愛薇塔樂學英文

FAR out in the sea the water is as blue as the petals of the most beautiful corn-flower, and as clea

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FAR out in the sea the water is as blue as the

遠在海中的水是那麼藍，像最美麗的玉米 - 花的花瓣，和CLEA

 petals of the most beautiful corn-flower, and as clear as the purest glass. But it is very deep, deeper than any cable will sound; many steeples must be placed one above the other to reach from the ground to the surface of the water. And down there live the sea-people. 遠在海中的水是那麼藍，像最美麗的玉米 - 花的花瓣，明確的，因為最純淨的玻璃。但它是非常深刻的，更深入的比任何電纜將聲音;許多尖塔必須放在一個在另一個上面從地面到達的水面。和那裡住海的人。 

Now, you must not believe there is nothing down there but the naked sand; no,—the strangest trees and plants grow there, so pliable in their stalks and leaves that at the least motion of the water they move just as if they had life. All fishes, great and small, glide among the twigs, just as here the birds do in the trees. In the deepest spot of all lies the Sea-king’s castle: the walls are of coral, and the tall, Gothic windows of the clearest amber; shells form the roof, and they open and shut according as the water flows. It looks lovely, for in each shell lie gleaming pearls, a single one of which would have great value in a queen’s diadem. 

現在，你一定不要相信有什麼在那兒，但赤裸裸的沙子，沒有， - 奇怪的樹木和植物生長在那裡，在他們的秸稈如此柔軟和葉，在水中的運動至少他們移動，就好像他們的生活。所有的魚，大和小，滑行的樹枝間，就像這裡的鳥做在樹上。在所有的最深的地方在於海國王的城堡：牆壁是珊瑚，和最亮的琥珀高大，哥特式窗戶;殼形成的屋頂，並根據它們打開和關閉的水流量。它看起來很可愛，在每個shell謊言閃閃發光的珍珠，其中有一個人會具有很大的價值在一個女王的王冠。 

The Sea-king below there had been a widower for many years, while his old mother kept house for him. She was a clever woman, but proud of her rank, so she wore twelve oysters on her tail, while the other great people were only allowed to wear six. Beyond this she was deserving of great praise, especially because she was very fond of her grand-daughters, the little Sea-princesses. These were six pretty children; but the youngest was the most beautiful of all. Her skin was as clear and as fine as a rose leaf; her eyes were as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the rest, she had no feet, for her body ended in a fish-tail. 

海國王下麵出現了一個喪偶多年，而他的老母親為他管理家務。她是個聰明的女人，但她的排名感到驕傲，所以她戴著一打的牡蠣在她的尾巴，而其他偉大的人民只被允許戴上半打。除了這個，她是值得給予高度的讚賞，特別是因為她非常喜歡她的孫女，小海公主。這些都是6個漂亮的孩子，但老三是最漂亮的。她的皮膚又光又精細的玫瑰花瓣，她的眼睛是那麼藍，像最深的湖水。但是，像所有的休息，她沒有腿，她的身體在魚尾結束。 

All day long they could play in the castle, down in the halls, where living flowers grew out of the walls. The great amber windows were opened, and then the fishes swam in to them, just as the swallows fly in to us when we open our windows; but the fishes swam straight up to the Princesses, ate out of their hands, and let themselves be stroked. 

一整天，他們可以在城堡的大廳，在那裡生活的花朵脫胎於牆壁打球，下來。偉大的琥珀窗戶也敞開了，然後魚遊向他們，就像燕子在飛給我們，當我們打開窗戶，但魚兒遊直線上升到公主，吃了他們的手，並讓自己成為撫摸。 

Outside the castle was a great garden with bright red and dark blue flowers; the fruit glowed like gold, and the flowers like flames of fire; and they continually kept moving their stalks and leaves. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of brimstone. A peculiar blue radiance lay upon everything down there: one would have thought oneself high in the air, with the canopy of heaven above and around, rather than at the bottom of the deep sea. During a calm the sun could be seen; it appeared like a purple flower, from which all light streamed out. 宮殿外面是明亮的紅色和深藍色花的大花園;果實閃著如金，如火焰花，他們不斷地不停地移動自己的莖和葉。地上全是最細的砂子，但是藍得像硫磺的火焰。一個奇特的藍色光芒擋著一切都在那兒：人會覺得自己在空中高，與天上所有的樹冠和周圍，而不是在深海底部。在平靜的陽光下可以看出，它似乎像一朵紫色的花，從它所有的光流出來。 

Each of the little Princesses had her own little place in the garden, where she might dig and plant at her good pleasure. One gave her flower-bed the form of a whale; another thought it better to make hers like a little sea-woman: but the youngest made hers quite round, like the sun and had flowers which gleamed red as the sun itself. She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful, and when the other sisters made a display of the beautiful things they had received out of wrecked ships, she would have nothing beyond the red flowers which resembled the sun, except a pretty marble statue. This was a figure of a charming boy, hewn out of white clear stone, which had sunk down to the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted a pink weeping willow beside this statue; the tree grew famously, and hung its fresh branches over the statue towards the blue sandy ground, where the shadow showed violet, and moved like the branches themselves; it seemed as if the ends of the branches and the roots were playing together and wished to kiss each other. 

每個小公主曾在花園裡她自己的小地方，在那裡她可能在她的美意挖掘和植物。一個送給她的花床鯨魚的形式，另一種認為它更好地使她像個小海女：但老三做她很圓，像太陽，不得不花的紅色閃閃發光的太陽本身。她是個怪孩子，安靜，周到，當其他姐妹做的，他們已經收到了失事船隻的美麗的東西展示，她就什麼都沒有超越紅花它類似太陽，除了一個漂亮的大理石雕像。這是一個數字一個迷人的男孩，鑿出來的白晴石，這已經沉沒下到海底的沉船。她栽柳樹旁邊這尊粉紅色哭泣;樹長大有名的，並且在向著藍色沙質地，那裡的陰影呈現紫色雕像掛上它新鮮的枝葉，並像移動的分支機構本身，它彷彿的兩端樹枝和樹根都在一起打球，並希望親吻對方。

There was no greater pleasure for her than to hear of the world of men above them. The old grandmother had to tell all she knew of ships and towns, of men and animals. It seemed particularly beautiful to her that up on the earth the flowers shed fragrance, for they had none down at the bottom of the sea, and that the trees were green, and that the fishes which one saw there among the trees could sing so loud and clear that it was a pleasure to hear them. What the grandmother called fishes were the little birds; the Princess could not understand them in any other way, for she had never seen a bird. 

有人支持她沒有更大的樂趣，而不是聽到男人的世界在他們之上。老祖母不得不告訴所有的人和動物，她知道船舶和城鎮。它似乎特別漂亮對她地球上的花香味散出，為他們沒有倒在海底，和這些樹木是綠色的，而哪一個在那裡看見了樹木中的魚會唱得那麼響亮並明確表示，這是一個很高興聽到他們的聲音。什麼叫外婆魚是小鳥;公主看不慣他們以任何其他方式，因為她從來沒有見過一隻鳥。 

“When you have reached your fifteenth year,” said the grandmother, “you shall have leave to rise up out of the sea, to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, and to see the great ships as they sail by. Then you will see forests and towns!” 

“當你已經滿了15歲，”奶奶說，“你有權請假再站起來的大海，坐在岩石在月光下，並看到了巨大的船隻，因為他們航行了。然後你會看到樹林和城市！“ 

In the next year one of the sisters was fifteen years of age, but each of the others was one year younger than the next; so that the youngest had full five years to wait before she could come up from the bottom of the sea, and find how our world looked. But one promised to tell the others what she had seen and what she had thought the most beautiful on the first day of her visit; for their grandmother could not tell them enough—there was so much about which they wanted information. 

在明年的姐妹之一是十五歲，但每個人的為一年比一個年輕，讓最年輕的有整整五年等待，她還沒來得及從海底上來，發現我們的世界如何看。但一個承諾，告訴別人她所看到的和她所認為最美麗的她此行的第一天，因為他們的祖母不能告訴他們足夠的，有這麼多關於他們想要的信息。 

No one was more anxious about these things than the youngest—just that one who had the longest time to wait, and who was always quiet and thoughtful. Many a night she stood by the open window, and looked up through the dark blue water at the fishes splashing with their fins and tails. Moon and stars she could see; they certainly shone quite faintly, but through the water they looked much larger than they appear in our eyes. When something like a black cloud passed among them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head, or a ship with many people: they certainly did not think that a pretty little sea-maid was standing down below stretching up her white hands towards the keel of their ship. 

Now the eldest Princess was fifteen years old, and might mount up to the surface of the sea. 

When she came back, she had a hundred things to tell,—but the finest thing, she said, was to lie in the moonshine on a sand-bank in the quiet sea, and to look at the neighboring coast, with the large town, where the lights twinkled like a hundred stars, and to hear the music and the noise and clamor of carriages and men, to see the many church steeples, and to hear the sound of the bells. Just because she could not get up to these, she longed for them more than for anything. 

O how the youngest sister listened! and afterwards when she stood at the open window and looked up through the dark-blue water, she thought of the great city with all its bustle and noise; and then she thought she could hear the church bells ringing, even down to the depth where she was. 

In the following year, the second sister received permission to mount upward through the water and to swim whither she pleased. She rose up just as the sun was setting, and this spectacle, she said, was the most beautiful. The whole sky looked gold, and as to the clouds, she could not properly describe their beauty. They sailed away over her head, purple and violet-colored, but far quicker than the clouds there flew a flight of wild swans, like a long white veil, over the water towards where the sun stood. She swam towards them; but the sun sank, and the roseate hue faded on the sea and in the clouds. 

