul,’ she said ‘A man

must love you and marry you But that can

never happen You’re a mermaid with a tail!’

The little mermaid looked sadly at her beautiful tail

‘Three hundred years is a good long time,’

said the old mermaid ‘Let’s be happy Let’s dance

and sing tonight.’

The little mermaid danced and sang beautifully

But she wasn’t happy

‘Perhaps the sea witch can help me,’ the little

mermaid thought

So she swam to the sea witch’s house

‘You love a man,’ laughed the sea witch, ‘And

you want legs! All right, I can make you a

magic drink

But listen! You can never be a mermaid again

The Prince must marry you and give you a soul

Without his love, you die and you are nothing.’

‘Give me the drink,’

said the little mermaid

‘Give me your voice!’

said the witch

‘But how can I speak

to the Prince with no voice?’ asked the little

her tongue and the witch cut it off

10

The little mermaid swam up by the Prince’s

palace She drank the drink and felt a knife

go through her body

In the morning the sun warmed her face She

opened her eyes and saw the Prince

She wanted to speak to him, but she had no voice

So she looked at him with her beautiful eyes

‘Who are you?’ the Prince asked

She smiled at him And he took her back to

his palace

11

She walked beautifully but walking felt strange

to her The ground felt worse than knives

under her feet

Everybody looked at her because she was very,

very beautiful

‘T like this strange girl,’

the Prince said “She can

stay with me.’

So she went everywhere

with him And when she walked, the ground felt worse than knives under

At night she put her

hot feet in the sea

‘Come home, sister!’

her sisters called

But she did not go

‘Do you love me?’ her eyes asked him

‘I can love only one girl,’ he said ‘She saved

me from the stormy sea.’

‘That girl was me,’ she told him with her eyes

But he did not hear or understand

13

One day the Prince took the little mermaid onto a

big ship Lots of people from the palace came too

“We re going to visit a king across the sea,’ he

told her ‘My father wants me to marry his

daughter But I cannot love her And he cannot

make me marry her.’

‘Oh! He nearly loves me,’ she thought, ‘So

perhaps one day he can marry me.’

That night her sisters swam up She wanted

to tell them how happy she was!

14

They came to a very big

town The King and the

people were happy to see

them There was music

and dancing every dau

They waited and waited

At last the Princess

arrived and she was very

beautiful

‘It’s you!’ the Prince cried

‘It can’t be! You saved me from the stormy sea! Oh!

How happy I am!’

Then the little mermaid’s

heart broke

The Prince married the Princess that day The

little mermaid smiled for him She wanted him to

be happy But her eyes were sadder than any

girl’s eyes can be

Without the Prince's

love, the little mermaid had no soul She must

die and be nothing —

only water in the sea!

That night she danced beautifully But, ah!

She felt a thousand

The Prince and the Princess went to sleep

The ship was quiet Only the little mermaid did not sleep She looked to the east and

waited for the sun

Then she saw her sisters

‘Sister!’ they cried, ‘We cut off our hair for the sea witch! She gave us this knife Put it into the Prince’s heart before morning Then you can come home to us Quick! It is nearly day.’

du?

She took the knife and went to the Prince

How lovely he was!

She threw the knife into the sea And then

she jumped

The morning sun was yellow on the water

and she was nothing

But then she flew up and heard music!

‘We are the children of the air,’ the voices

sang “We help people for three hundred

years Then we get a soul You are good

So, come! You can get a soul!’

18

The little mermaid looked down from the air

She saw the Prince and the Princess They

looked for her in the sea

‘Don’t be sad,’ she sang “Live! Live well!’

The Prince looked up The air was new and

wonderful And the morning sun was warm

on his face

‘I like this strange girl She can stay with me.’ ‘e Prince

‘Put it into the Prince’s heart before morning.’

‘All right, [ can make you a magic drink.’

‘| want to see the sky, the birds and the people.’

Birds Can't _ speak

but they — sing

3 Make sentences about the little mermaid

1 She put out her and drank the

tongue magic drink

2 She swam up by the and her heart

Prince’s palace broke

3 She wanted to speak and the sea witch

to the Prince cut it off

4 She walked but she had no

beautifully voice

5 The Prince married but walking felt

the Princess strange to her

4 Match the present with the past

Glossary

birthday you are one year

older on your birthday

dance The Prince danced

with his friends —

feel She felt a knife go

through her SOR —

“

found past tense of find

grandmother your grandmother is the

mother of your mother

marry the Prince married soul your soul does not die the Princess — when your body dies —

OXFORD

UNIVERSITY PRESS

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First published 2003

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ISBN: 978 0 19 4225359

A recorded reading of this Classic Tale is available on cassette in either

British or American English Each cassette features two stories,

Aladdin and The Little Mermaid

978 0 19 422079 8 (British English) 978 0 19 422078 1 (American English)

An Activity Book is also available for this title IsBN: 978 0 19 422085 9

Printed in China

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Original story retold by: Sue Arengo

Mustrated by: Barbara Vagnozzi/Sylvie Poggio Artists Agency

CLASSIC TALES Beginner 1 [100 headwords]

The Enormous Turnip 978 0 19 422002 6

The Little Red Hen 978 0 19 422086 6

The Magic Cooking Pot 978 0 19 422074 3 Rumplestiltskin 978 0 19 422087 3

The Shoemaker and the Elves 978 0 19 422073 6 Three Billy-Goats 978 0 19 422003 3

Beginner 2 [150 headwords]

The Fisherman and his Wife 978 0 19 422057 6 The Gingerbread Man 978 0 19 422022 4 Jack and the Beanstalk 978 0 19 422538 0

Goldilocks and the Three Bears 978 0 19 422001 9

Little Red Riding Hood 978 0 19 422000 2

The Little Mermaid 978 0 19 422535 9

Elementary 2 [300 headwords]

Cinderella 978 0 19 422005 7

Sleeping Beauty 978 0 19 4220118

Elementary 3 [400 headwords]

Beauty and the Beast 978 0 19 422006 4

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 978 0 19 422010 1

Big Books are available for the following Classic Tales:

The Enormous Turnip Big Book 978 0 19 4225175 Three Billy-Goats Big Book 978 0 19422518 2 The Gingerbread Man Big Book 978 0 19 4225199

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Big Book 978 0 19 42252 —

All Classic Tales have an accompanying Activity Book and cassette

Please consult your OUP office for more details, or visit the website:

<www.oup.com/elt/readers/classictales>