But A Mermaid Has No Tears

From "The Little Mermaid" (Den lille havfrue), first published on 7 April 1837 in Fairy Tales Told for Children. The line appears early in the tale, describing the youngest mermaid watching her older sisters rise to the surface while she must wait. The motif of tearlessness is revisited at the very end: the mermaid, now transformed into a spirit, sheds tears for the first time — making this opening image of silent suffering the story's governing contrast.