The MYTH symbolized by my mermaid on the chest is about Perseus. A fisherman tending his nets off the coast of Seriphus came upon a large wooden chest floating in the water. He towed it to shore and found inside a beautiful princess with a baby in her arms. It turned out the Princess was Danae and the baby was Perseus, the son of Jupiter...an important god in the scheme of things who later killed the gorgon Medusa.

The FOLKLORE surrounding mermaids is in every culture it seems...the sirens of the sea luring sailors to their death on the rocks.

The FAIRY TALE suggested here is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" about the mermaid who became mortal. Mr. Andersen used to cut silhouettes to illustrate his tales as he told them to children..so here is another version of papercut to illuminate his wonderful story.

Since this was created for the Great Alphabet Project, I also wanted some ABCs represented in the cutting:

A
APHRODITE is symbolized by the clam shell.
An ANGEL fish swims with the mermaid. ( Maybe this angel fish is a messenger to the mermaid as angels are messengers to mortals. Fish, in general, symbolize the Mother Goddess also.)
The ANCHOR joins the chest at the bottom of the sea, and symbolizes stability and security.

B
BUTTERFLY fish ( butterflies have been considered by many cultures a symbol of the soul...the connection of Heaven to earth, and our metamorphosis).

C
The friendly CRAB is keeping the mermaid company ( the crab's shell is as symbol for emotional vulnerability and seems to fit here too with the maiden/mermaid).

The CLAM shell is a double symbol here - any shell has an association with the womb, water, life, women and was the shell that Venus (Aphrodite) rose from.