By Lane Riosley

© Copyright 2007, by Lane Riosley

Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that a royalty must be paid for every

performance, whether or not admission is charged. All inquiries regarding rights should be addressed to Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., PO Box 4267, Englewood, CO 80155.

Rights to this play—including but not limited to amateur, professional, and translation into foreign languages—are controlled by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., without whose permission no performance, reading or presentation of any kind in whole or in part may be given.

All other rights in this play, including radio broadcasting, television and motion picture rights, are controlled by Lane Riosley, c/o Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., PO Box 4267, Englewood, CO 80155.

These rights are fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America and of all countries covered by the Universal Copyright Convention or with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations, including Canada, Mexico, Australia and all nations of the United Kingdom.

COPYING OR REPRODUCING ALL OR ANY PART OF THIS BOOK

IN ANY MANNER IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN BY LAW.

On all programs, printing and advertising, the following information must appear:

1. The full name of the play2. The full name of the playwright3. The following notice: “Produced by special arrangement with

Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, Colorado”

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THE LITTLE MERMAID

By LANE RIOSLEY

CAST OF CHARACTERS(In Order of Appearance)

SEA-GRANDMOTHERBLUE DOLPHINGREEN DOLPHINLITTLE MERMAIDVAGUE MERMAIDLOFTY MERMAIDROUND SAILORTALL SAILORPRINCESEASHELL GIRLBIG TOADYLITTLE TOADYTREESSEA-WITCHPAGENOTE: For suggestions on producing this show with a cast of six, please see PRODUCTION NOTES at the back of the playbook.

SETTINGThe stage is bare except for two poles set in the CENTER, about 20 feet from each other. Several cloth sails are wrapped around the poles. Pegs stud these poles all around and up and down. Hanging from the pegs are long strands of seaweed in watercolor hues of red and blue with tiny gold fruit in bunches.

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THE LITTLE MERMAID

The SEA-GRANDMOTHER ENTERS wearing a long gown of icy blue washed with gray. The gown train ends in a fi lmy fi sh tail which she carries behind her hooked to one wrist. Her walk is fl uid, every gesture and step fl owing into another, like Tai Chi. ALL SEA FOLK move in this connected, slow, dance-like manner.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: There is a place at the bottom of the sea, far,

far away, where the water is as clear as crystal and long trees grow, trees made all of seaweed. So deep below, the sounds from above are like distant music, and the tides are slow and gentle, making the sea trees wave back and forth as if they are blown by a gentle wind. (WATER MUSIC. DOLPHINS ENTER dressed in silver-gray and wearing snouted helmets. They move with smooth, quick movements. They make dolphin noises and take the ends of the seaweed and wave them in time to the MUSIC.) Here lives the Grandmother of the Sea—a mermaid who is very old and wise. She is very proud of her noble rank, so she wears 12 oysters on her tail instead of six, like all the other nobles. (Smiles conspiratorially.) If only you could travel to the place at the bottom of the sea, you would behold all this! Most wonderful of all, you would observe fi ve distant towers all made of pink and white coral with a roof of seashells that opens and closes with the tides. Here live the youngest mermaids, and here is where they play. (MERMAIDS ENTER. The tallest one is holding a fl ag of sheer fabric cutout fi sh, which fl utter as she runs. DOLPHINS watch, smiling and bobbing. The MERMAIDS chase the fi sh, ducking in and out of the seaweed in smooth, swimming movements. MUSIC FADES OUT.)

LITTLE MERMAID: I can’t catch them!VAGUE MERMAID: (Laughs.) They are so pretty!LOFTY MERMAID: And too smart for us!BLUE DOLPHIN: (Darts in front of the MERMAIDS and laughs.) Ha-ha!

([NOTE: It is up to the director whether to speak or sing the rhyming lines throughout the show.])Dolphin, Dolphin in the seaweed,Dolphin in the sea!Dolphin, I can see you hiding,Dolphin, follow me! (Taps VAGUE MERMAID on the head and darts around as she tries to catch him. BLUE DOLPHIN ducks back and forth, taps her on the back and laughs.)

VAGUE MERMAID: Mermaid, mermaid in the seaweed,Mermaid in the sea,Mermaid, I can see you hiding,

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Mermaid, follow me! (Taps GREEN DOLPHIN on the head and dashes around dodging and hiding until the DOLPHIN catches her.)

LITTLE MERMAID: He’s too fast for you.VAGUE MERMAID: I let him catch me.LITTLE MERMAID: You say that every time.DOLPHINS: Ha-ha! (GREEN DOLPHIN takes the fi sh fl ag and teases the

MERMAIDS a bit, then dashes OFF.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: And where have you been, grandchildren?LITTLE MERMAID: Grandmother! We have been playing with the

dolphins.VAGUE MERMAID: Hello, Grandmother.LOFTY MERMAID: Did you see me? I nearly caught those fi sh!VAGUE MERMAID/LITTLE MERMAID: You did not!LOFTY MERMAID: Almost!VAGUE MERMAID: You just think you’re the fastest because you’re

the longest!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Now, children.LITTLE MERMAID: You know, if you just stay very still, the fi sh will

come up to you.LOFTY MERMAID: I don’t believe that!LITTLE MERMAID: Watch! (Moves a distance away and holds out one

hand. A RED FISH on a long wire pole, operated by either DOLPHIN, ENTERS and “swims” over to the LITTLE MERMAID. It jumps back, then swims cautiously up to her hand and rests there.)

VAGUE MERMAID: Well!LITTLE MERMAID: You see?LOFTY MERMAID: Let me try that! (Shoves out her hand, startling the

RED FISH, which darts away and EXITS.) It’s a trick! You’ve trained that fi sh!

LITTLE MERMAID: (Laughs.) No, really I haven’t!VAGUE MERMAID: Let me try! (Stands with one hand extended, and

the RED FISH ENTERS cautiously, swimming all around her. Finally it rests in her hand. She can’t stand it. She giggles, and the FISH swims OFF.) It tickled my hand!

LOFTY MERMAID: (Really can’t stand it now.) Let me try again! (Stands with her hand outstretched, and the RED FISH ENTERS, swimming around her. It swims all around her hand and fi nally swims up to her face. It bounces off her head once and darts OFF.) Ow! It bit me!

VAGUE MERMAID: It was just playing a game with you!