In the following year the next sister went up. She was the boldest of them all, and therefore she swam up a broad stream that poured its waters into the sea. She saw glorious green hills clothed with vines; palaces and castles shone forth from amid splendid woods; she heard how all the birds sang; and the sun shone so warm that she was often obliged to dive under the water to cool her glowing face. In a little bay she found a whole swarm of little mortals. They were quite naked, and splashed about in the water; she wanted to play with them, but they fled in affright and a little black animal came,—it was a dog, but she had never seen a dog,—and it barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, and tried to gain the open sea. But she could never forget the glorious woods, the green hills, and the pretty children, who could swim in the water, though they had not fish-tails. 

The fourth sister was not so bold: she remained out in the midst of the wild sea, and declared that just there it was most beautiful. One could see for many miles around, and the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She had seen ships, but only in the far distance—they looked like sea-gulls; and the funny dolphins had thrown somersaults, and the great whales spouted out water from their nostrils, so that it looked like hundreds of fountains all around. 

Now came the turn of the fifth sister. Her birthday came in the winter, and so she saw what the others had not seen the first time. The sea looked quite green, and great icebergs were floating about; each one separated like a pearl, she said, and yet was much taller than the church steeples built by men. They showed themselves in the strangest forms, and shone like diamonds. She had seated herself upon one of the greatest of all, and let the wind play with her long hair; and all the sailing ships tacked about in a very rapid way beyond where she sat: but toward evening the sky became covered with clouds, it thundered and lightened, and the black waves lifted the great ice-blocks high up, and let them glow in the red glare. On all the ships the sails were reefed, and there was fear and anguish. But she sat quietly upon her floating iceberg, and saw the forked blue flashes dart into the sea. 

Each of the sisters, as she came up for the first time to the surface of the water, was delighted with the new and beautiful sights she saw; but as they now had permission, as grown-up girls, to go whenever they liked, it became indifferent to them. They wished themselves back again, and after a month had elapsed they said it was best of all down below, for there one felt so comfortably at home. 

Many an evening hour the five sisters took one another by the arm and rose up in a row over the water. They had splendid voices, more charming than any mortal could have; and when a storm was approaching, so that they could apprehend that ships would go down, they swam on before the ships and sang lovely songs, which told how beautiful it was at the bottom of the sea, and exhorted the sailors not to be afraid to come down. But these could not understand the words, and thought it was the storm sighing; and they did not see the splendors below, for if the ships sank they were drowned, and came as corpses to the Sea-king’s palace. 

When the sisters thus rose up, arm in arm, in the evening time, through the water, the little sister stood all alone looking after them; and she felt as if she must weep; but the sea-maid has no tears and for this reason she suffers far more acutely. 

“O if I were only fifteen years old!” said she. “I know I shall love the world up there very much, and the people who live and dwell there.” 

At last she was really fifteen years old. 

“Now, you see, you are grown up,” said the grandmother, the old dowager. “Come, let me adorn you like your sisters.” 

And she put a wreath of white lilies in the little maid’s hair, but each flower was half a pearl; and the old lady let eight great oysters attach themselves to the Princess’ tail, in token of her high rank. 

“But that hurts so!” said the little Sea-maid. 

“Yes, pride must suffer pain,” replied the old lady. 

O how glad she would have been to shake off all the tokens of rank and lay aside the heavy wreath! Her red flowers in the garden suited her better; but she could not help it. “Farewell!” she said, and then she rose, light and clear as a water-bubble, up through the sea. 

The sun had just set when she lifted her head above the sea, but all the clouds still shone like roses and gold, and in the pale red sky the evening-stars gleamed bright and beautiful. The air was mild and fresh, and the sea quite calm. There lay a great ship with three masts; one single sail only was set, for not a breeze stirred, and around in the shrouds and on the yards sat the sailors. There was music and singing, and as the evening closed in, hundreds of colored lanterns were lighted up, and looked as if the flags of every nation were waving in the air. The little Sea-maid swam straight to the cabin window, and each time the sea lifted her up she could look through the panes, which were clear as crystal, and see many people standing within dressed in their best. But the handsomest of all was the young Prince with the great black eyes: he was certainly not much more than sixteen years old; it was his birthday, and that was the cause of all this feasting. The sailors were dancing upon deck; and when the young Prince came out, more than a hundred rockets rose into the air; they shone like day, so that the little Sea-maid was quite startled, and dived under the water; but soon she put out her head again, and then it seemed just as if all the stars of heaven were falling down upon her. She had never seen such fire-works. Great suns spurted fire all around, glorious fiery fishes flew up into the blue air, and everything was mirrored in the clear blue sea. The ship itself was so brightly lit up that every separate rope could be seen, and the people therefore appeared the more plainly. O how handsome the young Prince was! And he pressed the people’s hands and smiled, while the music rang out in the glorious night. 

It became late; but the little Sea-maid could not turn her eyes from the ship and from the beautiful Prince. The colored lanterns were extinguished, rockets ceased to fly into the air, and no more cannons were fired; but there was a murmuring and a buzzing deep down in the sea; and she sat on the water, swaying up and down, so that she could look into the cabin. But as the ship got more way, one sail after another was spread. And now the waves rose higher, great clouds came up, and in the distance there was lightning. O! it was going to be fearful weather, therefore the sailors furled the sails. The great ship flew in swift career over the wild sea: the waters rose up like great black mountains, which wanted to roll over the masts; but like a swan the ship dived into the valleys between these high waves, and then let itself be lifted on high again. To the little Sea-maid this seemed merry sport, but to the sailors it appeared very differently. The ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks were bent by the heavy blows; the sea broke into the ship; the mainmast snapped in two like a thin reed, and the ship lay over on her side, while the water rushed into the hold. Now the little Sea-maid saw that the people were in peril; she herself was obliged to take care to avoid the beams and fragments of the ship which were floating about on the waters. One moment it was so pitch dark that not a single object could be described, but when it lightened it became so bright that she could distinguish every one on board. She looked particularly for the young Prince, and when the ship parted she saw him sink into the sea. Then she was very glad, for now he would come down to her. But then she remembered that people could not live in the water, and that when he got down to her father’s palace he would certainly be dead. No, he must not die: so she swam about among the beams and planks that strewed the surface, quite forgetting that one of them might have crushed her. Diving down deep under the water, she again rose high up among the waves, and in this way she at last came to the Prince, who could scarcely swim longer in that stormy sea. His arms and legs began to fail him, his beautiful eyes closed, and he would have died had the little Sea-maid not come. She held his head up over the water, and then allowed the waves to carry her and him whither they listed. 

When the morning came the storm had passed by. Of the ship not a fragment was to be seen. The sun came up red and shining out of the water; it was as if its beams brought back the hue of life to the cheeks of the Prince, but his eyes remained closed. The Sea-maid kissed his high, fair forehead and put back his wet hair, and he seemed to her to be like the marble statue in her little garden: she kissed him again and hoped that he might live. 

Now she saw in front of her the dry land—high blue mountains, on whose summits the white snow gleamed as if swans were lying there. Down on the coast were glorious green forests, and a building—she could not tell whether it was a church or a convent—stood there. In its garden grew orange and citron-trees, and high palms waved in front of the gate. The sea formed a little bay there; it was quite calm, but very deep. Straight toward the rock where the fine white sand had been cast up, she swam with the handsome Prince, and laid him upon the sand, taking especial care that his head was raised in the warm sunshine. 

Now all the bells rang in the great white building, and many young girls came walking through the garden. Then the little Sea-maid swam farther out between some high stones that stood up out of the water, laid some sea-foam upon her hair and neck, so that no one could see her little countenance, and then she watched to see who would come to the poor Prince. 

In a short time a young girl went that way. She seemed to be much startled, but only for a moment; then she brought more people, and the Sea-maid perceived that the Prince came back to life, and that he smiled at all around him. But he did not cast a smile at her: he did not know that she had saved him. And she felt very sorrowful; and when he was led away into the great building, she dived mournfully under the water and returned to her father’s palace. 

She had always been gentle and melancholy, but now she became much more so. Her sisters asked her what she had seen the first time she rose up to the surface, but she would tell them nothing. 

Many an evening and many a morning she went up to the place where she had left the Prince. She saw how the fruits of the garden grew ripe and were gathered; she saw how the snow melted on the high mountain; but she did not see the Prince, and so she always returned home more sorrowful still. Then her only comfort was to sit in her little garden, and to wind her arm round the beautiful marble statue that resembled the Prince; but she did not tend her flowers; they grew as if in a wilderness over the paths, and trailed their long leaves and stalks up into the branches of trees, so that it became quite dark there. 

At last she could endure it no longer, and told all to one of her sisters, and then the others heard of it too; but nobody knew of it beyond these and a few other sea-maids, who told the secret to their intimate friends. One of these knew who the Prince was; she too had seen the festival on board the ship; and she announced whence he came and where his kingdom lay. 

“Come, little sister,” said the other Princesses; and linking their arms together, they rose up in a long row out of the sea, at the place where they knew the Prince’s palace lay. 

This palace was built of a kind of bright yellow stone, with great marble staircases, one of which led directly down into the sea. Over the roof rose splendid gilt cupolas, and between the pillars which surrounded the whole dwelling, stood marble statues which looked as if they were alive. Through the clear glass in the high windows one looked into the glorious halls, where costly silk hangings and tapestries were hung up, and all the walls were decked with splendid pictures, so that it was a perfect delight to see them. In the midst of the greatest of these halls a great fountain plashed; its jets shot high up toward the glass dome in the ceiling, through which the sun shone down upon the water and upon the lovely plants growing in the great basin. 

