There was one thing Ellie Faidley wanted for Christmas that year more than anything — a baby mermaid doll.

No, not Ariel from The Little Mermaid. It had to be a baby mermaid, and her mother, Elizabeth Faidley, of New York, was determined to grant her wish.

Faidley’s search led her to Pearl — a stringy green-haired mer-baby with a sparkly green tail for sale on Etsy.

When she met Pearl face-to-face, Faidley discovered the doll had “creepy and weird skin” wrapped around a pair of haunted, yellow eyes. Nevertheless, she was confident that her six-year-old would come to love her.

But Ellie was horrified.

Attention Facebook Land! It's FINALLY HERE: The 2019 Pearl the Mermaid Saga Re-Telling! I was going to wait until 12/24... Posted by Elizabeth Faidley on Monday, December 23, 2019

In a Christmas morning video posted to Facebook, Ellie took one look at the doll and said, "Ew!" before backing away and informing her mother Pearl was "not what she expected."

Faidley has shared the story on Facebook each year since it happened in 2015, but this year, her post went viral.

"Basically, she was like, "OMG, this doll is hideous. What is wrong with you, Santa??" Faidley wrote in a post accompanying the video.

What happened next was a twist that could give parents nightmares.

After several desperate attempts to change her mind, Ellie continued to reject the doll, and Faidley resorted to sending her to a Secaucus doll hospital for major renovations.

A month later, Faidley got a call from a Secaucus police detective, who was contacted by the doll hospital.

"When they removed Pearl's head to repaint her offensive skin, they found 2 ounces of COCAINE. STUFFED IN HER HEAD," Ellie's mother said.

Faidley said police told her Pearl was a pawn in an international drug ring, and needed to stay in custody while they investigated the Alabama-based doll maker.

The news didn't upset Ellie, who reminded her mother how "messed up" Pearl was from the start.

"Everything we do for our children....we try to get the best Christmas gift and accidentally buy a [doll] stuffed with cocaine and become embroiled in an international drug-smuggling ring," Faidley concluded.

“If cocaine accidentally shows up under your tree, know that I understand and that you tried your best.”

Jenna Wise may be reached at jwise@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennaRWise. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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