Hey, I'm Sapphire.

Wanna hear something scary?

(dark electronic music)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, a day that brings joy to many

and misery to others, and in honor of this holiday,

I wanted to share one of my favorite stories

about the scary things love makes us do.

This is an abridged version of Hans Christian Andersen's

famous tragic tale, The Little Mermaid.

Far out in the ocean, the water is as blue as the petals

of the loveliest corn flower,

and as clear as the purest glass.

But it is very deep too.

It goes down deeper than any anchor rope will go,

and many, many steeples would have to be stacked

on on top of another to reach from the bottom

to the surface of the sea.

It is down there that the sea folk live.

There was the sea queen, along with her granddaughters,

the sea princesses.

They were six lovely girls, but the youngest

was the most beautiful of them all.

Her skin was as soft and tender as a rose petal,

and her eyes were as blue as the deep sea.

But like all the others, she had no feet.

Her body ended in a fish tail.

The little mermaid loved hearing stories about

the human world above.

Her grandmother told her all she knew about ships

and cities and of people and animals.

The flowers were fragrant up there.

For those at the bottom of the sea had no scent.

"When you are 15," her grandmother said,

"you will be allowed to rise up out of the ocean

"and sit on the rocks in the moonlight

"to watch the great ships sailing by."

On her 15th birthday, the little mermaid rose up

to the surface and watched a birthday celebration

being held on a ship in honor of a handsome prince.

She watched in awe as he laughed and smiled

and shook people by the hand, while the music rang out

in a perfect evening.

She couldn't take her eyes off of him.

(thunder crashes) Then a violent storm hit,

sinking the boat.

The little mermaid swam towards the sinking prince,

and pulled him ashore.

He laid there unconscious near a temple.

She waited from a distance until a young woman

from the temple found him.

The prince regained consciousness and mistook

the temple woman for his rescuer.

He never even saw the little mermaid.

Distraught, she dove back into the ocean.

"If men aren't drowned," the little mermaid asked

her grandmother, "do they live on forever?"

"They too must die and their lifetimes

"are even shorter than ours.

"We can live to be 300 years old but when we perish,

"we turn into mere foam on the sea.

"We have no immortal soul.

"Human beings, on the contrary,

"have a soul which lives forever,

"long after their bodies have turned to clay.

"It rises through thin air up to the shining stars.

"Just as we rise through the water to see

"the lands on earth, so men rise up

"to beautiful places unknown, which we shall never see."

"I would gladly give up my 300 years if I could be

"a human for a day and later share in that heavenly round--"

"You must not think about that.

"We are much better off than the folk up there."

The little mermaid, longing for the prince

and an eternal soul, visited the sea witch

in a dangerous part of the ocean.

The witch willingly sold her a potion

that would give her legs, in exchange for

her tongue and beautiful voice.

She warned her that once she became a human,

she will never be able to return to the sea.

And she will only obtain a soul if she won

the love of the prince and married him.

Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after

he marries someone else, the little mermaid would die

with a broken heart and dissolve

into sea foam upon the waves.

After she agreed to the arrangement, the little mermaid

swam to the surface near the prince's palace

and drank the potion.

The liquid felt like a sword piercing through her body,

and she passed out on the shore, naked.

When she came to, the prince was standing above her.

He asked her where she came from, but she couldn't speak.

He pulled her up and for the first time,

she saw her two new human legs.

He walked her back to his palace to give her clothes,

but every step she took was agony.

It felt like she was stepping on knives.

It was horribly unpleasant, but she knew this was

part of the bargain.

Over time, the little mermaid and the prince

became great friends, but unfortunately, nothing more.

When the prince's parents encouraged their son to marry,

he asked for the temple woman's hand,

for he thought she was the one who rescued him

after the storm.

So the little mermaid had no choice but to silently witness

the prince marry his new bride aboard a wedding ship.

After the ceremony, she looked to the east to see

the first red hint of daybreak, for she knew that

the first flash of the sun would strike her dead.

Then, she saw her sisters rise up among the waves.

There was no sign of their lovely long hair

that the breezes used to blow.

It had all been cut off.

"We have given our hair to the witch," they said,

"so that she would send you help

"and save you from death tonight.

"She gave us this knife.

"Before the sun rises, you must strike it into

"the prince's heart and when his warm blood

"bathes your feet, they will grow together

"and become a fish tail.

"Then you will be a mermaid again

"and you can come back to us in the sea

"and live out your 300 years.

"Hurry."

"Get back to us, sister."

"We miss you."

The little mermaid entered the prince's room

where he and his bride lay fast asleep.

Slowly, she raised the magic blade above his head,

and she heard him speak his bride's name in his sleep.

The blade fell from her trembling hands.

"The prince's happiness is my happiness.

"Goodnight, sweet prince."

She walked back outside, stood on the edge of the ship,

and threw herself into the ocean, just as dawn broke.

Her body dissolved into foam, but instead of

ceasing to exist, she turned into a luminous

and ethereal earth-bound spirit, a daughter of the air.

Because of her selflessness, she was given the chance

to earn a soul and after 300 years of good deeds

to humanity, she will rise up

to where no mermaid had been before.

If you love this story, I highly recommend watching

the 1975 animated film from Toei Animation,

and I dare you not to cry.

Like this video if it gave you the chills,

and don't forget to subscribe to Snarled

and our sister channels, Hissy Fit and Slay Tricks.

If you or anyone you know have any unique

paranormal experiences, send me an e-mail at

somethingscary@snarled.com.

And I might animate your story, even if it doesn't fit in

with the current theme, it might fit one in the future.

And if your story doesn't make it into an episode,

tune into my weekly livestream every Wednesday

and I might read it live.

If you dare, follow me on Instagram and Twitter

@awkwardsapphire.

Until next time, sweet dreams.