Now she knew where he lived, and many an evening and many a night she spent there on the water. She swam far closer to the land than any of the others would have dared to venture; indeed, she went quite up the narrow channel under the splendid marble balcony, which threw a board shadow upon the water. Here she sat and watched the young Prince, who thought himself quite alone in the bright moonlight. 

Many an evening she saw him sailing, amid the sounds of music, in his costly boat with the waving flags; she peeped up through the green reeds, and when the wind caught her silver-white veil and any one saw it he thought it was a white swan spreading out its wings. 

Many a night when the fishermen were on the sea with their torches, she heard much good told of the young Prince; and she rejoiced that she had saved his life when he was driven about, half dead, on the wild billows: she thought how quietly his head had reclined on her bosom, and how heartily she had kissed him; but he knew nothing of it, and could not even dream of her. 

More and more she began to love mankind, and more and more she wished to be able to wander about among those whose world seemed far larger than her own. For they could fly over the sea in ships, and mount up the high hills far above the clouds, and the lands they possessed stretched out in woods and fields farther than her eyes could reach. There was much she wished to know, but her sisters could not answer all her questions; therefore she applied to the old grandmother; and the old lady knew the upper world, which she rightly called “the countries above the sea,” very well. 

“If people are not drowned,” asked the little Sea-maid, “can they live forever? Do they not die as we die down here in the sea?” 

“Yes,” replied the old lady. “They too must die, and their life is even shorter than ours. We can live to be three hundred years old, but when we cease to exist here, we are turned into foam on the surface of the water, and have not even a grave down here among those we love. We have not an immortal soul; we never receive another life; we are like the green sea-weed, which, when once cut through, can never bloom again. Men, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, which lives on after the body has become dust; it mounts up through the clear air, up to all the shining stars! As we rise up out of the waters and behold all the lands of the earth, so they rise up to unknown glorious places which we can never see.” 

“Why did we not receive an immortal soul?” asked the little Sea-maid, sorrowfully. “I would gladly give all the hundreds of years I have to live to be a human being only for one day, and to have a hope of partaking the heavenly kingdom.” 

“You must not think of that,” replied the old lady. “We feel ourselves far more happy and far better than mankind yonder.” 

“Then I am to die and be cast as foam upon the sea, not hearing the music of the waves, nor seeing the pretty flowers and the red sun? Can I not do anything to win an immortal soul? 

“No!” answered the grandmother. “Only if a man were to love you so that you should be more to him than father or mother; if he should cling to you with his every thought and with all his love, and let the priest lay his right hand in yours with a promise of faithfulness here and in all eternity, then his soul would be imparted to your body, and you would receive a share of the happiness of mankind. He would give a soul to you and yet retain his own. But that can never come to pass. What is considered beautiful here in the sea—the fish-tail—they would consider ugly on the earth: they don’t understand it; there one must have the clumsy supports which they call legs, to be called beautiful.” 

Then the little Sea-maid sighed and looked mournfully upon her fish—tail. 

“Let us be glad!” said the old lady. “Let us dance and leap in the three hundred years we have to live. That is certainly long enough; after that we can rest ourselves all the better. This evening we shall have a court ball.” 

It was a splendid sight, such as is never seen on earth. The walls and the ceiling of the great dancing-saloon were of thick but transparent glass. Several hundreds of huge shells, pink and grass-green, stood on each side in rows, filled with a blue fire which lit up the whole hall and shone through the walls, so that the sea without was quite lit up; one could see all the innumerable fishes, great and small, swimming toward the glass walls; of some the scales gleamed with purple, while in others they shone like silver and gold. Through the midst of the hall flowed a broad stream, and on this the sea-men and sea-women danced to their own charming songs. Such beautiful voices the people of the earth have not. The little Sea-maid sang the most sweetly of all, and the whole court applauded with hands and tails, and for a moment she felt gay in her heart, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of all in the sea or on the earth. But soon she thought again of the world above her; she could not forget the charming Prince, or her sorrow at not having an immortal soul like his. Therefore she crept out of her father’s palace, and while everything within was joy and gladness, she sat melancholy in her little garden. Then she heard the bugle horn sounding through the waters, and thought, “Now he is certainly sailing above, he on whom my wishes hang, and in whose hand I should like to lay my life’s happiness. I will dare everything to win him and an immortal soul. While my sisters dance yonder in my father’s palace, I will go to the sea-witch of whom I have always been so much afraid: perhaps she can counsel and help me.” 

Now the little Sea-maid went out of her garden to the foaming whirlpools behind which the sorceress dwelt. She had never travelled that way before. No flowers grew there, no sea grass; only the naked gray sand stretched out toward the whirlpools, where the water rushed round like roaring mill-wheels and tore down everything it seized into the deep. Through the midst of these rushing whirlpools she was obliged to pass to get in to the domain of the witch; and for a long way there was no other road but one over warm gushing mud: this the witch called her turf-moor. Behind it lay her house in the midst of a singular forest, in which all the trees and bushes were polyps—half animals, half plants. They looked like hundred-headed snakes growing up out of the earth. All the branches were long, slimy arms, with fingers like supple worms, and they moved limb by limb from the root to the farthest point; all that they could seize on in the water they held fast and did not let it go. The little Sea-maid stopped in front of them quite frightened; her heart beat with fear, and she was near turning back; but then she thought of the Prince and the human soul, and her courage came back again. She bound her long flying hair closely around her head, so that the polyps might not seize it. She put her hands together on her breast and then shot forward, as a fish shoots through the water, among the ugly polyps, which stretched out their supple arms and fingers after her. She saw that each of them held something it had seized with hundreds of little arms, like strong iron bands. People who had perished at sea, and had sunk deep down, looked forth as white skeletons from among the polyps’ arms; ships’ oars and chests they also held fast, and skeletons of land animals, and a little sea-woman whom they had caught and strangled; and this seemed the most terrible of all to our little Princess. 

Now she came to a great marshy place in the wood, where fat water-snakes rolled about, showing their ugly cream-colored bodies. In the midst of this marsh was a house built of white bones of ship-wrecked men; there sat the Sea-witch, feeding a toad out of her mouth, just as a person might feed a little canary-bird with sugar. She called the ugly fat water-snakes her little chickens, and allowed them to crawl upward and all about her. 

“I know what you want,” said the Sea-witch. “It is stupid of you, but you shall have your way, for it will bring you to grief, my pretty Princess. You want to get rid of your fish-tail, and to have two supports instead of it, like those the people of the earth walk with, so that the young Prince may fall in love with you, and you may get an immortal soul.” And with this the Witch laughed loudly and disagreeably, so that the toad and the water-snakes tumbled down to the ground, where they crawled about. “You come just in time,” said the Witch: “after tomorrow at sunrise I could not help you until another year had gone by. I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land tomorrow before the sun rises, and seat yourself there and drink it; then your tail will shrivel up and become what the people of the earth call legs; but it will hurt you—it will seem as if you were cut with a sharp sword. All who see you will declare you to be the prettiest human being they ever beheld. You will keep your graceful walk; no dancer will be able to move so lightly as you; but every step you take will be as if you trod upon sharp knives, and as if your blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I can help you.” 

“Yes!” said the little Sea-maid, with a trembling voice; and she thought of the Prince and the immortal soul. 

“But remember,” said the Witch, “when you have once received a human form, you can never be a sea-maid again; you can never return through the water to your sisters, or to your father’s palace; and if you do not win the Prince’s love, so that he forgets father and mother for your sake, is attached to you heart and soul, and tells the priest to join your hands, you will not receive an immortal soul. On the first morning after he has married another your heart will break, and you will become foam on the water.” 

“I will do it,” said the little Sea-maid: but she became as pale as death. 

“But you must pay me, too,” said the Witch; “and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the finest voice of all here at the bottom of the water; with that you think to enchant him; but this voice you must give to me. The best thing you possess I will have for my costly draught! I must give you my own blood in it, so that the draught may be as sharp as a two-edged sword.” 

“But if you take away my voice,” said the little Sea-maid, “what will remain to me?” 

“Your beautiful form,” replied the Witch, “your graceful walk, and your speaking eyes: with those you can take captive a human heart. Well, have you lost your courage? Put out your little tongue, and then I will cut it off for my payment, and then you shall have the strong draught.” 

“It shall be so,” said the little Sea-maid. 

And the Witch put on her pot to brew the draught. 

“Cleanliness is a good thing,” said she; and she cleaned out the pot with the snakes, which she tied up in a big knot; then she scratched herself, and let her black blood drop into it. The stream rose up in the strangest forms, enough to frighten the beholder. Every moment the Witch threw something else into the pot; and when it boiled thoroughly, there was a sound like the weeping of a crocodile. At last the draught was ready. It looked like the purest water. 

“There you have it,” said the Witch. 

And she cut off the little Sea-maid’s tongue, so that now the Princess was dumb, and could neither sing nor speak. 

She could see her father’s palace. The torches were extinguished in the great hall, and they were certainly sleeping within, but she did not dare to go to them, now that she was dumb and was about to quit them forever. She felt as if her heart would burst with sorrow. She crept into the garden, took a flower from each bed of her sisters, blew a thousand kisses toward the palace, and rose up through the dark blue sea. 

