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Far out in the ocean, where the water is as xanh as the prettiest cornflower, & as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to lớn the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King & his subjects.
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We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers & plants grow there; the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them lớn stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large & small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that xuất hiện and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.
The Sea King had been a widower for many years, và his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, và exceedingly proud of her high birth; on that trương mục she wore twelve oysters on her tail; while others, also of high rank, were only allowed to lớn wear six. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. They were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear và delicate as a rose-leaf, và her eyes as xanh as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, & her toàn thân ended in a fish’s tail.
All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. The large amber windows were open, và the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into our houses when we xuất hiện the windows, excepting that the fishes swam up khổng lồ the princesses, ate out of their hands, và allowed themselves khổng lồ be stroked.
Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark xanh flowers, và blossoms lượt thích flames of fire; the fruit glittered lượt thích gold, and the leaves & stems waved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but xanh as the flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar xanh radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the xanh sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea. In calm weather the sun could be seen, looking like a purple flower, with the light streaming from the calyx. Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig & plant as she pleased. One arranged her flower-bed into the size of a whale; another thought it better lớn make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; but that of the youngest was round like the sun, & contained flowers as red as his rays at sunset.
She was a strange child, quiet & thoughtful; & while her sisters would be delighted with the wonderful things which they obtained from the wrecks of vessels, she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers, like the sun, excepting a beautiful marble statue. It was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure trắng stone, which had fallen to lớn the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted by the statue a rose-colored weeping willow. It grew splendidly, and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue, almost down khổng lồ the blue sands. The shadow had a violet tint, and waved to & fro like the branches; it seemed as if the crown of the tree and the root were at play, and trying to kiss each other.
Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships và of the towns, the people & the animals. To her it seemed most wonderful và beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance, và not those below the sea; that the trees of the forest should be green; và that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to lớn hear them. Her grandmother called the little birds fishes, or she would not have understood her; for she had never seen birds.
“When you have reached your fifteenth year,” said the grand-mother, “you will have permission to lớn rise up out of the sea, to lớn sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships are sailing by; và then you will see both forests and towns.”
In the following year, one of the sisters would be fifteen: but as each was a year younger than the other, the youngest would have khổng lồ wait five years before her turn came to lớn rise up from the bottom of the ocean, và see the earth as we do. However, each promised lớn tell the others what she saw on her first visit, & what she thought the most beautiful; for their grandmother could not tell them enough; there were so many things on which they wanted information. None of them longed so much for her turn to lớn come as the youngest, she who had the longest time to wait, và who was so quiet & thoughtful.
Many nights she stood by the mở cửa window, looking up through the dark xanh water, & watching the fish as they splashed about with their fins và tails. She could see the moon và stars shining faintly; but through the water they looked larger than they vì to our eyes. When something like a black cloud passed between her và them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head, or a ship full of human beings, who never imagined that a pretty little mermaid was standing beneath them, holding out her white hands towards the keel of their ship.
As soon as the eldest was fifteen, she was allowed lớn rise khổng lồ the surface of the ocean. When she came back, she had hundreds of things lớn talk about; but the most beautiful, she said, was to lie in the moonlight, on a sandbank, in the quiet sea, near the coast, và to gaze on a large town nearby, where the lights were twinkling like hundreds of stars; to lớn listen to lớn the sounds of the music, the noise of carriages, và the voices of human beings, và then to hear the merry bells peal out from the church steeples; và because she could not go near lớn all those wonderful things, she longed for them more than ever. Oh, did not the youngest sister listen eagerly to lớn all these descriptions? and afterwards, when she stood at the xuất hiện window looking up through the dark blue water, she thought of the great city, with all its bustle & noise, & even fancied she could hear the sound of the church bells, down in the depths of the sea.
In another year the second sister received permission to rise to lớn the surface of the water, & to swim about where she pleased. She rose just as the sun was setting, and this, she said, was the most beautiful sight of all. The whole sky looked lượt thích gold, while violet và rose-colored clouds, which she could not describe, floated over her; and, still more rapidly than the clouds, flew a large flock of wild swans towards the setting sun, looking like a long trắng veil across the sea. She also swam towards the sun; but it sunk into the waves, và the rosy tints faded from the clouds and from the sea.
