Suddenly there was a loud rumble from deep in the clouds.
Large raindrops fell from the sky.
Waves swelled up from the sea like towering, black mountains.
"Oh, what fun!" thought the Little Mermaid.
"A storm is coming!"
In the Sea Kingdom, she and her sisters were safe from storms.
They loved to play in the churning water.
But the sailors were frightened.
They yanked the ropes that controlled the sails.
The Prince's ship turned to and fro in every direction.
Strong winds rocked the ship from side to side.
The angry sea would not let them sail back to land.
"All hands on deck!" shouted one sailor.
"The ship is out of control!" shouted another.
Unafraid, the Little Mermaid waited in the distance.
Through the darkness she watched the ship and thought,
"Lucky me! Now the Prince can't sail away!
Maybe I can get another look at him before morning."
The Little Mermaid didn't understand that the ship was in danger.
The storm grew stronger, and huge waves crashed on the deck.
The wind beat against the sails and tore them to pieces.
Then, without warning, the main mast snapped and fell into the water.
The boat began to tip to one side, and seawater flooded the deck.
"Get out the lifeboats!" cried a sailor.
"We must save the passengers!"
But it was already too late.
A bolt of lightning struck the ship, and a strong gust of wind blew out all the lights.
Suddenly everything was pitch-black.
Then another lightning bolt struck and set the ship on fire.
Burning pieces of the ship were scattered everywhere.
By the blazing light, the Little Mermaid could see that the humans were fighting for their lives.
"Oh no," she cried, "the poor humans!"
Some of them were thrown into the sea.
Others jumped from the flaming decks.
"Help! Help!" they screamed as they fell into the water.
The Little Mermaid saw the woman who wore the blue feather holding onto a table leg.
A man was trying to swim to shore.
"Save me!" cried one guest.
"I don't want to die!" cried another.
All struggled to keep their heads above the waves.
The Little Mermaid searched desperately for the Prince.
Finally she saw him.
He was trying to keep afloat, but he was tired.
He began to slip below the surface of the water.
"He's going to visit the Sea Kingdom!" said the Little Mermaid happily.
But then she remembered that humans could not live beneath the sea.
Unlike the sea folk, they could not breathe in the water.
"My Prince will die!
Oh, I must save him!" she cried.
The Little Mermaid dived through the waves and swam closer to the destroyed ship.
She made her way through the burning wood falling from the ship.
At last she reached the Prince, just as he dropped beneath the raging sea.
He looked like a leaf falling from a tree.
The Little Mermaid grabbed him and pulled his head above the water.
"Hang on, dear Prince.
I've got you!" she whispered in his ear.
Then she let the waves take them away from the fire.