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LOFTY MERMAID: I don’t like that game!LITTLE MERMAID: I think you scared it away.LOFTY MERMAID: I still say you trained it! (LITTLE MERMAID and

VAGUE MERMAID laugh.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Children! Children!LITTLE MERMAID: Yes, Grandmother?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Now, let us be quiet together. Tell me about

your gardens.LOFTY MERMAID: My garden is the best. I have planted my garden to

look like a whale.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: A whale?!LOFTY MERMAID: Yes! I planted anemones and ocean bluebells.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: How wonderful!VAGUE MERMAID: Grandmother, I planted my garden round like the

sun!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Like the sun?VAGUE MERMAID: Yes! Round and big and purple!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Purple?VAGUE MERMAID: Purple just like the sun! See? (Points upward.) How

bright and purple the sun is today!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: You know, in the land above, the sun is bright

yellow and white.VAGUE MERMAID: Yellow and white? (Looks up.)LOFTY MERMAID: But it’s purple! Anyone can see that!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Don’t you remember when it was your time to

go to the land above the water?LOFTY MERMAID: Yes, of course.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: And you did go?LOFTY MERMAID: (Speaks poetically.) I did just as you told me, naturally.

I went alone and swam above the sea.I crawled up to the shore and on the sands…

LITTLE MERMAID: The shore?LOFTY MERMAID: Remember your sea-ography?

The shore is where the water ends.LITTLE MERMAID: It ends?!LOFTY MERMAID:

The water ends upon the shore where sand begins.Since you have never been above the seaYou wouldn’t know, you couldn’t know, of course.You haven’t been above the sea… like me.

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LITTLE MERMAID: Sister, you have told me that you went aboveThe sea and how you went above the sea,But now, please, tell me what it was you sawAbove the sea, exactly.

LOFTY MERMAID:Well, you see, the sea just ended where the sky began…

LITTLE MERMAID: The sky? The sky? What is the sky?LOFTY MERMAID: The sky—VAGUE MERMAID: I remember very well!

Clearly, clearly!Absolutely!Sunset when the sky was red,Feathered fi sh in the hair…Fair, bear, care, air.Birds swimming in the air!Swimming to the fl uffy prouds…Louds, crowds, bowds, clouds!

LITTLE MERMAID: Please, sister, tell me more!It all sounds so glorious!Are there people just like us?

VAGUE MERMAID: White and fl uffy fl oating clouds!Drifting low across the band…Stand, hand, grand, land!Houses sitting on the land!People running on the more…Core, four, bore…

ALL: Shore!VAGUE MERMAID: (Miffed.) Don’t need prompting. I remember. Thank

you!LITTLE MERMAID: Oh, I suppose you cannot tell me what it all looked

like, not really.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: The world above is a wonderful place. When you

are old enough, you’ll go above… (LITTLE MERMAID starts to protest.) …and not before. Now, tell me about your garden, little one.

LITTLE MERMAID: (Looks up, wistfully.) My garden is red. All planted in red, with red fl owers that wave back and forth in the currents. There are white stones in the garden, smooth and round. Above, my garden grows a water willow tree. Rose red, with a purple shadow and long branches reaching out in the water. And a boy.

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: A boy?LITTLE MERMAID: Oh! He is only made of stone! White stone! He is a

statue, really. I found him on the ocean fl oor.

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VAGUE MERMAID: A statue?LOFTY MERMAID: A boy?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: With legs?LITTLE MERMAID: Yes.VAGUE MERMAID: Legs!LOFTY MERMAID: In her garden!LITTLE MERMAID: It’s just a statue.LOFTY MERMAID: Land people live above for a reason.VAGUE MERMAID: Land people have legs for a reason.LOFTY MERMAID: Merfolk have tails for a reason!VAGUE MERMAID: In her garden!LOFTY MERMAID: Imagine! (They giggle.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: What is it about this statue, little one? Why

place it in your garden?LITTLE MERMAID: It looked so very lonely, lying there inside a ship.

I thought, “If I take it to my garden and make it mine, it will never be lonely again!”

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Ah, and did that work?LITTLE MERMAID: No. I’m afraid the statue is still lonely. It has legs,

and legs do not belong on the bottom of the sea.VAGUE MERMAID: It’s only a statue!LOFTY MERMAID: Anyway, people with legs look funny! They look

like… like lobsters or shrimp!VAGUE MERMAID: They wobble, wobble, wobble on their legs!

(Wobbles, laughing. LOFTY MERMAID joins in.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: People of the land can still swim with those

legs, you know! (Laughter stops.) Oh, yes!VAGUE MERMAID: They… they wouldn’t come down here, would they?LOFTY MERMAID: (Looks around.) They can’t swim this far!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: They can swim, but not this far.VAGUE MERMAID: No, they must stay near the surface of the water.LOFTY MERMAID: They need air to breathe.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Only one way can people with legs come to the

bottom of the sea — when they drown.LITTLE MERMAID: W-what is… drown?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: That is when people with legs try to breathe

water and cannot. They die.VAGUE MERMAID: Little sister, you must satisfy yourself with watching

land people from afar.

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LITTLE MERMAID: Grandmother, don’t you think I am old enough to see for myself what is in the land above?

LOFTY MERMAID: You are too fascinated, really! (Giggles.)VAGUE MERMAID: Well, no, I… it’s just that— What was I going to

say?LOFTY MERMAID: Don’t ask before it’s time, my dear! It just isn’t done!

(Both SISTERS giggle and EXIT with mocking backward glances.)LITTLE MERMAID: Honestly, I do feel as if I am old enough. Perhaps?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Perhaps. With three conditions.

Condition One:Do not be seen by humankind,Do not be seen at all.For legend has it, humankindWill cause the mermaid’s fall.Condition Two:Do not be touched by human hands,Do not let them touch you!It is foretold, at human touch,Disaster will ensue!Condition Three:Do not go on the sandy beach,Do not go to explore!Tales are told how mermaids dieWhen trapped upon the shore!

LITTLE MERMAID: I will do as you ask, Sea-Grandmother. I will be very, very careful.

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: (Claps her hands. DOLPHINS ENTER.) Here are your guides. (To DOLPHINS.) All right, you two! (DOLPHINS act respectfully, as well as dolphins can.) I charge you both with the safety of my little one! Watch her and guard her well, or you will both answer for it. (Hands LITTLE MERMAID a strand of oysters and pearls.) Here are your ornaments to show your royal rank. (Places them around the LITTLE MERMAID’S neck.)

LITTLE MERMAID: Thank… oh, they are very heavy.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Symbols of royalty always are heavy and

uncomfortable. In the world above, it is the time known as winter. You may see strange things such as snow, and the trees may not have leaves. The world above changes often, and you never know what to expect. Now go, and be careful up there! (EXITS with a fl ourish. LITTLE MERMAID begins to “swim.” MUSIC FANFARE. DOLPHINS EXIT and RE-ENTER with long strips of blue and gray gossamer fabric mounted on rods which they wave like fl ags. These

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“water fl ags” are kept in constant motion, weaving in dance patterns as the LITTLE MERMAID works her way to the surface, “swimming” through the fabric trail left by the fl ags.)