The third sister’s turn followed; she was the boldest of them all, & she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea. On the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines; palaces & castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest; she heard the birds singing, và the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often lớn dive down under the water to lớn cool her burning face. In a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children, quite naked, & sporting about in the water; she wanted khổng lồ play with them, but they fled in a great fright; & then a little black animal came to lớn the water; it was a dog, but she did not know that, for she had never before seen one. This animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, & rushed back lớn the open sea. But she said she should never forget the beautiful forest, the green hills, & the pretty little children who could swim in the water, although they had not fish’s tails.
The fourth sister was more timid; she remained in the midst of the sea, but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land. She could see for so many miles around her, và the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She had seen the ships, but at such a great distance that they looked like sea-gulls. The dolphins sported in the waves, and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction.
The fifth sister’s birthday occurred in the winter; so when her turn came, she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up. The sea looked quite green, & large icebergs were floating about, each like a pearl, she said, but larger & loftier than the churches built by men. They were of the most singular shapes, and glittered like diamonds. She had seated herself upon one of the largest, & let the wind play with her long hair, and she remarked that all the ships sailed by rapidly, và steered as far away as they could from the iceberg, as if they were afraid of it. Towards evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered the sky, the thunder rolled và the lightning flashed, và the red light glowed on the icebergs as they rocked và tossed on the heaving sea. On all the ships the sails were reefed with fear và trembling, while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg, watching the blue lightning, as it darted its forked flashes into the sea.
When first the sisters had permission to lớn rise to the surface, they were each delighted with the new & beautiful sights they saw; but now, as grown-up girls, they could go when they pleased, and they had become indifferent about it. They wished themselves back again in the water, và after a month had passed they said it was much more beautiful down below, & pleasanter khổng lồ be at home. Yet often, in the evening hours, the five sisters would twine their arms round each other, và rise khổng lồ the surface, in a row. They had more beautiful voices than any human being could have; & before the approach of a storm, and when they expected a ship would be lost, they swam before the vessel, and sang sweetly of the delights lớn be found in the depths of the sea, & begging the sailors not lớn fear if they sank to the bottom. But the sailors could not understand the song, they took it for the howling of the storm. & these things were never to lớn be beautiful for them; for if the ship sank, the men were drowned, và their dead bodies alone reached the palace of the Sea King.
When the sisters rose, arm-in-arm, through the water in this way, their youngest sister would stand quite alone, looking after them, ready khổng lồ cry, only that the mermaids have no tears, & therefore they suffer more.
“Oh, were I but fifteen years old,” said she: “I know that I shall love the world up there, & all the people who live in it.”
At last she reached her fifteenth year.
“Well, now, you are grown up,” said the old dowager, her grandmother; “so you must let me adorn you like your other sisters;” và she placed a wreath of trắng lilies in her hair, & every flower leaf was half a pearl. Then the old lady ordered eight great oysters to lớn attach themselves to the tail of the princess khổng lồ show her high rank.
“But they hurt me so,” said the little mermaid.
“Pride must suffer pain,” replied the old lady. Oh, how gladly she would have shaken off all this grandeur, và laid aside the heavy wreath! The red flowers in her own garden would have suited her much better, but she could not help herself: so she said, “Farewell,” and rose as lightly as a bubble khổng lồ the surface of the water.
The sun had just mix as she raised her head above the waves; but the clouds were tinted with crimson and gold, & through the glimmering twilight beamed the evening star in all its beauty. The sea was calm, and the air mild and fresh. A large ship, with three masts, lay becalmed on the water, with only one sail set; for not a breeze stiffed, and the sailors sat idle on deck or amongst the rigging. There was music and tuy vậy on board; and, as darkness came on, a hundred colored lanterns were lighted, as if the flags of all nations waved in the air. The little mermaid swam close to lớn the cabin windows; và now và then, as the waves lifted her up, she could look in through clear glass window-panes, và see a number of well-dressed people within.
