love this book! i had the Hans Christian Andersen story of little mermaid read to me as a child but when i came to USA i just couldnt find it anymore. Disney just distorted the story too much. when i found this book through Usborne Books (UK publisher) i was in heaven. yes, its a sad ending and yes its not all peachy-they-lived-happily-ever-after, but its a fairy tale world, where mermaids live and talk, and witches make spells and potions, and people dont often figure well into those stories.