In both versions, the mermaid meets the prince and he falls in love with her beauty, but he is already engaged to someone else. However, Anderson's mermaid must endure not only physical, but also mental and emotional hardships. She is unable to communicate with the prince to reveal that she was his true savior, and with every step the mermaid experiences excruciating pain. Andersen's mermaid must stand by and watch her love marry another, and her chance at an immortal soul slips out of her grasp. Soon 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 is this: “Before the sun rises, you must plunge it [a knife] into the heart of the prince; when his blood splashes on your feet, they will turn into a fish's tail and you will be a mermaid again” (Andersen). The mermaid was faced with a difficult dilemma, which all individuals face: self-improvement or altruistic sacrifice. Andersen's mermaid chooses selfless sacrifice, throws the knife overboard and throws herself into the ocean. This ending isn't what many would call happy, but it reveals some notable life lessons and an incredible depiction of selflessness. Not all stories have 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, more predictable ending in which Ariel ultimately marries the prince; this ending makes it easy to smile, but doesn't allow the reader to develop much more emotion