Among them was a young prince, the most beautiful of all, with large đen eyes; he was sixteen years of age, & his birthday was being kept with much rejoicing. The sailors were nhảy on deck, but when the prince came out of the cabin, more than a hundred rockets rose in the air, making it as bright as day. The little mermaid was so startled that she dived under water; & when she again stretched out her head, it appeared as if all the stars of heaven were falling around her, she had never seen such fireworks before. Great suns spurted fire about, splendid fireflies flew into the blue air, and everything was reflected in the clear, calm sea beneath. The ship itself was so brightly illuminated that all the people, và even the smallest rope, could be distinctly và plainly seen. & how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of all present & smiled at them, while the music resounded through the clear night air.
It was very late; yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince. The colored lanterns had been extinguished, no more rockets rose in the air, & the cannon had ceased firing; but the sea became restless, and a moaning, grumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves: still the little mermaid remained by the cabin window, rocking up và down on the water, which enabled her to lớn look in.
After a while, the sails were quickly unfurled, and the noble ship continued her passage; but soon the waves rose higher, heavy clouds darkened the sky, và lightning appeared in the distance. A dreadful storm was approaching; once more the sails were reefed, and the great ship pursued her flying course over the raging sea. The waves rose mountains high, as if they would have overtopped the mast; but the ship dived like a swan between them, và then rose again on their lofty, foaming crests. To lớn the little mermaid this appeared pleasant sport; not so to the sailors. At length the ship groaned & creaked; the thick planks gave way under the lashing of the sea as it broke over the deck; the mainmast snapped asunder lượt thích a reed; the ship lay over on her side; and the water rushed in.
The little mermaid now perceived that the crew were in danger; even she herself was obliged lớn be careful to lớn avoid the beams và planks of the wreck which lay scattered on the water. At one moment it was so pitch dark that she could not see a single object, but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene; she could see every one who had been on board excepting the prince; when the ship parted, she had seen him sink into the deep waves, & she was glad, for she thought he would now be with her; and then she remembered that human beings could not live in the water, so that when he got down to lớn her father’s palace he would be quite dead. But he must not die. So she swam about among the beams & planks which strewed the surface of the sea, forgetting that they could crush her to pieces. Then she dived deeply under the dark waters, rising & falling with the waves, till at length she managed khổng lồ reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea. His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, & he would have died had not the little mermaid come to lớn his assistance. She held his head above the water, and let the waves drift them where they would.
In the morning the storm had ceased; but of the ship not a single fragment could be seen. The sun rose up red & glowing from the water, và its beams brought back the hue of health lớn the prince’s cheeks; but his eyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his high, smooth forehead, & stroked back his wet hair; he seemed khổng lồ her lượt thích the marble statue in her little garden, và she kissed him again, and wished that he might live.
Presently they came in sight of land; she saw lofty xanh mountains, on which the trắng snow rested as if a flock of swans were lying upon them. Near the coast were beautiful green forests, và close by stood a large building, whether a church or a convent she could not tell. Orange & citron trees grew in the garden, & before the door stood lofty palms. The sea here formed a little bay, in which the water was quite still, but very deep; so she swam with the handsome prince to lớn the beach, which was covered with fine, trắng sand, and there she laid him in the warm sunshine, taking care to raise his head higher than his body. Then bells sounded in the large white building, and a number of young girls came into the garden. The little mermaid swam out farther from the shore và placed herself between some high rocks that rose out of the water; then she covered her head và neck with the foam of the sea so that her little face might not be seen, và watched khổng lồ see what would become of the poor prince.
She did not wait long before she saw a young girl approach the spot where he lay. She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; then she fetched a number of people, và the mermaid saw that the prince came lớn life again, and smiled upon those who stood round him. But to lớn her he sent no smile; he knew not that she had saved him. This made her very unhappy, and when he was led away into the great building, she dived down sorrowfully into the water, and returned to her father’s castle.