The sun had not yet risen when she beheld the Prince’s castle, and mounted the splendid marble staircase. The moon shone beautifully clear. The little Sea-maid drank the burning sharp draught, and it seemed as if a two-edged sword went through her delicate body. She fell down in a swoon, and lay as if she were dead. When the sun shone out over the sea she awoke, and felt a sharp pain; but just before her stood the handsome young Prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her, so that she cast down her own, and then she perceived that her fish-tail was gone, and that she had the prettiest pair of white feet a little girl could have. But she had no clothes, so she shrouded herself in her long hair. The Prince asked how she came there! and she looked at him mildly, but very mournfully, with her dark-blue eyes, for she could not speak. Then he took her by the hand, and led her into the castle. Each step she took was, as the Witch had told her, as if she had been treading on pointed needles and knives, but she bore it gladly. At the Prince’s right hand she moved on, light as a soap-bubble, and he, like all the rest, was astonished at her graceful, swaying movements. 

She now received splendid clothes of silk and muslin. In the castle she was the most beautiful creature to be seen; but she was dumb, and could neither sing nor speak. Lovely slaves, dressed in silk and gold, stepped forward, and sang before the Prince and his royal parents; one sang more charmingly than all the rest, and the Prince smiled at her and clapped his hands. Then the little Sea-maid became sad; she knew that she herself had sung far more sweetly, and thought,— 

“O! that he only knew I had given away my voice forever to be with him!” 

Now the slaves danced pretty waving dances to the loveliest music; then the little Sea-maid lifted her beautiful white arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided dancing over the floor as no one had yet danced. At each movement her beauty became more apparent, and her eyes spoke more directly to the heart than the song of the slaves. 

All were delighted, and especially the Prince, who called her his little foundling; and she danced again and again, although every time she touched the earth it seemed as if she were treading upon sharp knives. The Prince said that she should always remain with him, and she received permission to sleep on a velvet cushion before his door. 

He had a page’s dress made for her, that she might accompany him on horseback. They rode through the blooming woods, where the green boughs swept their shoulders, and the little birds sang in the fresh leaves. She climbed with the Prince up the high mountains, and although her delicate feet bled so that even the others could see it, she laughed at it herself, and followed him until they saw the clouds sailing beneath them, like a flock of birds travelling to distant lands. 

At home in the Prince’s castle, when the others slept at night, she went out on to the broad marble steps. It cooled her burning feet to stand in the cold sea-water, and then she thought of the dear ones in the deep. 

Once, in the night-time, her sisters came, arm in arm. Sadly they sang as they floated above the water; and she beckoned to them, and they recognized her, and told her how she had grieved them all. Then she visited them every night; and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, who had not been above the surface for many years, and the Sea-king with his crown upon his head. They stretched out their hands toward her, but did not venture so near the land as her sisters. 

Day by day the Prince grew more fond of her. He loved her as one loves a dear, good child, but it never came into his head to make her his wife; and yet she must become his wife, or she would not receive an immortal soul, and would have to become foam on the sea on his marriage morning. 

“Do you not love me best of them all?” the eyes of the little Sea-maid seemed to say, when he took her in his arms and kissed her fair forehead. 

“Yes, you are the dearest to me!” said the Prince, “for you have the best heart of them all. You are the most devoted to me, and are like a young girl whom I once saw, but whom I certainly shall not find again. I was on board a ship which was wrecked. The waves threw me ashore near a holy temple where several young girls performed the service. The youngest of them found me by the shore and saved my life. I only saw her twice: she was the only one in the world I could love, but you chase her picture out of my mind, you are so like her. She belongs to the holy temple, and therefore my good fortune has sent you to me. We will never part!” 

“Ah! he does not know that I saved his life,” thought the little Sea-maid. “I carried him over the sea to the wood where the temple stands. I sat there under the foam and looked to see if any one would come. I saw the beautiful girl whom he loves better than me.” And the Sea-maid sighed deeply—she could not weep. “The maiden belongs to the holy temple,” she said, “and will never come out into the world—they will meet no more. I am with him and see him every day; I will cherish him, love him, give up my life for him.” 

But now they said that the Prince was to marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring King was to be his wife, and that was why such a beautiful ship was being prepared. The story was, that the Prince travelled to visit the land of the neighboring King, but it was done that he might see the King’s daughter. A great company was to go with him. The little Sea-maid shook her head and smiled; she knew the Prince’s thoughts far better than any of the others. 

“I must travel,” he had said to her’ “I must see the beautiful Princess: my parents desire it, but they do not wish to compel me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her. She is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple whom you resemble. If I were to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dear dumb foundling with the speaking eyes.” 

And he kissed her red lips and played with her long hair, so that she dreamed of happiness and of an immortal soul. 

“You are not afraid of the sea, my dumb child?” said he, when they stood on the superb ship which was to carry him to the country of the neighboring King; and he told her of storm and calm, of strange fishes in the deep, and of what the divers had seen there. And she smiled at his tales, for she knew better than any one what happened at the bottom of the sea. 

In the moonlight night, when all were asleep, except the steersman who stood by the helm, she sat on the side of the ship gazing down through the clear water. She fancied she saw her father’s palace. High on the battlements stood her old grandmother, with the silver crown on her head, and looking through the rushing tide up to the vessel’s keel. Then her sisters came forth over the water, and looked mournfully at her and wrung their white hands. She beckoned to them and smiled, and wished to tell them that she was well and happy; but the cabin-boy approached her and her sisters dived down, so that he thought the white objects he had seen were foam on the surface of the water. 

The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of the neighboring King’s splendid city. All the church bells sounded, and from the high towers the trumpets were blown, while the soldiers stood there with flying colors and flashing bayonets. Each day brought some festivity with it; balls and entertainments followed one another; but the Princess was not yet there. People said she was being educated in a holy temple far away, where she was learning every royal virtue. At last she arrived. 

The little Sea-maid was anxious to see the beauty of the Princess, and was obliged to acknowledge it. A more lovely apparition she had never beheld. The Princess’ skin was pure and clear, and behind the long dark eyelashes there smiled a pair of faithful, dark-blue eyes. 

“You are the lady who saved me when I lay like a corpse upon the shore!” said the Prince; and he folded his blushing bride to his heart. “O, I am too, too happy!” he cried to the little Sea-maid. “The best hope I could have is fulfilled. You will rejoice at my happiness, for you are the most devoted to me of them all!” 

And the little Sea-maid kissed his hand; and it seemed already to her as if her heart was broken, for his wedding morning was to bring death to her, and change her into foam on the sea. 

All the church bells were ringing, and heralds rode about the streets announcing the betrothal. On every altar fragrant oil was burning in gorgeous lamps of silver. The priests swung their censers, and bride and bridegroom laid hand in hand, and received the bishop’s blessing. The little Sea-maid was dressed in cloth of gold, and held up the bride’s train; but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, her eye marked not the holy ceremony; she thought of the night of her death, and of all that she had lost in this world. 

On the same evening the bride and bridegroom went on board the ship. The cannon roared, all the flags waved; in the midst of the ship a costly tent of gold and purple, with the most beautiful cushions, had been set up, and there the married pair were to sleep in the cool, still night. 

The sails swelled in the wind, and the ship glided smoothly and lightly over the clear sea. When it grew dark, colored lamps were lighted and the sailors danced merry dances on deck. The little Sea-maid thought of the first time when she had risen up out of the sea, and beheld a similar scene of splendor and joy; and she joined in the whirling dance, and flitted on as the swallow flits away when he is pursued; and all shouted and admired her, for she had danced so prettily. Her delicate feet were cut as if with knives, but she did not feel it, for her heart was wounded far more painfully. She knew this was the last evening on which she should see him for whom she had left her friends and her home, and had given up her beautiful voice, and had suffered unheard-of pains every day, while he was utterly unconscious of all. It was the last evening she should breathe the same air with him, and behold the starry sky and the deep sea; and everlasting night without thought or dream awaited her, for she had no soul, and could win none. And everything was merriment and gladness on the ship till past midnight, and she laughed and danced with thoughts of death in her heart. The Prince kissed his beautiful bride, and she played with his raven hair, and hand in hand they went to rest in the splendid tent. It became quiet on the ship; only the helmsman stood by the helm, and the little Sea-maid leaned her white arms upon the bulwark and gazed out toward the east for the morning dawn—the first ray, she knew, would kill her. Then she saw her sisters rising out of the flood; they were pale, like herself; their long, beautiful hair no longer waved in the wind; it had been cut off. 

“We have given it to the witch, that we might bring you help, so that you may not die to-night. She has given us a knife; here it is—look! how sharp! Before the sun rises you must thrust it into the heart of the Prince, and when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again into a fish-tail, and you will become a sea-maid again, and come back to us, and live your three hundred years before you become dead salt sea-foam. Make haste! He or you must die before the sun rises! Our old grandmother mourns so that her white hair has fallen off, as ours did under the witch’s scissors. Kill the Prince and come back! Make haste! Do you see that red streak in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die!” 

And they gave a very mournful sigh, and vanished beneath the waves. The little Sea-maid drew back the curtain from the tent, and saw the beautiful bride lying with her head on the Prince’s breast; and she bent down and kissed his brow, and gazed up at the sky where the morning red was gleaming brighter and brighter; then she looked at the sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes upon the Prince, who in his sleep murmured his bride’s name. She only was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the Sea-maid’s hand. But then she flung it far away into the waves—they gleamed red where it fell, and it seemed as if drops of blood spurted up out of the water. Once more she looked with half-extinguished eyes upon the Prince; then she threw herself from the ship into the sea, and felt her frame dissolving into foam. 

