(The SEA CHORUS "ascends" to form the ocean's surface and the ship from the first scene. PRINCE ERIC enters with GRIMSBY, the PILOT, and SAILORS.)

[SAILORS] (singing)
HEAVE HO, HEAVE HO,
HEAVE HO

(Music continues under dialogue.)

[PRINCE ERIC]
Now suppose I don't want to be King—

[GRIMSBY]
I swore an oath to your dear father on his death bed that I'd turn you from a roustabout into a royal and have you married to a princess—

[ERIC]
Ugh!

[GRIMSBY]
—by your next birthday, which is now just three days away!

[ERIC]
Did you ever try to take a princess sailing? It's a joke! Their dresses get caught in the rigging. And most of 'em can't even swim—

[GRIMSBY]
You know, there's more to a woman than hеr flutter kick. Our kingdom needs a queen!
[ERIC]
Where am I gonna find hеr, Grimsby? A girl who's as carefree and alive as the sea itself. Where?

(ARIEL and FLOUNDER bob up to the surface. SCUTTLE hovers nearby.)

[FLOUNDER]
(staring up at the ship)
Wow...

(PRINCE ERIC stares out to sea over their heads.)

[ERIC]
It's too much to hope for, isn't it? Somewhere, out there... a girl who's a match for a guy like me?

[GRIMSBY]
Perhaps you're not looking hard enough.

(ARIEL tries to avoid being seen or heard, but can't help but stare at PRINCE ERIC.)

[ARIEL]
(whispers)
I've never seen a human this close before.

[SCUTTLE]
(shouts)
Me neither!
[ARIEL]
(grabs SCUTTLE's beak)
Shh! I thought you were an expert.

[SCUTTLE]
(whispers)
On their stuff, sure! But yikes – the sight of 'em! Hideous, ain't it?

[ARIEL]
I dunno, Scuttle. I think he's really handsome.

[ERIC]
Trust me, Grimsby – when I come across the girl of my dreams, it'll hit me like lightning.

(With #7 – THE STORM, lightning cracks across the sky, along with roaring thunder. The SEA CHORUS creates a storm and rocks the ship. FLOTSAM and JETSAM appear and spy.)

[PILOT]
Hurricane a'coming, Captain! King Triton must be angry indeed!

[ERIC]
Batten the hatches, then everyone below deck! And quickly!

(SAILORS race to prepare for the storm.)

[SCUTTLE]
(flapping)
Whoa! The wind's on the move here!
[ARIEL]
Careful, Scuttle!

[SCUTTLE]
Ariel!

(The wind blows SCUTTLE away and out of sight. FLOUNDER dives to take cover below.)

[PILOT]
The ship's listin' badly.

[GRIMSBY]
(clutches his stomach)
Oh, good heavens!

[PILOT]
Secure the rigging! Eric, take the wheel!

(PRINCE ERIC moves to the helm but slips off the deck and is swallowed up by the voracious sea.)

[ERIC]
Help!

[PILOT]
Man overboard!

[GRIMSBY]
Prince Eric!

(GRIMSBY, PILOT, and SAILORS exit as the SEA CHORUS dissolves the ship and surrounds the "drowning" PRINCE ERIC. Beneath the water, ARIEL rescues PRINCE ERIC, guiding him back up to the surface for air.)

[SEA CHORUS] (singing)
AH
AH
AH

(The SEA CHORUS forms the beach and rock island.)

SCENE EIGHT: THE BEACH

(ARIEL lays PRINCE ERIC safely on the sand. FLOUNDER looks on from the water. SEBASTIAN surfaces nearby, flabbergasted by the scene before him yet too afraid to utter a word or come any closer. FLOTSAM and JETSAM surface further away, unseen. SCUTTLE enters and stands by ARIEL, his feathers mussed from the storm.)

[ARIEL]
Was I too late?

[SCUTTLE]
It's hard to say. (putting his ear against PRINCE ERIC's foot) Oh, I— I can't make out a heartbeat.

(Suddenly, PRINCE ERIC's chest heaves with life, but he remains semi-conscious.)

[ARIEL]
No, look!