She had always been silent & thoughtful, và now she was more so than ever. Her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to lớn the surface of the water; but she would tell them nothing. Many an evening and morning did she rise to the place where she had left the prince. She saw the fruits in the garden ripen till they were gathered, the snow on the tops of the mountains melt away; but she never saw the prince, & therefore she returned home, always more sorrowful than before. It was her only comfort khổng lồ sit in her own little garden, & fling her arm round the beautiful marble statue which was lượt thích the prince; but she gave up tending her flowers, và they grew in wild confusion over the paths, twining their long leaves and stems round the branches of the trees, so that the whole place became dark và gloomy.
At length she could bear it no longer, & told one of her sisters all about it. Then the others heard the secret, and very soon it became known khổng lồ two mermaids whose intimate friend happened khổng lồ know who the prince was. She had also seen the festival on board ship, and she told them where the prince came from, và where his palace stood.
“Come, little sister,” said the other princesses; then they entwined their arms và rose up in a long row to the surface of the water, close by the spot where they knew the prince’s palace stood.
It was built of bright yellow shining stone, with long flights of marble steps, one of which reached quite down to lớn the sea. Splendid gilded cupolas rose over the roof, & between the pillars that surrounded the whole building stood life-like statues of marble. Through the clear crystal of the lofty windows could be seen noble rooms, with costly silk curtains and hangings of tapestry; while the walls were covered with beautiful paintings which were a pleasure khổng lồ look at. In the centre of the largest saloon a fountain threw its sparkling jets high up into the glass cupola of the ceiling, through which the sun shone down upon the water và upon the beautiful plants growing round the basin of the fountain.
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Now that she knew where he lived, she spent many an evening and many a night on the water near the palace. She would swim much nearer the shore than any of the others ventured khổng lồ do; indeed once she went quite up the narrow channel under the marble balcony, which threw a broad shadow on the water. Here she would sit & watch the young prince, who thought himself quite alone in the bright moonlight. She saw him many times of an evening sailing in a pleasant boat, with music playing and flags waving. She peeped out from among the green rushes, and if the wind caught her long silvery-white veil, those who saw it believed it khổng lồ be a swan, spreading out its wings. On many a night, too, when the fishermen, with their torches, were out at sea, she heard them relate so many good things about the doings of the young prince, that she was glad she had saved his life when he had been tossed about half-dead on the waves. & she remembered that his head had rested on her bosom, & how heartily she had kissed him; but he knew nothing of all this, và could not even dream of her. She grew more và more fond of human beings, và wished more và more to be able to wander about with those whose world seemed khổng lồ be so much larger than her own. They could fly over the sea in ships, và mount the high hills which were far above the clouds; and the lands they possessed, their woods & their fields, stretched far away beyond the reach of her sight. There was so much that she wished lớn know, và her sisters were unable to answer all her questions. Then she applied khổng lồ her old grandmother, who knew all about the upper world, which she very rightly called the lands above the sea.
“If human beings are not drowned,” asked the little mermaid, “can they live forever? bởi vì they never die as we bởi here in the sea?”
“Yes,” replied the old lady, “they must also die, và their term of life is even shorter than ours. We sometimes live lớn three hundred years, but when we cease lớn exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water, & we have not even a grave down here of those we love. We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, lượt thích the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body toàn thân has been turned to lớn dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water, và behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see.”
“Why have not we an immortal soul?” asked the little mermaid mournfully; “I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have khổng lồ live, lớn be a human being only for one day, & to have the hope of knowing the happiness of that glorious world above the stars.”
“You must not think of that,” said the old woman; “we feel ourselves lớn be much happier và much better off than human beings.”
“So I shall die,” said the little mermaid, “and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to lớn hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun. Is there anything I can vì chưng to win an immortal soul?”
“No,” said the old woman, “unless a man were lớn love you so much that you were more lớn him than his father or mother; và if all his thoughts và all his love were fixed upon you, and the priest placed his right hand in yours, và he promised to be true to you here and hereafter, then his soul would glide into your toàn thân and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind. He would give a soul to you and retain his own as well; but this can never happen. Your fish’s tail, which amongst us is considered so beautiful, is thought on earth to lớn be quite ugly; they do not know any better, and they think it necessary to lớn have two stout props, which they call legs, in order to be handsome.”
Then the little mermaid sighed, and looked sorrowfully at her fish’s tail. “Let us be happy,” said the old lady, “and dart và spring about during the three hundred years that we have to lớn live, which is really quite long enough; after that we can rest ourselves all the better. This evening we are going to have a court ball.”
