Friedrich de la Motte Fouque 
Undine 

The “beautiful” classic fairytale of the ill-fated love between a mermaid and a knight (George Mac Donald).   This universally loved fairytale, written by German novelist and playwright Friedrich La Motte-Fouqué, has been adapted into operas, songs, ballets, and films, since its original publication in the early 1800s. Undine is the exquisite tale of the all-too-human emotions that drive, and ultimately threaten, magical love.   When a knight, Sir Huldbrand of Ringstetten, comes upon a humble fisherman’s cottage, he is immediately charmed by the old couple’s mischievous adopted daughter Undine, whose true parentage is unknown. Trapped in the cottage by a flood, the knight and the fair maiden are blissfully happy together, despite Undine’s capriciousness, and are eventually married. But unknown to Huldbrand, Undine is a water spirit, and their union has given her a sought-after prize: a soul. And now possessed with that most human of gifts, she will have to endure the many joys and sufferings that come along with it—for better or worse . . .