BLUE DOLPHIN: Swim up to the world above!DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!GREEN DOLPHIN: Swim up to the land of sky!DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!BLUE DOLPHIN: Swim up to the yellow sun.

Land where feathered fi shes fl y!DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!GREEN DOLPHIN: Swim up to the fl oating clouds,

Where the shore meets sea and land,Where the water touches sand!

DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!BLUE DOLPHIN: Swim with us up to the ships,

Wooden castles under sail,Floating houses, tall and frail!

DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!LITTLE MERMAID: Ships that sail upon the sea!DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!LITTLE MERMAID: Swim where people walk on legs!DOLPHINS: Swim, mermaid, swim!LITTLE MERMAID: I can see… I can see lights… and… (WATER MUSIC.

DOLPHINS grasp the fabric between them like a cat’s cradle. LITTLE MERMAID pushes against the web of fabric. Finally the “waters part,” throwing the DOLPHINS aside, and the LITTLE MERMAID breaks the surface. Gasps as she breathes air for the fi rst time. MUSIC FADES OUT.) Oh! Oh…

BLUE DOLPHIN: Ha!GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: This… this is the sky?DOLPHINS: Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: I can breathe… but it feels so strange! What… I

feel something on my face, not like water…BLUE DOLPHIN: Wind!LITTLE MERMAID: Wind?GREEN DOLPHIN: Air—LITTLE MERMAID: And the sky is so… I don’t have any names for

anything.

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DOLPHINS: Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: It’s all so wonderful, and I don’t know what to call

it!DOLPHINS: Ha-ha!GREEN DOLPHIN: Why call it anything?BLUE DOLPHIN: Play! Ha-ha! Play in the sea! (EXITS.)GREEN DOLPHIN: Play! Ha-ha! Play in the sea! (Starts to EXIT, but

LITTLE MERMAID stops him.) Ha-ha?LITTLE MERMAID: Oh, no, you don’t! You’re staying with me, at least.SAILOR’S VOICE: (From OFFSTAGE.) Ahoy!LITTLE MERMAID: What is that?GREEN DOLPHIN: Ship! Tall ship! Ha-ha! Maybe good! Maybe not!LITTLE MERMAID: Are those people?! And what is that sound?GREEN DOLPHIN: Music! Ha-ha! (MUSIC OF THE SAILORS. ROUND

SAILOR ENTERS, pulling on a rope and singing. Periodically, he stops and tugs on the rope. Soon, at the other end of the rope, TALL SAILOR ENTERS singing and tugging on the rope, pulling the other way.)

SAILORS: (Sings.) A sailor’s life is salt and woe,Pull, sailor, pull!No matter how the wind will blow!Pull, sailor, pull!

ROUND SAILOR: (Sings.) Cyclone, hurricane!Pull, sailor, pull!

TALL SAILOR: (Sings.) A sailor’s life is all I know!Pull, sailor, pull! (SAILORS loop the rope from one center pole to another and pull out the long strands of seaweed-like lines. They unwrap sails from around the beams and fasten them to the fl oor, like jibs.)

SAILORS: (Sing.) Thar she blows, a great gray whale!Pull, sailor, pull!Wind is up, she’ll blow a gale!Pull, sailor, pull!

ROUND SAILOR: (Sings.) Make it tight, and make it fast!Pull, sailor, pull!

TALL SAILOR: (Sings.) Make it right, and make it last!Pull, sailor, pull!

LITTLE MERMAID: How happy they are! Having legs must make them very happy.

ROUND SAILOR: (Leaps CENTER STAGE. Shouts and growls.) Ahoy!TALL SAILOR: It’s a storm up!

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ROUND SAILOR: Aye!TALL SAILOR: And us with the prince boy on board.ROUND SAILOR: It’s his birthday, poor lad.TALL SAILOR: She’ll be a rough one.ROUND SAILOR: Right you are!PRINCE: (ENTERS.) Ahoy.TALL SAILOR: Ahoy.PRINCE: I see the captain has turned us back to port. Must we go

back so soon?ROUND SAILOR: Captain knows what he’s doin’.TALL SAILOR: Aye.LITTLE MERMAID: Look!PRINCE: (Pulls out a compass.) I have been charting our course

very carefully. I have studied navigation, you know. (Recites from memory.) Sail ye by the northern star,Sail ye by the sun.Sail ye by the compass rose,Sail ye trusty Bo’sunSail ye by the astrolabe,Sail ye to the dawn.Sail ye ’til the oceans freeze,Sail ye and sail on!

TALL SAILOR: A fi ne bit of verse, and much may be said of it, Prince, Your Highness.

LITTLE MERMAID: (To herself. Incredulous.) He looks just like my statue.

PRINCE: I have also studied sailing. For so long I have just stood on the shore and looked at the ships.

LITTLE MERMAID: My white marble statue…PRINCE: I have watched them sail far out on the water until they vanish.

Now, for my birthday, for this one day, I can be on a ship myself.ROUND SAILOR: Your Highness, we did not want to frighten you, but

there is a storm a-comin’.TALL SAILOR: Captain mustn’t risk our lives, any of us.PRINCE: Oh, well, no…ROUND SAILOR: No, no.PRINCE: You are right to tell me. I must think of my subjects fi rst.ROUND SAILOR: Yes, well…PRINCE: Responsibilities of rule.TALL SAILOR: Oh, to be sure.

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PRINCE: Where is the storm?TALL SAILOR: Look over yonder, just off the stern.PRINCE: (Checks his compass.) So it is headed… north by northwest.

And we are sailing due… (Points at the storm.) Oh… well, that does look bad. (Sighs.) The sea is so rough and… (Looks out at the GREEN DOLPHIN and LITTLE MERMAID.) …how strange. Look there! Two dolphins. No, one… no… what is that?

LITTLE MERMAID: He sees me! (Ducks behind GREEN DOLPHIN.) Oh, no! He cannot see me!

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!TALL SAILOR: I see two dolphins!ROUND SAILOR: Aye!PRINCE: Two? No, no, it couldn’t be. You know I thought for a moment

that I saw a… no, it couldn’t be… (SOUND EFFECT: THUNDER.)TALL SAILOR: That storm’s a-comin’ right for us!PRINCE: Sailors! I command that we will return to shore.ROUND SAILOR: Aye.TALL SAILOR: Never saw the like of it.PRINCE: (Staggers to the side as if the deck is pitching.) Lower the

sails!ROUND SAILOR: Lower the sails! (Climbs the mast and unhooks the

sail just as THUNDER is again heard. Both SAILORS lower the sails, and the PRINCE pitches in to help.)