It is one of those splendid sights which we can never see on earth. The walls & the ceiling of the large ball-room were of thick, but transparent crystal. May hundreds of colossal shells, some of a deep red, others of a grass green, stood on each side in rows, with xanh fire in them, which lighted up the whole saloon, and shone through the walls, so that the sea was also illuminated. Innumerable fishes, great và small, swam past the crystal walls; on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone lượt thích silver và gold. Through the halls flowed a broad stream, và in it danced the mermen và the mermaids to lớn the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs. The little mermaid quý phái more sweetly than them all. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails; và for a moment her heart felt quite gay, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea. But she soon thought again of the world above her, for she could not forget the charming prince, nor her sorrow that she had not an immortal soul lượt thích his; therefore she crept away silently out of her father’s palace, and while everything within was gladness and song, she sat in her own little garden sorrowful and alone. Then she heard the bugle sounding through the water, and thought: “He is certainly sailing above, he on whom my wishes depend, and in whose hands I should lượt thích to place the happiness of my life. I will venture all for him, và to win an immortal soul, while my sisters are nhảy in my father’s palace, I will go to lớn the sea witch, of whom I have always been so much afraid, but she can give me counsel và help.”
And then the little mermaid went out from her garden, & took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the sorceress lived. She had never been that way before: neither flowers nor grass grew there; nothing but bare, gray, sandy ground stretched out lớn the whirlpool, where the water, lượt thích foaming mill-wheels, whirled round everything that it seized, & cast it into the fathomless deep. Through the midst of these crushing whirlpools the little mermaid was obliged khổng lồ pass, to reach the dominions of the sea witch; và also for a long distance the only road lay right across a quantity of warm, bubbling mire, called by the witch her turfmoor. Beyond this stood her house, in the centre of a strange forest, in which all the trees và flowers were polypi, half animals & half plants; they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground. The branches were long slimy arms, with fingers lượt thích flexible worms, moving limb after limb from the root khổng lồ the top. All that could be reached in the sea they seized upon, và held fast, so that it never escaped from their clutches.
The little mermaid was so alarmed at what she saw, that she stood still, and her heart beat with fear, và she was very nearly turning back; but she thought of the prince, và of the human soul for which she longed, và her courage returned. She fastened her long flowing hair round her head, so that the polypi might not seize hold of it. She laid her hands together across her bosom, và then she darted forward as a fish shoots through the water, between the supple arms và fingers of the ugly polypi, which were stretched out on each side of her. She saw that each held in its grasp something it had seized with its numerous little arms, as if they were iron bands. The white skeletons of human beings who had perished at sea, & had sunk down into the deep waters, skeletons of land animals, oars, rudders, and chests of ships were lying tightly grasped by their clinging arms; even a little mermaid, whom they had caught và strangled; and this seemed the most shocking of all to lớn the little princess.
She now came to a space of marshy ground in the wood, where large, fat water-snakes were rolling in the mire, và showing their ugly, drab-colored bodies. In the midst of this spot stood a house, built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings. There sat the sea witch, allowing a toad to eat from her mouth, just as people sometimes feed a canary with a piece of sugar. She called the ugly water-snakes her little chickens, và allowed them to lớn crawl all over her bosom.
“I know what you want,” said the sea witch; “it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, và it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. You want lớn get rid of your fish’s tail, & to have two supports instead of it, like human beings on earth, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may have an immortal soul.” và then the witch laughed so loud và disgustingly, that the toad and the snakes fell to lớn the ground, & lay there wriggling about. “You are but just in time,” said the witch; “for after sunrise to-morrow I should not be able to lớn help you till the end of another year. I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to lớn land tomorrow before sunrise, and sit down on the shore & drink it. Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what mankind calls legs, and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you. But all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw. You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly; but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives, và that the blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I will help you.”
“Yes, I will,” said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul.
