The unknown lady too had never forgotten the young man she had found on the sea and soon after, he asked her to marry him. Since she too was in love, she happily said "yes". A few days after the wedding, the happy couple were invited for a voyage on the huge ship, which was still in the harbour. Arielle too went on board, and the ship set sail.
Night fell, and sick at heart over the loss of the prince, Arielle went on deck. She remembered the Witch's prophecy, and was now ready to give up her life and dissolve in the sea. Suddenly she heard a cry from the water and dimly saw her sisters in the darkness.
"Arielle! Arielle! It's us . your sisters! We've heard all about what happened! Look! Do you see this knife? It's magic! The Witch gave it to us in exchange for our hair. Take it! Kill the prince before dawn, and you will become a mermaid again and forget all your troubles!" As though in a trance, Arielle clasped the knife and entered the cabin where the prince and his bride lay asleep. But as she gazed at the young man's sleeping face, she simply blew him a furtive kiss, before running back on deck. When dawn broke, she threw the knife into the sea. Then she shot a parting glance at the world she was leaving behind, and dived into the waves, ready to turn into the foam of the sea from whence she had come, and vanish.
As the sun rose over the horizon, it cast a long golden ray of light across the sea, and in the chilly water, Arielle turned towards it for the last time. Suddenly, as though by magic, a mysterious force drew her out of the water, and she felt herself lifted high into the sky. The clouds were tinged with pink, the sea rippled in the early morning breeze, and the little mermaid heard a whisper through the tinkling of bells: "Arielle, Arielle! Come with us ." "Who are you?" asked the mermaid, surprised to find she had recovered the use of her voice. "Where am l?" "You're with us in the sky. We're the fairies of the air! We have no soul as men do, but our task is to help them. We take amongst us only those who have shown kindness to men!" Greatly touched, Arielle looked down over the sea towards the prince's ship, and felt tears spring to her eyes. The fairies of the air whispered to her: "Look! The earth flowers are waiting for our tears to turn into the morning dew! Come along with us!"