SAILORS/PRINCE: (Sing.) A sailor’s life is wind and rain.Pull, sailor, pull!Down the jib and down the main.Pull, sailor, pull!Batten hatches, weather eye!Pull, sailor, pull!Hold fast ’til the storm blows by!Pull, sailor, pull!

PRINCE: It’s upon us! I see lightning! (LIGHTS FLASH. SOUND EFFECT: THUNDER.)

ROUND SAILOR: Here, Your Highness! You must go below!PRINCE: No! Break out the lifeboats! (As the PRINCE reaches for the

other sail, he staggers, falls over the side.)ROUND SAILOR: Your Highness!PRINCE: Help! (BLUE DOLPHIN EXITS quickly and RE-ENTERS with

water fl ags and circles the ship. SAILORS roll and pitch, reach out to the PRINCE, who is just beyond their fi ngertips.) Save yourselves! I can swim!

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LITTLE MERMAID: Do you see, Dolphin?GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: He is so brave.ROUND SAILOR: Break out the lifeboats!TALL SAILOR: We’re done for!ROUND SAILOR: Abandon ship! (Staggers and is tossed overboard.)

Sailor overboard! Helllppp! (EXITS.)TALL SAILOR: Prince overboard! (Staggers as if tossed on deck. The

PRINCE “swims” for shore, easily at fi rst, then he tires.)GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! Ha-ha!TALL SAILOR: Swim! Swim for your life! Swiiimmm! (Moves as if blown

overboard, scrambling and reaching for any buoyant object. EXITS swimming.)

PRINCE: Help… (Stands limply, arms drifting as if fl oating on the water. GREEN DOLPHIN spins around him.)

LITTLE MERMAID: Oh, this is wonderful! Now he can come and live with us beneath the sea.

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! Ha-ha! He can come to live.LITTLE MERMAID: Yes!GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! When he dies! Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: Oh! I had forgotten… people with legs cannot live

beneath the sea. People with legs… drown!GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: I… can’t let him drown! What can I do? I… (GREEN

DOLPHIN swims over to the PRINCE and nudges him.) …I’m not strong enough to carry him to shore!

GREEN DOLPHIN: (Nudges PRINCE again.) Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: But I have to try! (Moves over to the PRINCE and

carefully reaches out to his hand.) Oh… I cannot touch a human. But if I don’t, he will drown! (Finally takes his hand and draws him away, circling the stage, followed by the GREEN DOLPHIN.) Why doesn’t he open his eyes and look at me? Oh… Dolphin, can you take him to the beach?

GREEN DOLPHIN: Too shallow! Ha-ha! I would be trapped.LITTLE MERMAID: I am forbidden to go near the shore. Oh, well!

I’ve broken all the rules, now! (Finally settles him on one side of the stage as GREEN DOLPHIN EXITS and RE-ENTERS with a piece of fabric painted with seashells, representing the beach. LITTLE MERMAID sets the PRINCE down on the beach.) I can’t tell if he’s breathing. Dolphin? What shall I do?

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GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha?!LITTLE MERMAID: Is he alive?SEASHELL GIRL’S VOICE: (Singing from OFFSTAGE.) Seashells and

coral, driftwood and blue glass!LITTLE MERMAID: (To the PRINCE.) Please, please be all right! (Strokes

his face just once and retreats. SEASHELL GIRL ENTERS, singing and carrying a basket of seashells. She picks up the seashells, and the LITTLE MERMAID retreats with GREEN DOLPHIN.)

SEASHELL GIRL: Beautifully woven baskets of sea-grass!Polished and shining by sand and the sea!Artwork the ocean has given to me! (Gathers shells and places them into her basket.)

LITTLE MERMAID: (Sings.)Seashells and coral, driftwood and pearl!What I would not give to just be a girl…

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!SEASHELL GIRL: (Looks around.) Wh… what was that?GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!SEASHELL GIRL: (Looks around.) Oh! It’s just a dolphin! You frightened

me!LITTLE MERMAID: Is he alive?GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: Don’t just laugh, tell me! Can you see? Is he alive?SEASHELL GIRL: (Sees the PRINCE.) Oh! Are… are you… (Sets down

her basket and kneels to touch the PRINCE, who coughs and sits up.) Are you all right?

PRINCE: I don’t know. Am I alive?SEASHELL GIRL: I think so.PRINCE: I heard singing.SEASHELL GIRL: You heard me.PRINCE: I thought I might have awakened with an angel. Who are

you?SEASHELL GIRL: My name is… oh, but I’m not supposed to be here!

This is the king’s land. (Looks around nervously.)PRINCE: What are you doing here?SEASHELL GIRL: I collect seashells. I clean them and take them to the

market to sell. (Shows him her basket.) Seashells and driftwood. Bits of broken, colored glass worn smooth by the sea. I haven’t found any pearls, yet. You won’t tell anyone you saw me? We need the money so…

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PRINCE: (Grins.) You don’t mean to tell me you sell seashells by the seashore?

SEASHELL GIRL: No, I just told you, I take them to the market— Oh, it’s a joke. You’re joking. (Smiles.)

PRINCE: There. You smiled.SEASHELL GIRL: You should not move!PRINCE: Why not?SEASHELL GIRL: You must be terribly hurt.PRINCE: Well, I… (Starts to say that he is all right, then decides it would

be in his best interests to be a little hurt.) …I do feel faint… just a little…

SEASHELL GIRL: Can I get you something? Water? Oh, no, that’s the problem—you’ve had too much water today. (PRINCE laughs again, but it makes him cough.) Oh, well, I—

TALL SAILOR: (Staggers IN.) Ahoy! I found him! And won’t the king be half pleased?

SEASHELL GIRL: The king?PRINCE: Oh, he—SEASHELL GIRL: (Starts to EXIT.) I cannot be found here! Please…PRINCE: Wait!SEASHELL GIRL: If they fi nd me here, they will put me in prison!PRINCE: No.SEASHELL GIRL: I must go!PRINCE: Wait! You saved my life!SEASHELL GIRL: No… oh! (Turns and runs OFF.)PRINCE: Stop her!TALL SAILOR: Is she a thief?PRINCE: No, but… she saved my life!ROUND SAILOR: Saved your life?PRINCE: I remember a girl… I almost drowned, and a girl brought me

safely to shore.TALL SAILOR: If she be the one, you can be sure that she will be back

for a reward.PRINCE: Do you think so?ROUND SAILOR: Now, let’s get you home to your father. He must be

worried half to death.PRINCE: Help me stand. I will go to my father and tell him. (Stands

with TALL SAILOR’S help.) My father will search for her.

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TALL SAILOR: You may count on it. (He and ROUND SAILOR lead the PRINCE OFF.)

