Summary of The Little Mermaid

      The Little Mermaid is the story of a 16-year-old mermaid named Ariel who always dreamed of exploring the land of humans.  Her father, King Triton, was the king of the sea and happened to be very over-protective.  Whenever Ariel tried to explore the ocean with her fish-friend Flounder, the king sent his trusty crab Sebastian to keep an eye on her.  One day, when she tried to explore above the surface, she got caught, and her father was so outraged that he destroyed all of Ariel's treasures from her adventures, including her prized possession, a statue of Prince Eric.  Ariel was so upset that she decided to pay a visit to Ursula, the witch of the sea.  Ursula gave her a deal; if Ariel gave up her lovely voice, the witch would grant her legs for three days; with a price.  If the Prince did not kiss her after the three-day period, Ariel would be Ursula's minion forever.  Ariel, of course, gave it no thought, and she found herself on the surface with legs.  After spending time with Eric, Ariel found out that he was getting married, discovered that it was Ursula, and concluded that she had to find a way to stop the wedding.  With the help of Sebastian, Flounder, Skuttle the seagull, and her other ocean friends, Ariel crashed the wedding, defeated Ursula and ended up marrying the love of her life, Prince Eric.  This story goes to show that no one should ever give up on their dreams, and no matter how hard it is to overcome obstacles, if they never give up, they will always succeed in the end.