L is for Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue) is a fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen.

The original tale of the Little Mermaid is rather different to Disney's adaptation. Rather than becoming human to get the prince to love her, the Little Mermaid desires a human soul. This is because mermaids live for 300 years but turn into sea foam when they die. Humans live for a much shorter time, but they get to go to heaven when they die. 

The story differs vastly from Disney's and is really quite dark. Instead of giving up her voice, the Sea Witch cuts out the Little Mermaid's tongue. And when she gets her human legs it is extremely painful for her to walk on them. She does have to get true loves kiss, but this is because it's the only way to obtain a human soul. However, the prince is already in love with a temple girl and they get married. The Little Mermaid is heartbroken and turns to her sisters who tell her that to become a mermaid once again she must stab the prince and let his blood drip onto her feet. Her sisters had exchanged their hair for a knife from the Witch. The Little Mermaid cannot bring herself to murder the prince, and instead throws herself overboard and turns into foam. But suddenly she feels herself being lifted and discovers she has become a 'daughter of the air'. She is told that she has been rewarded for her efforts and that if she does good deeds she will eventually gain access to heaven. 

The Little Mermaid has her own statue in the sea in Copenhagen. I'd love so much to visit her one day.

Have a beautiful Monday and a wonderful week ahead, everyone!

the little nordic cabin

x

L is for Letters from Iceland

A few years ago I was given a book of poetry for my birthday and it quickly became one of my favourite books.

Letters from Iceland is a book comprised of letters in the form of poems, sent home from a journey through Iceland. It is a travel book, but not at all in the traditional sense.

“Now the winter nights begin

Lonely comfort walls me in;

So before the memory slip

I review our Iceland trip-

Not for me romantic nor

Idyll on a mythic shore

But a fancy turn, you know,

Sandwiched in a graver show.”

The book doesn’t present a particularly positive view of Iceland, however, it is so beautifully written, so clever and so witty, that it is very much worth reading. With a mixture of poems, notes and tourist information and tips, it is a perfect little book to read before a trip to Iceland, particularly because it is so much more fun and enlightening than your average guide book.

“No shields now

         Cross the knoll,

The hills are dull

         With leaden shale,

Whose arms could squeeze

         The breath from time

And the climb is long

         From cairn to cairn.

Houses are few

         But decorous

In a ruined land

         Of sphagnum moss;

Corrugated iron

         Farms inherit

The spirit and phase

         Of ancient sagas

Men have forgotten

         Anger and ambush,

To make ends meet

         Their only business:

The lover riding

         In the lonely dale

Hears the plover’s

         Single pipe

And feels perhaps

         But underfined

The drift of death

         In the sombre wind

Deflating the trim

         Balloon of lust

In a grey storm

         Of dust and grit.”

So beautiful! Do you have a favourite book of poetry?

(Please email me if you'd like the references from the book or for any more information. The pictures are my own, for a change. If you'd like to use any of them, feel free, but please link back to me :)

inspire nordic