“But think again,” said the witch; “for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid. You will never return through the water to lớn your sisters, or to your father’s palace again; và if you bởi vì not win the love of the prince, so that he is willing khổng lồ forget his father & mother for your sake, và to love you with his whole soul, & allow the priest to join your hands that you may be man và wife, then you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, & you will become foam on the crest of the waves.”
“I will do it,” said the little mermaid, and she became pale as death.
“But I must be paid also,” said the witch, “and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, và you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give khổng lồ me; the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught. My own blood must be mixed with it, that it may be as sharp as a two-edged sword.”
“But if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?”
“Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a man’s heart. Well, have you lost your courage? Put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught.”
“It shall be,” said the little mermaid.
Then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, khổng lồ prepare the magic draught.
“Cleanliness is a good thing,” said she, scouring the vessel with snakes, which she had tied together in a large knot; then she pricked herself in the breast, & let the đen blood drop into it. The steam that rose formed itself into such horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear. Every moment the witch threw something else into the vessel, and when it began to boil, the sound was like the weeping of a crocodile. When at last the magic draught was ready, it looked lượt thích the clearest water.
“There it is for you,” said the witch. Then she cut off the mermaid’s tongue, so that she became dumb, & would never again speak or sing. “If the polypi should seize hold of you as you return through the wood,” said the witch, “throw over them a few drops of the potion, và their fingers will be torn into a thousand pieces.” But the little mermaid had no occasion to do this, for the polypi sprang back in terror when they caught sight of the glittering draught, which shone in her hand like a twinkling star.
So she passed quickly through the wood & the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools. She saw that in her father’s palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished, và all within asleep; but she did not venture to go in to lớn them, for now she was dumb & going lớn leave them forever, she felt as if her heart would break. She stole into the garden, took a flower from the flower-beds of each of her sisters, kissed her hand a thousand times towards the palace, and then rose up through the dark xanh waters.
The sun had not risen when she came in sight of the prince’s palace, & approached the beautiful marble steps, but the moon shone clear and bright. Then the little mermaid drank the magic draught, & it seemed as if a two-edged sword went through her delicate body: she fell into a swoon, and lay lượt thích one dead.
When the sun arose và shone over the sea, she recovered, and felt a sharp pain; but just before her stood the handsome young prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her so earnestly that she cast down her own, and then became aware that her fish’s tail was gone, & that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little maiden could have; but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair. The prince asked her who she was, & where she came from, và she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes; but she could not speak. Every step she took was as the witch had said it would be, she felt as if treading upon the points of needles or sharp knives; but she bore it willingly, và stepped as lightly by the prince’s side as a soap-bubble, so that he và all who saw her wondered at her graceful-swaying movements. She was very soon arrayed in costly robes of silk và muslin, & was the most beautiful creature in the palace; but she was dumb, và could neither speak nor sing.
Beautiful female slaves, dressed in silk & gold, stepped forward và sang before the prince & his royal parents: one sang trọng better than all the others, & the prince clapped his hands và smiled at her. This was great sorrow lớn the little mermaid; she knew how much more sweetly she herself could sing once, & she thought, “Oh if he could only know that! I have given away my voice forever, lớn be with him.”
The slaves next performed some pretty fairy-like dances, lớn the sound of beautiful music. Then the little mermaid raised her lovely trắng arms, stood on the tips of her toes, và glided over the floor, và danced as no one yet had been able to lớn dance. At each moment her beauty became more revealed, & her expressive eyes appealed more directly lớn the heart than the songs of the slaves. Every one was enchanted, especially the prince, who called her his little foundling; and she danced again quite readily, khổng lồ please him, though each time her foot touched the floor it seemed as if she trod on sharp knives.
The prince said she should remain with him always, and she received permission to sleep at his door, on a velvet cushion. He had a page’s dress made for her, that she might accompany him on horseback. They rode together through the sweet-scented woods, where the green boughs touched their shoulders, và the little birds sang trọng among the fresh leaves. She climbed with the prince khổng lồ the tops of high mountains; & although her tender feet bled so that even her steps were marked, she only laughed, and followed him till they could see the clouds beneath them looking lượt thích a flock of birds travelling lớn distant lands. While at the prince’s palace, & when all the household were asleep, she would go và sit on the broad marble steps; for it eased her burning feet to lớn bathe them in the cold sea-water; và then she thought of all those below in the deep.