Now the sun rose up out of the sea. The rays fell mild and warm upon the cold sea-foam, and the little Sea-maid felt nothing of death. She saw the bright sun, and over her head sailed hundreds of glorious ethereal beings—she could see them through the white sails of the ship and the red clouds of the sky; their speech was melody, but of such a spiritual kind that no human ear could hear it, just as no human eye could see them; without wings they floated through the air. The little Sea-maid found that she had a frame like these, and was rising more and more out of the foam. 

“Whither am I going?” she asked; and her voice sounded like that of other beings, so spiritual, that no earthly music could be compared to it. 

“To the daughters of the air!” replied the others. “A sea-maid has no immortal soul, and can never gain one, except she win the love of a mortal. Her eternal existence depends upon the power of another. The daughters of the air have likewise no immortal soul, but they can make themselves one through good deeds. We fly to the hot countries, where the close, pestilent air kills men, and there we bring coolness. We disperse the fragrance of the flowers through the air, and spread refreshment and health. After we have striven for three hundred years to accomplish all the good we can bring about, we receive an immortal soul, and take part in the eternal happiness of men. You, poor little Sea-maid, have striven with your whole heart after the goal we pursue; you have suffered and endured; you have by good works raised yourself to the world of spirits, and can gain an immortal soul after three hundred years.” 

And the little Sea-maid lifted her glorified eyes toward God’s sun, and for the first time she felt them fill with tears. On the ship there was again life and noise. She saw the Prince and his bride searching for her; then they looked mournfully at the pearly foam, as if they knew that she had thrown herself into the waves. Invisible, she kissed the forehead of the bride, fanned the Prince, and mounted with the other children of the air on the rosy cloud which floated through the ether. After three hundred years we shall thus float into Paradise! 

“And we may even get there sooner,” whispered a daughter of the air. “Invisibly we float into the houses of men where children are, and for every day on which we find a good child that brings joy to its parents and deserves their love, our time of probation is shortened. The child does not know when we fly through the room; and when we smile with joy at the child’s conduct, a year is counted off from the three hundred; but when we see a naughty or a wicked child, we shed tears of grief, and for every tear a day is added to our time of trial.”

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沒有人比最年輕的，只是一個誰必須等待的時間最長更擔心這些事情，誰總是沉默和富於深思。多少個夜晚她站在開著的窗口，抬頭透過深藍色的水與它們的鰭和尾巴濺起的魚。月亮和星星，她可以看到，他們是絕對照相當微弱，但在水中，他們看起來比他們出現在我們的眼前大得多。當像一個黑色的雲當中過去了，她知道這不是一條鯨魚游泳在她的頭上，或船舶與許多人：他們肯定沒有想到，一個漂亮的小海女僕站在樓下向上伸展她的白雙手朝著他們船的龍骨。 

現在，最年長的公主才十五歲，並且可能上到海面。 

當她回來的時候，她有一個百廢待興告訴，，但最好的事情，她說，是躺在月光在寧靜的海邊沙子銀行，並尋求在鄰近的海岸，與大鎮，那裡的燈光閃爍著像百星，聽音樂和馬車和人的噪音和喧囂，看到許多教堂尖塔，並聽到鈴鐺的聲音。只是因為她無法起床到這些，她為他們渴望超過任何東西。 

Ø如何在最小的妹妹聽了！事後，當她站在敞開的窗戶，抬頭透過深藍色的水，她想到了偉大的城市，其所有的喧囂和噪音，然後她以為她能聽到教堂的鐘聲響起，甚至下降到了深度的地方她是。 

在接下來的一年，第二個姐姐得到許可，向上安裝通過水和游泳往那她高興。她站起來，就像太陽落山，而這一奇觀，她說，是最美麗的。整個天空看起來黃金，並以雲，她不能恰當地描述自己的美麗。他們乘船離開了她的頭，紫色和紫色的，但遠遠低於雲有更快的飛了飛行的野生天鵝，像一條長長的白色頭紗，在對那裡的陽光站在水中。她遊向他們，但是太陽沉沒，和粉色色調褪色的海面上，並在雲中。 

在接下來的一年接下來的妹妹去了。她是她們中最大膽的，因此她遊了廣闊的流傾注其海域入海。她看見身穿藤光榮的綠色山丘，宮殿和城堡煥發出來的燦爛之中樹林裡，她聽到如何將所有的鳥唱，以及太陽照這麼溫暖，她常常不得不下了水下潛冷卻她的臉上泛著。在一個小海灣，她發現小凡人的整個群。他們是相當赤裸，並在水花四濺，她想和他們一起玩，但他們在驚恐和一個黑色的小動物逃離出來， - 它是一隻狗，但她從來沒有見過一隻狗，和它在咆哮她這麼可怕，她害怕起來，並試圖獲得公海。但她永遠也不會忘記光榮的樹林，綠色的山丘，和漂亮的孩子，誰能夠在水裡游泳，雖然他們有沒有魚尾巴。 

第四個姐姐就沒有那麼大膽：她仍然在野外海中，並宣稱就在那裡它是最美麗的。人們可以看到許多英里左右，和上面的天空看起來像一塊巨大的玻璃鐘。她見過船，但只在遠處，他們看起來像大海，海鷗，以及有趣的海豚投擲了筋斗，龐大的鯨魚噴湧而出的水從他們的鼻孔，這樣它看起來像幾百噴泉四周。 

現在來到了第五個姐姐之交。她的生日排在冬天，所以她看到了別人沒有看到的第一次。海染上了一片綠色，巨大的冰山在四周移動，每一個分開的像珍珠，她說，但比人類所建造的教堂尖塔高得多。他們發現自己在最奇怪的形式，和潔如鑽石。在她的最偉大的之一冰山上坐過，讓海風吹著她的長發，和所有的帆船在超越她坐著一個非常快速的方式上漲約：而是向著傍晚天空變成佈滿陰雲，它打雷和減輕，而黑色海浪把大冰塊塊高起來，讓他們在紅色的刺眼光芒。在所有的船隻帆被reefed，並且有恐懼和痛苦。但她悄悄地在她的浮動冰山坐在那兒，看見叉狀藍色閃爍鏢入海。 

每一個姐妹，她想出了第一次到水​​的表面，很高興與新的和美麗的東西，她看見了，但他們現在有了許可，作為成年的女孩，走時，他們很喜歡，它變得無動於衷。他們希望自己回來了，過了一個月已經過去了，他們說，這是最重要向下跌破的，因為有人覺得這樣舒適在家裡。 

一個多小時的晚會五個姐妹花了彼此的胳膊，站起來一排過水。他們有輝煌的聲音，比任何凡人更加嫵媚可能，而當風暴來臨之際，讓他們可以逮捕該船舶將大大下降，它們遊在船前，唱可愛的歌，它告訴它多麼美麗的底的大海，並告誡水手不要害怕下來。但這些不明白的話，並認為這是暴風雨嘆息，他們並沒有看到下面的輝煌，因為如果船隻沉沒，他們被淹死了，來了作為屍體的海國王的宮殿。 

當姐妹倆這樣漲起來，手挽著手，在晚上的時間，通過水，小妹妹站在孤獨照顧他們，她覺得好像她必須哭泣，但海女僕沒有眼淚，該她之所以遭受更為劇烈。 

“啊，如果我只有十五歲！”她說。“我知道我將會喜歡上面的世界在那裡非常多，誰住和人民住在那裡。” 

最後她真的十五歲。 

“現在，你看，你都長大了，”奶奶說，老皇太后。“來吧，讓我裝點你喜歡你的妹妹。” 

她把一個百合花編的花環在小女傭的頭髮，但每朵花是半顆珍珠，和老太太讓八個大牡蠣附著在公主的尾巴，在她高貴的地位的象徵。 

“但是，這傷害了如此！”之稱的小海女傭。 

“是的，驕傲要吃苦，”老太太說。 

何等高興，她會一直擺脫秩所有的標記和放下沉重的花環！她的紅色花朵的花園更適合她，但她無法幫助它。“永別了！”她說，然後她站起身，淡而清澈的水泡泡，透過大海。 

太陽剛剛成立時，她抬起頭以上的海，但是所有的雲依舊照耀像玫瑰和黃金，並在淡紅色的天空傍晚明星閃著光亮美觀。微風和煦，空氣新鮮，大海很平靜。這裡躺著一個偉大的船有三根桅杆;單一帆只設置，不攪拌一件輕而易舉的事，和周圍的整流罩和對碼坐的水手。有音樂和唱歌，和傍晚封閉，數百彩燈被點亮起來，看起來好像每個國家的國旗在空中揮舞著。小海女僕遊直奔艙窗，每一次海扶她起來，她可以去翻窗格，這是清如水晶，並看到許多人站在內穿著他們最好的。但所有的英俊是年輕的王子與大黑眼睛：他肯定不會超過十六歲，它更是他的生日，這是所有這個燈紅酒綠的原因。水手們在跳舞甲板上，而當年輕的王子就出來了，一百多火箭升入空中，它們照耀如同白晝，讓小海女僕是相當錯愕，並根據水跳入水中，但很快她把她的頭一遍，然後它似乎就像天上的星星都在向她落下。她從來沒有見過這麼火的作品。大太陽噴出火周圍的一切，光榮火熱魚飛上了藍色的空氣，一切都反映在清澈湛藍的大海。船舶本身是如此明亮起來，每一個單獨的繩子可以看出，因此，人們似乎更白了。Ø如何英俊年輕的王子了！他按下了人的手，笑了，而音樂響起在輝煌的夜晚。 