LITTLE MERMAID: Did you see?GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: He thought she was the one who saved him.GREEN DOLPHIN: He has legs! Ha-ha! Legs! What does he know?LITTLE MERMAID: I will never see him again.GREEN DOLPHIN: Seashell Girl! Ha-ha! Ha-ha! She sells seashells!LITTLE MERMAID: But what if I had stayed with him? What would he

have done when he saw that I am a mermaid? What would he have thought of me?(Sings, sadly.) Seashells and coral,Driftwood and blue glass!Beautifully woven baskets of sea-grass!Polished and shining by sand and the sea!Artwork the ocean has given to me!

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! No legs!LITTLE MERMAID: She has legs. She can walk with him on the shore.

If he tried to swim with me, he would drown. (Stern.) Dolphin, I am through with the land above. Let us go back under the sea!

BLUE DOLPHIN: Yes! Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: Let’s go home! (ALL EXIT.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: (ENTERS.) Little one? Where is my little one?

Where is that child? She should have been back by now! Dolphin?! Dolphin! Come here!

DOLPHINS: (ENTER. Tentative.) Ha-ha?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: You!BLUE DOLPHIN: Ha-ha?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Come here! What have you been up to, and

where is my little one?BLUE DOLPHIN: (Doubtful.) Ha… ha-ha… uh…?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: You were supposed to watch her! You ran away

to play in the sea, didn’t you?BLUE DOLPHIN: (Very doubtful.) Ha-ha… well…LITTLE MERMAID: (ENTERS.) Hello, Sea-Grandmother.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: About time! Where have you been?LITTLE MERMAID: I went above and saw everything.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Above is very big. You could not have seen

everything.LITTLE MERMAID: I saw all that I want to see, ever again.

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SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Well! This is not at all what I expected. (To GREEN DOLPHIN as he tries to EXIT.) You!

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha?SEA-GRANDMOTHER: What happened in the land above?GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! (EXITS rapidly.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Come back here! I will have the truth from

you!BLUE DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! (EXITS rapidly, followed by LITTLE MERMAID.)SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Come back here, you naughty dolphins! (Follows

BLUE DOLPHIN to EXIT.) Little one? Come back!GREEN DOLPHIN: (ENTERS the empty stage and looks around.) Gone!

Ha-ha! She is gone!BLUE DOLPHIN: (ENTERS.) Ha-ha! Play!LITTLE MERMAID: (ENTERS.) Play!GREEN DOLPHIN: Go now. Ha! Now!LITTLE MERMAID: Are you really sure this is a good idea?GREEN DOLPHIN: You have said you would do anything, ha-ha! Anything

to have legs and walk in the land above! To be with your beloved prince! Ha-ha! Beloved prince!

LITTLE MERMAID: But this is the home of the Sea-Witch!BLUE DOLPHIN: Sea-Witch?! Ha-ha?!LITTLE MERMAID: I have always been so afraid of the Sea-Witch!GREEN DOLPHIN: Only she controls the water! Ha-ha! Water!BLUE DOLPHIN: Controls the water, ha-ha! Water and all that lives in

the sea.LITTLE MERMAID: I really do need some good advice.GREEN DOLPHIN: I will go with you! Ha-ha! With you and protect you!BLUE DOLPHIN: Protect! Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: I will need all the protection I can get!GREEN DOLPHIN: Sea-Witch isn’t bad! Ha-ha! Not bad!BLUE DOLPHIN: Protect! Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: I have heard she has a house made of whalebones.

(As the LITTLE MERMAID describes the house of the SEA-WITCH, BIG TOADY and LITTLE TOADY ENTER and begin to build it. The house is a doorframe of bones with some wicked-looking sea plants.)

GREEN DOLPHIN: Yes. Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: And all around this house of bones is a swamp of

hot, bubbling mud.BLUE DOLPHIN: Mud?

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GREEN DOLPHIN: Yes. Ha-ha! (BIG TOADY and LITTLE TOADY EXIT and RE-ENTER leading several “TREES.”)

LITTLE MERMAID: And she has trees that are live with branches like fi ngers! (Demonstrates.) They grab at you and try to crush you to death!

BLUE DOLPHIN: Bones?GREEN DOLPHIN: (Nods happily.) That is true. Ha-ha! True, I’ve seen

them!LITTLE MERMAID: And I have heard that those fi ngers reach out and

grab whatever they can. Men from above drowned at sea, parts of sunken ships and skeletons of fi sh and animals… and even the skeleton of a little mermaid!

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha! All true!BLUE DOLPHIN: Ske-le-ton? Ha-ha?LITTLE MERMAID: I… I don’t think I want to go there!BLUE DOLPHIN: (Agrees.) Ha-ha!LITTLE MERMAID: Oh, but if I don’t go… I will never walk on the land,

never speak to the prince… I would give anything, anything just to be with him! (Firm.) Let’s go! Before I change my mind again!

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!BLUE DOLPHIN: Ha-h— (Doubtful.) Uhhh…?LITTLE MERMAID: Quickly, before anyone sees us! (EXITS followed by

GREEN DOLPHIN then BLUE DOLPHIN. BIG TOADY and LITTLE TOADY follow them OFF. MUSIC OF THE SEA-WITCH.)

SEA-WITCH: (ENTERS. She is a manta ray with delusions of grandeur.) Beautiful cottage of glistering bone.So good to be back at my summer home.Sharkies live in trees that grasp.Toadies live in ferns that gasp.

TOADIES’ VOICES: (OFFSTAGE gasping.) Brak-ak-ak-ak! Ko-ak! Ko-ak!SEA-WITCH: My door is from a ship that sank.

My curtains, seaweed, green and dank.My roof is home to snails and snakes.Housework—oh, how much it takes!

TOADIES’ VOICES: (OFFSTAGE gasping.) Brak-ak-ak-ak! Ko-ak! Ko-ak!SEA-WITCH: Oh, my glorious aquadome!

There really is no place like home!(SEA-WITCH MUSIC FADES.)And don’t the trees look lovely?! (A TREE reaches for her, and she slaps it.) They need trimming!

BIG TOADY: (ENTERS.) Brakk-ak! Brakk-ak! Not my job.

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SEA-WITCH: Well, I think you should do it! You should take some pride… (Another TREE reaches for her, and fi nally she gives it a bone.) Take some pride in your home!

