The Little Merman

Queen Tsunami, the great sea queen, had many sons who loved the undersea world in which they lived.
But Tsunami's youngest son, Akito, dreamed of the world above the water's surface—the world of humans. Although his mother warned him never to go there. Akito disobeyed her and went up to the surface quite often.


Akito and his friend Fujiko liked to go to the surface to visit Shieru the seagull. Shieru told them all about the humans' objects that Akito found at the bottom of the sea.
One day Tsunami found out Akito had been making trips to the surface, and the Sea Queen grew very angry. She was worried about her son's safety, and so she asked her trusted friend Sabrina the crab to keep an eye on Akito.


A few days later, Akito noticed a ship sailing way up on the surface of the water. Humans!" said Akito, quickly swimming toward the ship.
"Oh no! Please come back!" cried Sabrina as she and Fujiko swarm after him. "Here he goes again!"


When Akito surfaced, he saw a huge ship filled with sailors and geisha dancers. Akito's eyes lit up when he spotted the dancer the people called Princess Erina. It was love at first sight.
Suddenly the sky darkened. Heavy rain began to fall, and lightning split the sky. Princess Erina's ship was no match for a terrible storm. The ship was tossed on the waves, and the princess was thrown overboard.

"I've got to save her!" thought Akito. He gragged the drowning princess and swam to shore, pulling her onto the beach. Princess Erina did not stir as Akito gently touched her face and sang her a beautiful love song.
Soon Akito heard the princess's crew searching for her. He did not want to be seen by the humans, so he kissed the princess and dove back into the sea.


Princess Erina awoke to find Lady Gurimu, her loyal stewardess, at her side. "What happened?" asked Lady Gurimu, happy that Erina was alive.
"It was a boy," said the princess. "A handsome boy saved me, and then in sang the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. I want to find that boy, and I want to marry him!"
Princess Erina, too, had fallen in love.


Queen Tsunami was furious when she discovered that Akito had fallen in love with a human. She rushed to the grotto where Akito kept his collection of humans' treasures.


The little merman tried to reason his mother.
"Mom, I love her!" he said. "I want to be with her."
"She's a human. A fish-eater!" Tsunami shouted. "NO!"
She raised her magic trident and fired bolts of energy around the cave, destroying the treasures. Then the mighty sea queen left.
Akito buried his face in his hands and began to cry.


Meanwhile, not far away, evil forces were at work in the undersea kingdom. Utamara, the Sea Warlock, who had tried once before to overthrow Tsunami, was looking for a way to take over. Through his crystal ball, he could see Akito crying, and an idea came to him.
"I can get to the Sea Warlock through her son." He realized.

Utamara sent his slimy eel servants, Fuuko and Jinko, to Akito's grotto. There they convinced the Little Merman that Utamara could help him to get his beloved princess. Akito was so upset that he ignored Sabrina's warnings and swarm off with Fuuko and Jinko to meet with the Sea Warlock.


"I here a deal for you, my sweet child," began Utamara after Akito entered the warlock's lair.
"A deal?" asked Akito innocently.
"Yes." said the warlock. I'll make you human for three days, and you will go to the princess. If you can get her to kiss you before the sun goes dawn on the third day, you will stay with her forever, as a human. If she does not kiss you, then you will turn back into a merman... and you will be my prisoner!"


"The price for my services," the warlock continued, "Is your voice!"
"My voice?" asked Akito in shock. "I won't be able to talk or sing. How will I get the princess to fall in love with me?"
"You'll still have your pretty face," replied Utamara.


After Akito agreed to Utamara's deal, the Sea Warlock cast a magic spell. An amazing change took place. Akito's voice flew from his body and was captured in a seashell around Utamara's neck. Akito lost his tail, grew legs, and became a human.
When Akito went in search of the princess, he was helped ashore by his friends. He tried to speak to them, but no sound came out.


A short while later, Akito saw Princess Erina, who had been lovesick ever since hearing him sing. At first the princess thought she recognized Akito as the boy who had rescued her. But when she learned that he couldn't speak, she knew she was wrong.
Princess Erina felt sorry for Akito. He needed a place to stay, so she took his back to her palace.


Over the next two days, Princess Erina grew to like Akito more and more. During a romantic boat ride, Erina was about to kiss Akito when Fuuko and Jinko overturned the boat.
"That was a close for comfort," said Utamara, who was watching in his crystal ball. "I'll have to take matters into my own hands." The sea warlock mixed a magic potion and changed himself into a handsome young bachelor.


On the morning of the third day, there was great excitement throughout the kingdom. Princess Erina was going to marry a young bachelor she had just met!
unfortunately for Akito, Erina had been put under a spell. Utamara, disguised as the bachelor, had used Akito's voice, which he carried in the seashell around his neck. Erina now believed that the bachelor was the boy who had saved her from the shipwreck.
Poor Akito was heartbroken.


The wedding ceremony was to take place on Princess Erina's new boat. Shieru the sea gull flew by just as the bridegroom passed in front of a mirror. His reflection was that of the sea warlock! Shieru realized that the princess was being tricked, and rushed off to tell Akito and the rest of his friends.
Sabrina quickly formed a plan. Fujiko helped Akito get out to Erina's ship. Shieru arranged for some of her seagull friends to delay the wedding.
"I'm going to tell Tsunami about this," said Sabrina.


Princess Erina and the bachelor were about to be married when a flock of seagulls, led by Shieru, swooped down on the bridegroom, who screamed in the the sea warlock's voice.
Akito climbed on board just as Shieru knocked the seashell containing Akito's voice from around the bachelor's neck. The shell shattered, and Akito's voice returned to him.


"Oh, Erina, I love you," said Akito.
"It was you all along," said Princess Erina. The sun disappeared over the horizon just as they were about to kiss. Akito's three days were up. Immediately, he changed back into a merman, the bachelor changed back into the Sea Warlock. Utamara grabbed Akito and dove off the ship.


Thanks to Sabrina's warning, Tsunami was waiting for them at Utamara's lair. "I'll let your son go in exchange for you," cried Utamara. Tsunami agreed, and she became Utamara's prisoner. He now had her magic trident and control of the undersea kingdom.
All of sudden a harpoon struck Utamara in the shoulder. Princess Erina had come to rescue Akito, who swam at the surface.


Utamara followed close behind them, and he grew bigger and bigger with anger, until he rose out of the water.
Princess Erina swam to her ship and climbed on board. She grabbed the wheel and turned the ship toward Utamara. Just as the Sea Warlock was about to fire a deadly bolt at Akito from the trident, the princess's ship slammed into Utamara and destroyed the evil warlock.


Now that the warlock was dead, Tsunami was freed. She rose from the sea with her trident back in hand. She could see Akito watching Princess Erina, who was lying on the shore, unconscious.
"He really does love her, doesn't he?" asked the Sea Queen.
Sabrina, who was nearby, nodded.
"I'm going to miss him," Tsunami added. Then she raised her trident and shot a magic bolt at Akito's tail.


The little merman's tail disappeared, and once again he had legs. Akito was now a human. Princess Erina awoke in time to see her beloved Akito running onto the shore. She kissed him, and they were married that day. After the wedding, Princess Erina and Akito sailed off on their honeymoon to live happily ever after.

—The End—