In European folklore, a mermaid is a supernatural sea creature shaped like a woman from the waist up but with the tail of a fish. Many folktales tell of romance and marriage between mermaids and mortal men. One of the more cherished mermaid stories was written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1836. His mermaid classic entitled "The Little Mermaid", is the story of a mermaid princess who falls in love with a human prince. She then takes a potion made by a sea witch that changes her tail into human legs in an attempt to win the heart of the prince.