LITTLE TOADY: (ENTERS.) Brakk-ak! We sleep outside.TOADIES: Brakk-akl Brakk-ak! Brakk-ak!SEA-WITCH: Of course you do. Shall I let you track all that mud in my

fi ne house?! Just look at your fl ippers!LITTLE TOADY: Brakk-ak!SEA-WITCH: Oh, it is so good to be home! So good to be me! So good

to be the Queen of the Sea!BIG TOADY: Brakk-ak! Brakk-ak! Brakk-ak! Not! (TOADIES laugh.)SEA-WITCH: Who says I am not the Queen of the Sea?LITTLE TOADY: No one! Your Majesty. Brakk-ak!BIG TOADY: Your Majesty! No one!SEA-WITCH: I am the Queen of the Sea!TOADIES: (Bow.) Brakk-ak! Brakk-ak! Brakk-ak!SEA-WITCH: Much better! Now, what are my appointments for today?

(TOADIES look at each other.) Come, come! The Queen of the Sea must have many appointments? There must be many creatures who have dull, dreary little lives and want me to make everything all better with my wit and charm and wisdom. (TOADIES shuffl e and whistle.) Well, aren’t there?

LITTLE TOADY: Not really, no… Your Majesty.BIG TOADY: No, not today, maybe tomorrow.SEA-WITCH: And why not?! You haven’t lost my appointment book,

have you?LITTLE TOADY: No!BIG TOADY: Oh, no!SEA-WITCH: Then what is it?LITTLE TOADY: Your Majesty. Brakk-ak! The trees eat anyone who

drops by to see you.BIG TOADY: They’ve eaten fi ve appointments this week alone. Brakk-

ak!SEA-WITCH: Well, then! Go out beyond the trees and bring me back my

appointments! I can’t be expected to hold any kind of court without fawning attendants and a sea full of people who have been waiting around for hours just to talk to me! Now go!

LITTLE TOADY: Your Majesty. Brakk-ak!BIG TOADY: Brakk-ak! Your Majesty. (TOADIES EXIT.)

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SEA-WITCH: (To the TREES.) Well, my fi ne, fawning forest! Have you been naughty? Have you been eating my appointments? Hmmm? (A TREE reaches for her, and she slaps it.) I just bet you have!

LITTLE TOADY: (ENTERS.) We have located an appointment, Your Majesty.

SEA-WITCH: Who is it? No! Let me guess!The King of the Blue Whales? Don’t tell me… I bet it’s…A contingency of contiguous barnacles?Silly, blathering barnacles!You know, they are always bawlingAbout being scraped off some ship.(LITTLE TOADY shakes its head.) No?No! Don’t tell me… I bet it’s a…Flock of fl ittering, fl uttering fl ounder!Flat and fatuous, they do love to fawn.(LITTLE TOADY shakes its head.)No? No! Don’t tell me… I bet it’s a…Congregation of complaining clams!Clicking and clacking and clattering,About some nonsense or other!They just go places to be seen, anyway!(LITTLE TOADY shakes its head.)No? No! Don’t tell me… I bet it’s a…No, they’re extinct.All right, then! I give up. Who are they?

LITTLE TOADY: A green dolphin, Your Majesty, a blue dolphin, and a little mermaid.

SEA-WITCH: Just three of them?LITTLE TOADY: Just three of them.SEA-WITCH: Early appointments are always so trivial.LITTLE TOADY: Brak-ak.SEA-WITCH: Nobody really important ever comes before lunch.LITTLE TOADY: Brak.SEA-WITCH: Very well. Show them into the royal presence. (LITTLE

TOADY hops off and returns with LITTLE MERMAID and DOLPHINS.) Announce them.

BIG TOADY: (To LITTLE MERMAID.) Who are you? Brak-ak!LITTLE MERMAID: (Afraid of LITTLE TOADY.) I am the little mermaid, not

to be confused with any of the other mermaids who are bigger. This is my green dolphin, and this is my blue dolphin. (BLUE DOLPHIN tries to leave, but LITTLE MERMAID grabs him.)

GREEN DOLPHIN: Ha-ha!

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LITTLE TOADY: Hmmm. We will have to do better than that.LITTLE MERMAID: Why?BIG TOADY: She will never talk to you unless you are just a little

important. Brak-ak!LITTLE TOADY: I know what to say. (Turns to SEA-WITCH, clears his

throat.) Brak-ak! Her Royal Highness, Princess Little Mermaid, by the grace of the sea, not to be confused with the other mermaids who are rather bigger, representing the combined royal families of merfolk, from the polar icecaps to the great sea canyon and her royal attendants, the Earls of Dolphin, called Green and Blue!

LITTLE MERMAID: (To GREEN DOLPHIN.) Who is he talking about?GREEN DOLPHIN: Us! Ha-ha!SEA-WITCH: Approach us. (LITTLE MERMAID is still baffl ed, so LITTLE

TOADY pushes her forward.) All right, now, as I understand it, you have fallen in love with a stone statue. As a rule, this kind of relationship has no future. Quite sensibly, you have changed your mind and fallen in love with a real, live prince. This is a better choice, but still this prince is a personage of legs, walking on land and breathing air in the world above.

LITTLE MERMAID: But, how do you know all this?SEA-WITCH: I am the Queen of the Sea. It’s my job. To continue…

you have fi gured out for yourself that you cannot be with the aforementioned prince at all. Not at all. So you have come here to ask me for a great gift, or so you believe it is a great gift.

LITTLE MERMAID: Yes! I want to have legs! (GREEN DOLPHIN gasps, and TOADIES recoil, hopping back.)

BIG TOADY: Brak-ak! Never heard of such a thing!LITTLE TOADY: Brak-ak!SEA-WITCH: You are old enough to ask for these things for yourself.

You are old enough to live with the consequences.GREEN DOLPHIN: Consequences? Ha-ha?!SEA-WITCH: And you have just made the deadline. After tonight, I

could not have helped you at all.LITTLE MERMAID: I didn’t know there was a deadline…SEA-WITCH: Oh, yes! Everything has rules, even metamorphotic

anthro-marine transformations.ALL OTHERS: What?!SEA-WITCH: Giving legs to a mermaid is no simple task. There are

rules. First, she must give up something of value.LITTLE MERMAID: I have these oysters on my tail that mark my noble

birthright.

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SEA-WITCH: I need something of value to you. You’d be just as happy to be rid of those oysters, and you know it!

LITTLE MERMAID: I have this necklace of pearls that are as large as stones, and many different colors—

SEA-WITCH: Everyone in the sea has a necklace of pearls. Try again.LITTLE MERMAID: I don’t know…SEA-WITCH: I do. I will take, in exchange for this transformation, your

voice.LITTLE MERMAID: My… but how will I speak to the prince when I fi nd

him? I have so much to say and—SEA-WITCH: It is all you have of value. I must have it.LITTLE MERMAID: I don’t know what to do. (Looks around for aid, in

vain.) All right, then. Take my voice.SEA-WITCH: Done and done! Toady, bring me my selection of Waters of

the World! Quickly! (LITTLE TOADY hops OFF. To LITTLE MERMAID.) I suppose you think I am going to make you a potion in a cauldron of snakes? (Laughs. The OTHERS join her.) A little blood of this and eye of that? (Laughs quite merrily, then bellows.) Toady? (LITTLE TOADY returns with a box, which he sets before the SEA-WITCH. To TOADIES.) Sing.

