In both versions, the mermaid meets the prince and he falls in love with her beauty, but he is already engaged to another. However, Anderson's mermaid must endure not only physical trials, but also mental and emotional ones. She is unable to communicate with the prince to reveal to him that she was his true savior, and with every step, the mermaid experiences excruciating pain. Andersen's mermaid has to stand by and watch as her love marries another and her chance at an immortal soul slips away. Shortly after the wedding, the mermaid is approached by her sisters with the opportunity to return to the sea, but she would have to commit a terrible and selfish act. The story goes like this: “Before the sun rises, you must plunge it [a knife] into the prince’s heart; when his blood spurts on your feet, they will turn into fish tails and you will become a mermaid again” (Andersen). The mermaid faced a difficult dilemma, one that all individuals face: self-improvement or selfless sacrifice. Andersen's mermaid chooses selfless sacrifice, throws the knife overboard and rushes into the ocean. This ending is not what most would call happy, but it reveals remarkable life lessons and an incredible depiction of selflessness. Not every story has to have a happy ending to satisfy a reader (Whitty); this story, for example, contains much more depth, substance, and emotion because it doesn't have any. Disney chose a happier and predictable ending where Ariel finally marries the prince; this ending easily makes you smile, but fails to allow the reader to develop much more emotion than