Her sisters strike a deal with the sea witch so she can become a mermaid again in exchange for their long hair. But she must kill the prince to seal the deal and she cannot bring herself to do it. Instead, the Little Mermaid dissolves into sea foam and dies. Not exactly Disney material, is it? Needless to say, it would be decades before Disney’s animation studio revisited The Little Mermaid. It all started when Ron Clements, co-writer and co-director of The Little Mermaid, walked into a bookstore in 1985 and read the fairytale.
Article source: https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2495258/the-true-story-behind-why-the-little-mermaid-almost-didnt-get-made