變得晚了，但小海女僕不能把她的眼睛從船上，距離美麗的王子。那些彩色的燈籠已經滅了，火箭不再飛入空氣中，並沒有更多的大砲被開除，但有發怨言和嗡嗡的內心深處在海裡，她坐在水中，搖曳的上下，讓她可以看看進入機艙。但作為船舶得到了更多的方式，一個接一個的帆被傳播。而現在的波漲幅較高，大雲上前，在遠處有閃電。噢！這將是可怕的天氣，因此水手們收攏船帆。在SWIFT的職業生涯巨輪飛越野生海：水漲起來像大黑山脈，哪曾想翻身的桅杆，但像一隻天鵝船潛入山谷這些高波之間，然後讓自己被解除高了。給小海的女僕，這似乎快樂的運動，但對水手們顯得十分不同。船呻吟著吱吱作響;厚木板是由重拳彎曲;海突入船舶;主桅折斷兩個像薄葦，以及船舶奠定了在她身邊，而水衝進舉行。現在的小海女僕看見的人都處於危險之中，她自己不得不小心避免船舶的橫梁和片段，是關於浮動在水面上。這一刻它是如此漆黑，沒有一個單一的對象可以被描述，但是當它點亮它變得如此明亮，以至於她可以區分每個人在船上。她看上去特別是對年輕的王子，而當船分手，她看見他沉入大海。然後，她很高興，現在他會回落​​到她。但後​​來她想起，人不能生活在水中，並且，當他進入她父親的宮殿，他肯定會死的。不，他不能死，所以她對遊梁和木板是撒在表面，完全忘了他們中的一個可能已經粉碎了她之間。潛水深處下了水，她再次上漲高達浪之中，並以這種方式，她終於來到了王子，誰幾乎無法游泳不再是驚濤駭浪。他的手臂和腿開始他不及格，他美麗的眼睛閉上了，他早就死了，小海侍女不來。她握著他的頭在水面上，然後讓其浪背她和他往那他們上市。 

當次日早晨，風暴已經通過。船舶不是一個片段待觀察。太陽升起來的紅色和閃耀出來的水，這是因為如果它的梁帶回生命的色調王子的臉頰，但他的眼睛仍然關閉。海女僕親吻他的高，公平的額頭，再放回他濕漉漉的頭髮，他似乎對她要像大理石雕像在她的小花園：她又吻了他一下，希望他能夠生存下去。 

現在，她在她的面前看到了旱地高的藍山，其上山峰白雪閃閃發光，猶如天鵝躺在那裡。倒在海岸是光榮的綠色森林，建築，她無法分辨它是否是一個教堂或修道院，站在那裡。在花園成長橙色和柚子樹，和高手掌一揮在門前。海形成一個小小的海灣那裡，這是相當平靜，但非常深。徑直奔向那裡的細白沙灘已被拋在了岩石上，她遊與英俊的王子，並奠定了他在沙土上，採取特殊照顧，他的頭被在溫暖的陽光上調。 

現在，所有的鐘聲響起的巨大的白色建築，和許多年輕女孩們在花園散步。這時，小海女僕遊得更遠一些高石頭上站起來出去的水，在她的頭髮和脖子奠定一些海上的泡沫，所以沒有人能看到她的面容，然後她看著，看看誰能夠之間來到了貧窮的王子。 

在很短的時間一個年輕的女孩去的方式。她似乎在很多一震，但只是片刻，然後她帶來了更多的人，和海女僕覺察到王子又活過來了，他微笑著看著周圍的一切。但他沒有投笑著看她：他不知道，她救了他。她覺得很悲哀，而當他被領走成偉大的建築，她悲哀地潛入水下，回到她父親的宮殿。 

她一直是溫柔而憂鬱的，但現在她變得更加如此。她的姐姐們都問她什麼，她在她第一次上升到表面見過，但她會告訴他們什麼。 

有好多晚上和許多清晨，她走到哪裡，她已經離開了王子的地方。她看到了如何在花園的果實生長成熟和聚集;她看到了如何在雪融化的高山，但她並沒有看到王子，所以她總是回到家更悲哀還是。然後她唯一的安慰是坐在她的小花園裡，以及風一隻手摟著美麗的大理石雕像很像王子，但她並沒有傾向於她的花，他們的成長彷彿在曠野過的路徑，並尾隨其長葉和莖成樹枝，使其變得相當黑暗的存在。 

最後她能忍受不下去了，並告訴大家她的一個姐妹，然後其他人聽說過它，但是沒有人知道它超越這些和其他一些海女傭，誰告訴的秘密他們的親密朋友。其中的一個知道誰是王子了;她也看到了在船上的節日，她就宣佈他從那裡來，他的王國奠定。 

“來吧，小妹妹，”別的公主們說，他們的武器聯繫在一起，他們奮起一長排出來的大海，在那裡他們知道王子的宮殿安放主的地方。 

這座宮殿始建一種明亮的黃色石頭，以極大的大理石樓梯，其中一個直接領導下到海中。在屋頂上升燦爛的鍍金圓頂，並包圍了整個住宅的柱子之間，站在這看起來就好像它們是活著的大理石雕像。透過清澈的玻璃在高的一個視窗看著輝煌大廳，在那裡昂貴的絲綢帷幔和掛毯都掛了，所有的牆壁上掛滿了燦爛的照片，所以這是一個完美的高興看到他們。在最大的這些大廳中間一個巨大的噴泉plashed;其喉射高了朝玻璃穹頂天花板，經水和經可愛的植物在大盆地成長，通過它的陽光照下來。 

現在，她知道他住的地方，很多晚上​​和許多晚上，她在那裡度過在水面上。她遊遠接近地比任何其他人再敢風險，事實上，她去了很狹窄的通道下的富麗堂皇的大理石陽台，可在水面扔了電路板的影子。在這裡，她坐在那裡，看著那年輕的王子，誰想到自己也獨自在明亮的月光下。 

有好多晚上，她看見他航行，在一片音樂的聲音，在他昂貴的船與揮舞著旗幟，她偷看了通過綠色的蘆葦，當風吹起她銀白色的面紗，任何人看到它，他認為這是白天鵝展開它的翅膀。 

多少個夜晚，當漁民們與他們的火把海，她聽到很多很好的告訴年輕的王子，她就高興，她救了他的生命，當他被趕出左右，半死不活，對野生波瀾，她想怎麼靜靜的腦袋就斜躺在她的懷裡，盡情地如何，她吻了他，他卻什麼都不知道的它，無法想像她。 

越來越多，她開始熱愛人類，而且越來越多，她希望能夠徜徉其中那些世界似乎遠比她自己的大。因為他們可以飛過滄海的船舶，並安裝了高小山遠在雲層之上，他們就得在樹林和田野伸出比她的眼睛更遠的土地能達到。有很多她想知道，但她的姐妹們不能回答她所有的問題，因此她向老祖母，和老太太不知道的世界上，她理所當然地稱為“海拔的國家，”很好。 

“如果人們沒有被淹死，”問小海女僕，“他們會永遠活下去？當我們死在這兒的海難道他們不是死了？“ 

“是的，”老太太說。“他們也必須死，他們的生活比我們更短。我們可以活到三百歲，不過當我們不再存在這裡，我們都變成了泡沫水的表面，甚至還沒有嚴重到這裡在那些我們所愛的。我們沒有一個不滅的靈魂，我們從來沒有收到另一種生活，我們就像是綠色的海草，其中，當一次切透，永遠不能再開的時候。男人，相反，有靈魂的生命永遠，這對生活後身體變得塵土，它裝載了透過清澈的空氣，直至所有閃亮的星星！當我們站起來走出水域，不料世上所有的土地，所以他們上升到未知的光榮的地方，我們永遠無法看到的。“ 

“為什麼我們不能得到一個不滅的靈魂呢？”問小海女僕，悲哀。“我很樂意給所有的數百年我要活到人類的只有一天，並有領受天國的希望。” 

“你一定想不到的是，”老太太說。“我們覺得自己更快樂，遠遠超過人類那邊更好。” 

“然後我死，就在海面施放泡沫，不聽海浪的音樂，也看到了美麗的鮮花和紅太陽？我不能做任何事情來贏得一個不滅的靈魂？ 

“不！”回答的祖母。“只有一個人是愛你，讓你應該多給他比父親或母親，如果他堅持你跟他的每一個想法和他所有的愛，讓牧師躺在他的右手在你用這裡和永恆的承諾忠誠，那麼他的靈魂將被傳遞給你的身體，你會收到人類的幸福的份額。他會給一個靈魂給你，但保留他自己的。但可以永遠成為過去。什麼才算美麗在這裡的海水魚的尾巴，他們會考慮醜陋地球上：他們不明白，有一個人必須有他們稱之為腿笨拙的支持，被稱為美麗的“ 

這時，小海女僕嘆了口氣，在她的魚尾悲哀地看著。 

“我們很高興！”老太太說。“讓我們舞和飛躍在三百年內，我們要活。這當然是足夠長的時間，之後我們就可以休息，自己就更好了。今天晚上，我們將有一個法院的球。“ 

這是一個蔚為壯觀，如從未見過在地球上。牆壁和偉大的舞蹈，轎車的頂棚均為厚，但透明的玻璃。數百個巨大的貝殼，粉紅色和草綠色，站在兩邊整齊，充滿了藍色的火焰照亮了整個大廳，透出來的牆壁，所以，如果沒有海是相當亮了起來，人們可以看到所有無數的魚，大和小，對玻璃幕牆游泳;一些鱗片閃閃發光的紫色，而在其他國家，他們喜歡照銀和金。通過大廳的中間流過一條寬寬的小溪，並在此海男海女跳舞給自己迷人的歌曲。如此美妙的聲音地球的人都沒有。小海女傭唱最甜美的是，和整個法庭鼓掌的雙手和尾巴，和一會兒她覺得同性戀在她的心臟，因為她知道她所有的聲音最美的大海或地球上。但很快，她又想起她上面的世界，她無法忘記的白馬王子，或她的悲痛沒有一個不滅的靈魂像他。因此，她躡手躡腳走出她父親的宮殿，雖然在一切都歡喜快樂，她在她的小花園裡坐了惆悵。接著，她聽到了號角喇叭通過水域冠冕堂皇，心裡想，“現在他肯定是在上面行船了，他對誰我的願望掛了，在誰的手，我想打好我一生的幸福。我敢一切贏得了他和一個不滅的靈魂。而我的姐妹們跳舞那邊在我父親的宮殿，我會去海巫人，我一直是非常害怕：也許她能律師幫我“ 

