The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
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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; and 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, and even the smallest rope, could_be distinctly and plainly seen . and how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of all present and 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, and_the cannon had ceased firing; but the sea became restless, and amoaning, grumbling sound could_be heard beneath the waves: still the little mermaid remained by_the cabin window, rocking up and down on_the water, which enabled her to 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, and 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, and then rose again on their lofty, foaming crests . to_the little mermaid this appeared pleasant sport; not so to_the sailors . at_length the ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks gave way under the lashing of_the sea as it broke over the deck; the mainmast snapped asunder like 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 to_be careful to avoid the beams and 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, and 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 her father's palace he_would_be quite dead . but he_must not die . so she swam about among_the beams and 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 and falling with_the waves, till at_length she managed to 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, and he_would_have died had_not the little mermaid come to_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 and glowing from_the water, and its beams brought back the hue of health to_the prince's cheeks; but his eyes remained closed . the mermaid kissed his high, smooth forehead, and stroked back his wet hair; he_seemed to her like the marble statue in her little garden, and she kissed him again, and wished that he might live . presently they came in sight of land; she saw lofty blue mountains, on_which the white snow rested as_if a flock of swans were lying upon them . near the coast were beautiful green forests, and close by stood a large building, whether a church or a convent she_could_not tell . orange and citron trees grew in_the garden, and 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_the beach, which_was covered with fine, white 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 and placed herself between some high rocks that rose out_of_the water; then she covered her head and neck with_the foam of_the sea so_that her little face might_not_be seen, and watched to_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, and_the mermaid saw that_the prince came to life again, and smiled upon those who stood round him . but to 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 and thoughtful, and now she was more so than ever . her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to_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, and therefore she returned home, always more sorrowful than before . it_was her only comfort to sit in her own little garden, and fling her arm round the beautiful marble statue which_was like the prince; but she gave up tending her flowers, and_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 and gloomy . at_length she_could bear it no longer, and told one of her sisters all about_it . then the others heard the secret, and very_soon it became known to two mermaids whose intimate friend happened to_know who the prince was . she had also seen the festival on board ship, and she told them where the prince came from, and where his palace stood .

" come, little sister," said the other princesses; then they entwined their arms and 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_the sea . splendid gilded cupolas rose over the roof, and 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 to 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 and upon_the beautiful plants growing round the basin of_the fountain . 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 to_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 and 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 to_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 . and she remembered that his head had rested on her bosom, and how heartily she had kissed him; but he_knew nothing of all this, and could_not even dream of her . she grew more and more fond of human beings, and wished more and more to_be_able to wander about with those whose world seemed to_be so_much larger than her own . they_could fly over the sea in ships, and mount the high hills which were far above the clouds; and_the lands they possessed, their woods and their fields, stretched far away beyond the reach of her sight . there_was so_much that she wished to_know, and her sisters were unable to answer all her questions . then she applied to 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 ? do they never die as we_do here in_the sea ? "

" yes," replied the old lady, " they_must also die, and their term of life is even shorter than ours . we sometimes live to three hundred years, but when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on_the surface of_the water, and we_have_not even a grave down here of_those we love . we_have_not immortal souls, we_shall never live again; but, like 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 has_been turned to dust . it rises up through_the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars . as_we rise out_of_the water, and 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 to live, to_be a human being only for_one day, and 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 to_be much happier and 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 hear the music of_the waves, or to_see the pretty flowers nor the red sun . is_there anything I_can do to win an immortal soul ? "

" no," said the old woman, " unless a man were to love you so_much that you were more to him than his father or mother; and if all his thoughts and all his love were fixed upon you, and_the priest placed his right hand in yours, and he promised to_be true to_you here and hereafter, then his soul would glide into your body 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_be quite ugly; they_do_not know any better, and they_think it necessary to_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 and spring about during the three hundred years that we_have to 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 and_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 blue fire in_them, which lighted up the whole saloon, and shone through_the walls, so that_the sea was also illuminated . innumerable fishes, great and small, swam past the crystal walls; on some_of_them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone like silver and gold . through_the halls flowed a broad stream, and in_it danced the mermen and_the mermaids to_the music of_their own sweet singing . no one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs . the little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all . the whole court applauded her with hands and tails; and 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

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4]