TOADIES: (Sing a croaking song reminiscent of the SAILOR’S song as the SEA-WITCH speaks.) Brak-ak! Brak-ak! Brak-ak! Ko-ax!Brak-ak! Brak-ak!Brak-ak! Brak-ak! Brak-ak! Ko-ax!Brak-ak! Brak-ak! (Etc.)

SEA-WITCH: For this I need the waters of the land above. Let’s see… (Rifl es through box.)... rivers, waterfalls… not waterfalls… lakes… ah-ha! The waters of a spring-fed royal pond! Drink this potion! (Removes a cup from the box and hands LITTLE MERMAID the potion.) It will split your tail in two and give you the graceful legs of a dancer. Oh! But wait until you are close to shore. You do not know how to swim without a tail. It would be a shame if you went through all this just to drown.

LITTLE MERMAID: I… could drown?SEA-WITCH: Toadies? I will take my next appointment in the palace

gardens. (The TREES grab at her, and she swats them.) Get the pruning shears! It is time to do some gardening!

DOLPHINS: Ha-ha! (Think the trees are great fun. BLUE DOLPHIN EXITS with the TREES, barking.)

BIG TOADY: (As he pulls apart the palace of bones.) Hurry! Brak-mak! (TOADIES disassemble the palace and EXIT.)

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LITTLE MERMAID: Thank you, Sea-Witch… (GREEN DOLPHIN elbows her and then EXITS.) …uh, Your Majesty!

SEA-WITCH: Thank me later, when all this is over. You may not think it is such a great gift. Remember! You have traded your voice for this gift! When you have legs, if you should speak, even a single word, your legs will weaken. You will stumble, and your legs will grow scales. In half a minute, you will not be able to walk, but you will thrash about like a fi sh out of water. You will be lucky if you reach the sea before this happens.

LITTLE MERMAID: I understand.SEA-WITCH: Now, hurry past the trees! Hold up the potion as you

swim past and they won’t touch you. The trees know that one drop of that potion will shatter them into a thousand, thousand bits. I must go now! Toadies?! Prune those trees. (EXITS.)

GREEN DOLPHIN: (ENTERS.) Ha-ha?!LITTLE MERMAID: Yes, let’s get out of here! Hurry! (Swims to EXIT,

holding the potion up ahead of her. TREES ENTER and block their way. She holds up the potion, and the TREES WITHDRAW. LITTLE MERMAID and GREEN DOLPHIN EXIT. MUSIC FANFARE.)

PRINCE: (ENTERS with his PAGE.) Isn’t this just the fi nest winter ball ever?

PAGE: Yes, Your Highness.PRINCE: And look! It has begun to snow just a little!PAGE: Lovely. Just lovely.PRINCE: And what fi ne guests we have! The best dancers in the

kingdom!PAGE: Very well accomplished.PRINCE: The best dancer of all is that lovely little lady.PAGE: Hasn’t talked yet?PRINCE: Not a word. She has such haunting eyes.PAGE: She always looks as if she wants to speak.PRINCE: She must certainly be of noble birth.PAGE: Yes, without question. But who would abandon such a lovely

lady on the beach like that?PRINCE: Perhaps she was shipwrecked like me.PAGE: Half dead when you found her, Your Highness.PRINCE: I know the feeling.PAGE: She is the most elegant creature anyone has ever seen.PRINCE: Here she comes. (LITTLE MERMAID ENTERS wearing a

gown. She smiles at the PRINCE.) Good evening, fair lady! (LITTLE

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MERMAID dances.) Yes, you are the very best dancer of all! The most graceful creature anyone has ever seen. (To the PAGE.) Go, tell the band to play my favorite song! (PAGE bows and EXITS. LITTLE MERMAID looks hopefully at the PRINCE. He is looking out to sea. She holds up a hand toward the PRINCE, then closes the hand, causing the PRINCE to turn back to her, as if controlled by the distant grasp.) I will dance with my little friend! (Thinks it is his idea and dances with her.) Surely your family must miss you? I know you are a princess. (LITTLE MERMAID smiles.) See? I know. Your manners are impeccable. Your gracefulness is unsurpassed. Your eyes are full of intelligence and kindness. You seem to understand my every thought. You know what is in my heart before I say it. (LITTLE MERMAID can only gaze sadly up at him.) Oh, you miss your family, don’t you? I have made you sad. I know what will make you merry again! I will sing you my favorite song! I am the prince, and I told them to play it. (MUSIC PLAYS as PRINCE sings.) The Sea-King’s daughter gave a giftThe Sea-King’s daughter, gave-oh!A ship of coral, strong and swift,A ship with pearly sails-oh!Voyage beyond the seas made we.Voyage with stars and snickersnee.Voyage to see old Neptune-nee!Sailed we off to sea-oh! (LITTLE MERMAID dances.)The Sea-King’s daughter gave a sky.The Sea-King’s daughter, gave-oh.A sky of fi re and wind and snow,A sky with setting sun-oh!(SEASHELL GIRL’S VOICE sings along from OFFSTAGE.)Sailed we off beyond the sea.Sailed we off where monsters be.Sailed we off, oh merry me!Sailed we off to sea-oh! (LITTLE MERMAID stops dancing and looks out to sea. The SEASHELL GIRL ENTERS, her basket in hand, singing. LITTLE MERMAID watches her. SEASHELL GIRL walks a distance away, singing along and watching the PRINCE, sadly. The PRINCE does not notice her.)

PRINCE/SEASHELL GIRL: (Sing.)The Sea-King’s daughter gave a gift,The Sea-King’s daughter, gave-oh!A ship of coral, strong and swift,A ship with pearly sails-oh!

PRINCE: (Laughs, then turns to LITTLE MERMAID, who is looking out to sea.) What do you see, Little One? (LITTLE MERMAID shakes her

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head and smiles.) For a moment, you looked as lost and alone as… I wonder? Have you ever been in love? You must have, even children love. You remind me of a girl I knew once only for a few moments. She rescued me from drowning. I fell in love with her at once. I remember how she pulled me ashore in the stormy sea, so brave and so lovely. Then I spoke to her only a little, on the shore. She smiled at me once. Then she ran away. I have searched for her all over the kingdom. I have given up all hope. I will never love another. My little seashell girl. I would give anything, anything just to be with her! (LITTLE MERMAID hears her own words, looks out to sea and sees the SEASHELL GIRL start to walk away. LITTLE MERMAID starts to turn back to the PRINCE, holding out the commanding hand to grasp him, infl uence him. She holds up a hand toward the SEASHELL GIRL, then closes the hand, causing the SEASHELL GIRL to stop abruptly, as if held tight by the distant grasp. PAGE ENTERS with a card on a silver tray.)