現在的小海侍女走出了她的花園到泡沫的漩渦其背後的女巫住。她以前從來沒有走過那條路。無花生長在那裡，沒有海草，只有赤裸裸的灰砂伸出朝著漩渦，那裡的水衝進圓如咆哮的水車輪，拆毀一切它抓住進深。通過這些激轉的漩渦之中，她不得不通過獲得在巫域，並在相當長的方式，沒有其他道路，但一個比熱情噴薄泥：這個女巫叫她草皮上層。它的背後，躺在她的房子在一個奇異的森林，其中所有的樹木和灌木叢是息肉半動物半植物之中。他們看起來像一百一蛇長大了地球。所有的樹枝都長，粘糊糊的手臂，用手指像柔軟的蠕蟲，而且他們移動肢體肢體從根到最遠點，所有，他們可以在他們緊緊抱住，沒讓他走水抓住。小海女僕攔在他們很害怕的面前，她的心臟跳動與恐懼，她是附近回頭，不過，那時她以為王子和人的靈魂，她的勇氣又回來了。她緊緊束縛她的頭髮長飛在她的頭上，從而使息肉可能不抓住這個機會。她把她的手一起在她的乳房，然後投籃不進，作為魚芽通水，醜息肉，它伸出自己柔軟的手臂和手指在她之間。她看到他們每個人持有的東西，它已查獲數百小胳膊，像強鐵帶。誰曾死在海中，沉入了深跌的人，看著來，像白色的骷髏從息肉中的手臂;船舶槳和胸部也緊緊抱住，陸生動物的骨骼，和小海女的人，他們有抓住和勒死，而這似乎是最可怕的一切給我們的小公主。 

現在她來到了在樹林裡，在那裡發水蛇軋一下，顯示他們的醜陋的奶油色的身體有很大沼澤的地方。在這個沼澤之中是內置的船舶失事男人白骨房子，那裡坐著的海巫婆，飼養一隻癩蛤蟆了她的嘴，就像一個人可以養活一個小金絲雀鳥用糖。她叫醜陋的脂肪水蛇她的小雞，同時讓他們向上和抓取所有關於她的。 

“我知道你想要什麼，說：”海的巫婆。“這是愚蠢的你，但你必須有你的方式，因為它會帶給你悲傷，我的漂亮公主。你想擺脫你的魚尾巴，並有兩根支柱，它像地球散步的那些人，讓年輕的王子會愛上你，而你可能會得到一個不滅的靈魂。 “而與此女巫大聲笑了起來，並不快，讓蛤蟆和水蛇下跌倒在地，他們在那裡爬來爬去。“你來得正是時候，”巫婆說：“明天日出後，我幫不了你，直到又一年過去了。我會準備一份草案供您，與您必須遊到陸地明天的太陽升起之前，和自己坐那裡喝它，然後你的尾巴就會枯萎，成為什麼樣的地球呼叫腿的人，但它會傷害你 - 它看起來好像你是用鋒利的劍。所有誰看你會宣告你是最漂亮的人，他們曾經見過。你會保持你的優雅漫步，沒有舞者就可以如此輕率地移動，你，但是你採取的每一步將是，如果你踩在尖刀上，猶如你的血必須流。如果您將承擔這一切，我可以幫你。“ 

“是！”之稱的小海女僕，用顫抖的聲音，她以為王子和不朽的靈魂。 

“但是要記住，”巫婆說，“當你有一次接到一個人形，你永遠無法再次成為了海女僕，您可以通過水再也不會回到你姐姐或你爸爸的宮殿，如果你這樣做沒有贏得王子的愛，使他忘記父親和母親為你著想，連接到你的心臟和靈魂，並告訴牧師加入你的手，你就不會得到一個不滅的靈魂。之後，他已經結婚頭一天早晨，你的心臟就會裂碎，你就會變成泡沫在水面上。“ 

“我會做到這一點，說：”小海女僕：但她變得蒼白如死。 

“但是，你必須付給我，太，”巫婆說，“它是不是我問一件小事。你把所有最優秀的聲音在這裡的水的底部，與你認為點化他，可是這個聲音你得交給我。你擁有最好的東西，我會為我昂貴的草案！我必須給你我自己的血液中，所以，該草案可能是鋒利的雙刃劍。“ 

“但是，如果你拿走我的聲音，說：”小海女僕，“什麼仍將給我嗎？” 

“你的美麗的形式，回答說：”女巫“你曼妙的步行路程，您的眼睛說：那些你可以把俘虜一個人的心臟。好了，你已經失掉了勇氣？伸出你小小的舌頭，然後我將削減它關閉了我的付款，然後你將會有強勁的草案。“ 

“這應是這樣，說：”小海女傭。 

和女巫把她的壺來沖泡的草案。 

“清潔是一件好事，”她說，她清理出的蛇，這是她在一個大結綁在鍋中，然後她抓傷自己，並讓她的黑色的血液滴進去。流起來了奇怪的形式，足以震懾旁觀者。每隔一會兒巫婆扔了其他東西放入鍋中，而當它焯透，還有像鱷魚的哭泣的聲音。最後準備的草案。它看起來像最純淨的水。 

“有你有它，”巫婆說。 

和她斷絕了小海女傭的舌頭，以至於現在公主是啞巴，既不能唱歌，也不說話。 

她可以看到她父親的宮殿。火把被撲滅在人民大會堂，和他們肯定在睡覺，但她不敢去給他們，現在她是一個啞巴，正要永遠離開他們。她彷彿覺得她的心臟會爆裂與悲哀。她躡手躡腳走進花園，把一朵花從每個床上她的姐妹，吹了一千個吻向王宮，和玫瑰，透過深藍色的大海。 

太陽還沒有升起的時候，她看見王子的城堡，並安裝在燦爛的大理石樓梯。月亮照得精美清晰。小海喝了女僕燃燒尖銳草案，它彷彿一柄利劍穿過她嬌嫩的身體去了。她在昏厥倒下，躺在彷彿她已經死了。當太陽照耀著大海，她醒了，感到一陣劇痛，但她站在年輕英俊的王子之前。他在她的固定他的煤黑色的眼睛，使她垂下了自己，然後她感覺到，她的魚尾已經走了，她有最漂亮的一雙白色的腳一個小女孩能有。但她沒有穿衣服，所以她自己籠罩在她的長發。王子問她是怎麼來到那裡！她看著他溫和，但很悲哀，她深藍色的眼睛，因為她說不出話來。然後，他拉著她的手，把她領進了城堡。每一步，她是花了，因為巫婆告訴她，好像她已被踩在導紗針和刀，但她生了很高興。在王子的右手，她移動了，輕如肥皂泡沫，他像所有的休息，感到很驚訝於她的優雅，搖曳生姿的動作。 

她現在收到的絲綢和薄紗燦爛的衣服。在城堡裡，她是最美麗的生物有待觀察，但她是啞巴，既不能唱歌，也不說話。可愛的奴隸，穿著絲綢和黃金，走上前去，王子和他的皇家父母面前唱，一個唱更迷人比所有的休息，和王子微笑著看著她，拍了拍手。這時，小海女僕成為傷心，她知道她自己唱更甜蜜，心裡想， - 

“啊！他只知道我已經送人了我的聲音永遠和他在一起！“ 

現在奴隸跳起美麗的舞蹈揮手向最可愛的音樂，然後將小海女僕抬起她美麗的白色武器，站在她的腳趾尖，和跳舞的下滑在地板上，還沒有人跳舞。在每個動作她的美麗變得更加明顯，她的眼睛更直接的心臟比說話的奴隸之歌。 

一切都很高興，尤其是王子，誰把她叫做他的小棄嬰，她一次又一次地跳，雖然每次她一接觸到地面時，似乎就好像她是在尖刀上行走。王子說，她應該始終保持與他，她得到了許可睡在天鵝絨的墊子他的門前。 

他有一個頁面的禮服為她做，她會陪他在馬背上。他們騎馬穿過盛開的樹林，綠色的樹枝掃過他們的肩膀，鳥兒在新鮮的葉子唱。她爬上與王子高高的山上，雖然她的細膩的腳流血，這樣即使其他人可以看到它，她在它心裡暗笑，和跟著他，直到他們看到他們腳下的雲帆船，像鳥一樣行駛到一群遙遠的國度。 

家在王子的城堡，當別人在晚上睡覺的時候，她出去到寬大的台階走去。它冷卻燒她的腳站在冰冷的海水，然後她想到了親人在深海裡。 

有一次，在夜間，她的姐妹們來了，手挽著手。可悲的是，他們唱著歌，他們漂浮在水面上，她就向她們招手，他們認出了她，並告訴她怎麼難過他們。然後，她參觀了他們每天晚上，有一次她在遠處看見她的老祖母，誰沒有露出水面多年，在他頭上的海國王與他的王冠。他們伸出手朝她走去，但沒有冒險讓土地作為她的姐妹們靠近。 