Once during the night her sisters came up arm-in-arm, singing sorrowfully, as they floated on the water. She beckoned to them, & then they recognized her, & told her how she had grieved them. After that, they came lớn the same place every night; và once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, who had not been lớn the surface of the sea for many years, & the old Sea King, her father, with his crown on his head. They stretched out their hands towards her, but they did not venture so near the land as her sisters did.
As the days passed, she loved the prince more fondly, & he loved her as he would love a little child, but it never came into his head lớn make her his wife; yet, unless he married her, she could not receive an immortal soul; and, on the morning after his marriage with another, she would dissolve into the foam of the sea.
“Do you not love me the best of them all?” the eyes of the little mermaid seemed lớn say, when he took her in his arms, & kissed her fair forehead.
“Yes, you are dear lớn me,” said the prince; “for you have the best heart, và you are the most devoted lớn me; you are lượt thích a young maiden whom I once saw, but whom I shall never meet again. I was in a ship that was wrecked, và the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple, where several young maidens performed the service. The youngest of them found me on the shore, & saved my life. I saw her but twice, and she is the only one in the world whom I could love; but you are like her, và you have almost driven her image out of my mind. She belongs lớn the holy temple, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her; and we will never part.”
“Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life,” thought the little mermaid. “I carried him over the sea khổng lồ the wood where the temple stands: I sat beneath the foam, and watched till the human beings came khổng lồ help him. I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;” and the mermaid sighed deeply, but she could not shed tears. “He says the maiden belongs khổng lồ the holy temple, therefore she will never return khổng lồ the world. They will meet no more: while I am by his side, và see him every day. I will take care of him, và love him, and give up my life for his sake.”
Very soon it was said that the prince must marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife, for a fine ship was being fitted out. Although the prince gave out that he merely intended to lớn pay a visit lớn the king, it was generally supposed that he really went to lớn see his daughter. A great company were to lớn go with him. The little mermaid smiled, và shook her head. She knew the prince’s thoughts better than any of the others.
“I must travel,” he had said to lớn her; “I must see this beautiful princess; my parents desire it; but they will not oblige me to lớn bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her; she is not lượt thích the beautiful maiden in the temple, whom you resemble. If I were forced to lớn choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dumb foundling, with those expressive eyes.” và then he kissed her rosy mouth, played with her long waving hair, & laid his head on her heart, while she dreamed of human happiness và an immortal soul. “You are not afraid of the sea, my dumb child,” said he, as they stood on the deck of the noble ship which was to lớn carry them khổng lồ the country of the neighboring king. Và then he told her of storm & of calm, of strange fishes in the deep beneath them, & of what the divers had seen there; and she smiled at his descriptions, for she knew better than any one what wonders were at the bottom of the sea.
In the moonlight, when all on board were asleep, excepting the man at the helm, who was steering, she sat on the deck, gazing down through the clear water. She thought she could distinguish her father’s castle, and upon it her aged grandmother, with the silver crown on her head, looking through the rushing tide at the keel of the vessel. Then her sisters came up on the waves, và gazed at her mournfully, wringing their white hands. She beckoned khổng lồ them, and smiled, & wanted lớn tell them how happy and well off she was; but the cabin-boy approached, và when her sisters dived down he thought it was only the foam of the sea which he saw.
The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of a beautiful town belonging to lớn the king whom the prince was going lớn visit. The church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets; and soldiers, with flying colors và glittering bayonets, lined the rocks through which they passed. Every day was a festival; balls & entertainments followed one another.
But the princess had not yet appeared. People said that she was being brought up & educated in a religious house, where she was learning every royal virtue. At last she came. Then the little mermaid, who was very anxious lớn see whether she was really beautiful, was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty. Her skin was delicately fair, và beneath her long dark eye-lashes her laughing xanh eyes shone with truth & purity.
“It was you,” said the prince, “who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach,” và he folded his blushing bride in his arms. “Oh, I am too happy,” said he lớn the little mermaid; “my fondest hopes are all fulfilled. You will rejoice at my happiness; for your devotion lớn me is great & sincere.”