PRINCE: (Takes the card and reads it.) My father the king and my mother the queen ask us to rejoin the others. Ah, well, if you don’t mind— (LITTLE MERMAID continues looking out to sea.) Is something out there?

LITTLE MERMAID: I know…PRINCE: You can speak!LITTLE MERMAID: I know what you are feeling!PRINCE: Who are you…?LITTLE MERMAID: l am… I should not be here. (Points out to sea.)

There… there is the girl you love! Hurry!SEA-WITCH’S VOICE: (From OFFSTAGE over the SOUND of THUNDER.)

If you speak, even a word, your legs will weaken and grow scales. You will be lucky if you reach the sea before they fail you!

PRINCE: Little one…? (Steps toward her and fi nally sees the SEASHELL GIRL.) It is you! (Grabs for her hand.)

SEASHELL GIRL: Let me go!PRINCE: Never again! (Leads her back to the LITTLE MERMAID.) Little

one, how can I ever thank you…LITTLE MERMAID: I must go! (Stumbles and, regaining her balance,

runs from the palace to EXIT.)PRINCE: Wait! Catch her!PAGE: Aye, Prince! (EXITS, running.)PRINCE: (Holds SEASHELL GIRL, who also tries to run away.) Oh, no!

You will not escape!SEASHELL GIRL: I was where I should not have been…

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PRINCE: I have searched for you!SEASHELL GIRL: Let me go…PRINCE: To thank you for saving me!SEASHELL GIRL: I was afraid—PRINCE: You pulled me out of the sea at the risk of your own life! How

could you fear me?SEASHELL GIRL: I… I did not pull you out of the sea. I only found you

on the shore.PRINCE: But, I remember a girl who carried me across the waves.

Who…?PAGE: (ENTERS.) Prince, Your Highness, what I saw you won’t believe!

That little girl… she ran to the cliff edge… and she jumped into the sea!

PRINCE: (Furious.) And you did not try to save her?!PAGE: Save her? Highness, before she reached the water, I saw her

legs become a fi sh’s tail! How can a man save a mermaid?PRINCE: A mermaid?! Then she must have… (WATER MUSIC begins.

PRINCE looks out to sea for a moment, then he, SEASHELL GIRL and PAGE EXIT.)

MERMAIDS’ VOICES: (From OFFSTAGE.)The Sea-King’s daughter gave a gift,The Sea-King’s daughter gave-oh!A gift of treasure from the deep,A gift without compare-oh!Voyage up to the land made she.Voyage to see what she could see.Walked upon the land with me.Then went she back to sea-oh. (MUSIC FADES.)

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: (ENTERS with GREEN DOLPHIN.) I cannot believe you let my little one visit the Sea-Witch! Are you completely irresponsible?

GREEN DOLPHIN: Probably, but I mean well. Ha-ha!SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Who knows what has become of her?! Poor

little thing! What did she ask of the Sea-Witch? Well?GREEN DOLPHIN: She asked for legs.SEA-GRANDMOTHER: She did what?! Don’t you know what could

happen to her with legs? She is just a child! In the land above, she will not know what to say or do…

GREEN DOLPHIN: She traded her voice for the legs.

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SEA-GRANDMOTHER: What?! She cannot even speak? My poor little one, where— (LITTLE MERMAID ENTERS with BLUE DOLPHIN. She swims sadly, weakly. She sees SEA-GRANDMOTHER and gives a happy cry, embracing her.) Where have you been? Are you all right? What happened?

LITTLE MERMAID: (Wipes away a tear.) I went above and I walked on legs.

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: So, you have been human, and you have learned to weep. What else have you learned, my child?

LITTLE MERMAID: I have learned what it means to give happiness to someone I love.

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: (Sighs, softening.) Then you have learned a very great deal.

LITTLE MERMAID: And now I want to go with you back to the coral palace beneath the sea.

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: (Smiles and places an arm around the LITTLE MERMAID.) You are still a child! Do not weep for what you think wide and deep. Your adventures have only just begun, and this has been a good beginning.

LITTLE MERMAID: I will tell my sisters of my adventure above. I also learned a song. Would you like to hear it?

SEA-GRANDMOTHER: Yes. (DOLPHINS join in singing, laughing—Ha-ha!—occasionally when they forget the words.)

LITTLE MERMAID: The Sea-King’s daughter gave a gift,The Sea-King’s daughter, gave-oh!A sky of fi re and wind and snow,A sky with setting sun-oh!Sailed we off beyond the sea.Sailed we off where monsters be.Sailed we off, oh my, oh me!Aye, sailed we off to sea-oh! (WATER MUSIC. Together, SEA-GRANDMOTHER and LITTLE MERMAID swim into the deepest part of the bottom of the sea back to the sea folk. DOLPHINS frolic and laugh. MUSIC FADES. CURTAIN.)

END OF PLAY

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26

PRODUCTION NOTES

PROPERTIESONSTAGE: Two poles with pegs attached, long strands of seaweed, tiny

gold fruit in bunches, several sails wound around poles.BROUGHT ON:

Flag of sheer cutout fabric fi sh (LOFTY MERMAID)Red fi sh on long wire pole (BLUE DOLPHIN)Necklace of oyster shells and pearls (SEA-GRANDMOTHER)Long strips of blue and gray gossamer fabric mounted on rods

(BLUE DOLPHIN, GREEN DOLPHIN)Rope (ROUND SAILOR)Compass (PRINCE)Fabric painted with seashells (GREEN DOLPHIN)Basket of seashells (SEASHELL GIRL)Doorframe of bones, extra bones, wicked-looking sea plants (BIG

TOADY, LITTLE TOADY)Box containing vials and a cup (LITTLE TOADY)Silver tray with card (PAGE)

SOUND EFFECTSThunder, water music, ominous music for the sea-witch, sailor music, princely music, royal fanfare

FOR A SMALLER CASTActress One: LITTLE MERMAIDActress Two: SEA-GRANDMOTHER/SEA-WITCHActress Three: LOFTY MERMAID/TALL SAILOR/SEASHELL GIRL/BIG

TOADYActor One: BLUE DOLPHIN/PRINCEActor Two: GREEN DOLPHIN/PAGEActor Three: VAGUE MERMAID/ROUND SAILOR/LITTLE TOADYThe TREES, which are non-speaking roles, may be played by EXTRAS or by any of the actors who are not on stage when the TREES are.

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