Do
you know that Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is about an UNDINE?
It’s true! (Get your minds out of the gutter –
not undies.) 
undine (un dēn) – n. coined by Paracelsus for a water
spirit in his alchemical system; a wave; folklore:
a female water spirit who can acquire a soul, by marrying and having a child by
a mortal. [Human soul of course, as opposed to a fish-soul; do fish have souls?]
Mermaids,
Nereids and *naiads, are all species of undines
and enjoy the legends of nymphs *“… living in and giving life to springs,
fountains, rivers, and lakes,” says Webster.
Apparently
life underwater, swimming with Flipper
isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, causing the undines to desire a human soul. But relinquishing those cool mermaid tails for legs
– well, is that such a great idea? Consider ...