The little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart were already broken. His wedding morning would bring death lớn her, and she would change into the foam of the sea. All the church bells rung, và the heralds rode about the town proclaiming the betrothal. Perfumed oil was burning in costly silver lamps on every altar. The priests waved the censers, while the bride and bridegroom joined their hands & received the blessing of the bishop. The little mermaid, dressed in silk and gold, held up the bride’s train; but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, và her eyes saw not the holy ceremony; she thought of the night of death which was coming khổng lồ her, & of all she had lost in the world.
On the same evening the bride và bridegroom went on board ship; cannons were roaring, flags waving, and in the centre of the ship a costly tent of purple và gold had been erected. It contained elegant couches, for the reception of the bridal pair during the night. The ship, with swelling sails and a favorable wind, glided away smoothly và lightly over the calm sea. When it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit, and the sailors danced merrily on the deck. The little mermaid could not help thinking of her first rising out of the sea, when she had seen similar festivities và joys; and she joined in the dance, poised herself in the air as a swallow when he pursues his prey, and all present cheered her with wonder. She had never danced so elegantly before. Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred và her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul & now she could never win one. All was joy và gayety on board ship till long after midnight; she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart. The prince kissed his beautiful bride, while she played with his raven hair, till they went arm-in-arm lớn rest in the splendid tent. Then all became still on board the ship; the helmsman, alone awake, stood at the helm. The little mermaid leaned her white arms on the edge of the vessel, và looked towards the east for the first blush of morning, for that first ray of dawn that would bring her death. She saw her sisters rising out of the flood: they were as pale as herself; but their long beautiful hair waved no more in the wind, và had been cut off.
“We have given our hair khổng lồ the witch,” said they, “to obtain help for you, that you may not die to-night. She has given us a knife: here it is, see it is very sharp. Before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince; when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again, và form into a fish’s tail, & you will be once more a mermaid, và return lớn us lớn live out your three hundred years before you die and change into the salt sea foam. Haste, then; he or you must die before sunrise. Our old grandmother moans so for you, that her white hair is falling off from sorrow, as ours fell under the witch’s scissors. Kill the prince and come back; hasten: bởi vì you not see the first red streaks in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise, & you must die.” and then they sighed deeply & mournfully, và sank down beneath the waves.
The little mermaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince’s breast. She bent down và kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy dawn grew brighter & brighter; then she glanced at the sharp knife, & again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams. She was in his thoughts, & the knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid: then she flung it far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked lượt thích blood. She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, & then threw herself from the ship into the sea, và thought her body was dissolving into foam.
The sun rose above the waves, and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feel as if she were dying. She saw the bright sun, và all around her floated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings; she could see through them the white sails of the ship, & the red clouds in the sky; their speech was melodious, but too ethereal to lớn be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. The little mermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs, và that she continued lớn rise higher và higher out of the foam.
“Where am I?” asked she, & her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
“Among the daughters of the air,” answered one of them. “A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being. On the power nguồn of another hangs her eternal destiny. But the daughters of the air, although they bởi not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves. We fly khổng lồ warm countries, và cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence. We carry the perfume of the flowers khổng lồ spread health and restoration. After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul & take part in the happiness of mankind. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to bởi vì as we are doing; you have suffered and endured & raised yourself lớn the spirit-world by your good deeds; & now, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul.”
The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, in which she had left the prince, there were life và noise; she saw him và his beautiful bride searching for her; sorrowfully they gazed at the pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves. Unseen she kissed the forehead of her bride, và fanned the prince, and then mounted with the other children of the air lớn a rosy cloud that floated through the aether.
“After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdom of heaven,” said she.
“And we may even get there sooner,” whispered one of her companions. “Unseen we can enter the houses of men, where there are children, and for every day on which we find a good child, who is the joy of his parents and deserves their love, our time of probation is shortened. The child does not know, when we fly through the room, that we smile with joy at his good conduct, for we can count one year less of our three hundred years. But when we see a naughty or a wicked child, we shed tears of sorrow, và for every tear a day is added khổng lồ our time of trial!”