一天一天，王子變得更加喜歡她。他愛她就像一個人愛一個親愛的，善良的孩子，但它從來沒有走進他的頭，使她的妻子，但她必須成為他的妻子，否則她就不能得到一個不滅的靈魂，將有可能成為泡沫的大海對他的婚姻的早晨。 

“你不愛我了他們最好的？”小海女僕的眼睛似乎在說，當他把她摟在懷裡，吻了她的前額。 

“是的，你是最可愛的我！”王子說，“你有他們所有的最好的心臟。你是最忠實的我，就像一個年輕的姑娘誰我曾經看到，但我肯定不會再找到人。我當時在船上的失事船隻。海浪把我扔上岸不遠的地方，幾個年輕女孩進行服務的聖殿。他們中最年輕的發現我在海邊救了我的命。我只看見她兩次：她是唯一一個在世界上我可以愛，但你追她的照片在我心裡，你是那麼的喜歡她。她是屬於這個神廟的，因此我的幸運特別把你送給我。我們將永不分離！“ 

“啊！他不知道我救了他的命，“以為小海女傭。“我把他從海到寺廟矗立著木材。我的泡沫下，坐在那裡，看著看看是否有任何人會來。我看到了美麗的姑娘被他愛的比我好。“而海女僕深深地嘆了一口氣，她不能哭。“那少女屬於聖殿，”她說，“永遠不會到來外面的世界，他們將滿足不動了。我與他，看他每天，我會好好珍惜他，愛他，就放棄我的生命給他“。 

但是現在，他們說，是王子結婚，那鄰國國王的美麗的女兒是他的妻子，這就是為什麼這麼漂亮的船正在準備。這個故事，那王子前往參觀鄰近的國王的土地，但有人做過，他可能會看到國王的女兒。一個偉大的公司是和他一起去。小海女僕搖搖頭，笑了，她知道王子的想法遠遠超過任何其他人更好。 

“我必須前往，”他對她說“”我必須看到美麗的公主：我父母的願望，但他們不希望強迫我把她家的我的新娘。我不能愛她。她不喜歡美麗的少女在你像人的寺廟。如果我要選擇新嫁娘的，我寧願選擇你，我親愛的啞巴孤女與說話的眼睛。“ 

他吻了她的紅唇和演奏與她的長發，讓她夢見和一個不滅的靈魂的幸福。 

“你是不是害怕大海，我的啞巴的孩子”，他說，當他們站在精湛的船舶是要將他帶到鄰近的國王的國家，他告訴風暴和平靜的奇怪魚類，在她深什麼樣的潛水員已經看到那裡，。她微笑著看著他的故事，因為她知道不是任何一個發生了什麼事在海底更好。 

在月光的夜晚，當所有都睡著了，除非誰站在掌舵的舵手，她坐在船舷向下凝視透過清澈的水。她好像看見了她父親的宮殿。高的雉堞站在她的老祖母，與銀冠在她的頭上，並期待通過湍急的潮水到船的龍骨。然後她的姐妹們出來過水，並悲傷地看著她，擰他們的白色手。她向她們招手，微笑著，並希望告訴他們，她是很好，高興，但機艙男孩走近她和她的姐妹們俯衝下來，讓他以為他已經看到了白色物體是泡沫的水面上。 

第二天早晨，船航行到鄰近國王的燦爛的城市的港口。所有教堂的鐘聲響起，從高塔的號角被吹，而戰士出色和閃爍的刺刀站在那裡。每一天帶來了一些喜氣吧，舞會和晚會在彼此，但公主還沒有出現。人們說她被教育了一個聖殿遠的地方，在那裡她學習皇家的一切美德。最後，她來了。 

小海女僕都急切希望見到公主的美麗，不得不承認這一點。更可愛的幽靈，她從來沒有見過。公主的皮膚是純粹的和明確的，而暗長睫毛的背後有笑一對忠實的，深藍色的眼睛。 

“你是誰救了我，當我躺在像岸上一具屍體的女士說：”王子，於是他把他的新娘臉紅到他的心臟。“啊，我太，太高興了！”他大聲對小海的女僕。“最好的希望我能有得到滿足。你會感到高興，我的幸福，因為你是最忠實的他們全部給我！“ 

和小海女僕親吻他的手，而且它已經在她看來，彷彿她的心臟被打破了，為他的婚禮早上把死她，改變她到海上的泡沫。 

所有教堂的鐘都響起來了，傳令人騎著馬在宣佈訂婚的街道。在每座壇香油燒銀的華麗的燈具。祭司揮舞自己的香爐，新郎新娘奠定了攜手並進，來接受主教的祝福。小海女僕穿著金布，並舉行了新娘的火車，可是她的耳朵聽不見這歡樂的音樂，她的眼睛標誌著這神聖的儀式，她認為她的死亡之夜，和所有的她已經失去了在這個世界上。 

在同一天晚上，新郎和新娘來到船上。大砲怒吼，所有的揮舞著旗幟，在一個昂貴的帳篷金色和紫色，用最美麗的靠墊，已經成立，並有船中間的結婚對是在涼爽，還是晚上睡覺。 

船帆鼓起的風，船滑行順暢，輕輕在清澈的海水。天黑下來的時候，彩色的燈光就亮了，水手們跳起歡快的舞蹈在甲板上。當她挺起了大海，看見光彩和喜悅類似的場景第一次的小海女僕思想，她參加了婆娑起舞，並在飛來飛去的燕子掠過離開時，他正在追求以及所有吶喊，佩服她，因為她這麼嬌滴滴跳舞。她細膩的腳被切斷彷彿帶著刀，但她不覺得，她的心臟被打傷更加痛苦。她知道這是昨晚上她應該看到他的人，她離開了她的朋友和她的家，並給了她美麗的聲音，並遭受了前所未聞的每一天的痛苦，而他是完全無意識的一切。這是最後一個晚上，她應該呼吸同樣的空氣與他，就看見星空和深海;和沒有思想或夢想永恆的夜晚等待著她，因為她沒有靈魂，而且可以贏得沒有。和一切歡樂和喜悅在船上，直到過了午夜，她笑著，舞著死亡在她的心臟想法。王子吻了他美麗的新娘，而她與他的烏亮的頭髮。，並攜手他們去休息，在燦爛的帳篷裡。它變得安靜船上，只有舵手站在舵，和小海女僕在舷牆湊近她雪白的胳膊，凝視著往東方的早晨黎明的第一縷，她知道，會殺了她。這時，她發現她的姐妹們出不斷上升的洪水，他們是蒼白的，像自己一樣，他們的長，美麗的頭髮不再揮舞著在風中，它已被切斷。 

“我們已經給了它的女巫，我們可能給您帶來幫助，這樣你可能不會死夜。她給了我們一把刀，在這裡它是 - 你看！多麼尖銳！在太陽升起之前，您必須刺入王子的心臟，當熱血落在你的腳，他們將再次共同成長為一個魚尾巴，你將再次成為海侍女，回來給我們和住你的三個一百年前你成為死鹽海泡。趕快！他或你必須死在太陽升起之前！我們的老祖母哀悼，讓她的白頭髮已經脫落，因為我們在巫婆的剪刀一樣。殺王子回來！趕快！你看見那個紅色的條紋在天空中？過了幾分鐘，太陽升起，你必須死！“ 

他們給了一個很悲哀的嘆了口氣，消失在茫茫大海上。小海女僕拉開了帷幕從帳篷裡，看到美麗的新娘躺在她的頭在王子的乳房，她就彎下腰，吻了他的額頭，凝視著了在那裡的早晨紅色是閃閃發光的明亮的天空，亮，然後她看著鋒利的刀，並再次呼籲王子，誰在睡夢中喃喃地說他的新娘的名字固定她的眼睛。她只在他的想法，並在海侍女的手刀顫抖。但隨後她扔在遠離入波，都燦爛的紅色在那裡倒下了，它彷彿鮮血滴噴了出來的水。一次她看上去與半熄滅後，眼睛的王子，然後她把自己從船入海，並覺得她框架溶解成泡沫。 

現在，太陽升起來了大海的美景。光線落在溫和，溫暖在寒冷的海水泡沫，和小海女僕覺得沒什麼死亡。她看到光明的太陽，並在她的頭上航行數百光榮空靈的生命，她能看到他們通過船上的白帆和紅色雲彩的天空，他們的講話是旋律，但是這樣的一種精神那種沒有人類耳能聽到它，就像沒有人的眼睛能看見他們，沒有他們的翅膀在空中漂浮。小海女傭發現她有這樣的一個框架，並且是越來越高，更多的泡沫。 

“？何去何從我要去”她問，她的聲音聽起來像其他眾生，使​​精神，那人世間的任何音樂可以相比的。 

“到天空的女兒！”回答別人。“一個海女僕沒有不朽的靈魂，永遠無法獲得的，除了她贏得一個凡人的愛情。她的永恆的存在依賴於他人的權力。空氣中的女兒有沒有同樣不朽的靈魂，但他們可以讓自己一到好事。我們飛向炎熱的國家，那裡的接近，瘟疫空中殺死的人，有我們帶來絲絲涼意。我們通過空氣分散的花的芬芳，傳播茶點和健康。經過我們努力了三百年來完成所有的好，我們可以帶來，我們得到一個不滅的靈魂，並參與人的永恆的幸福。你，小海女僕差，我們追求的目標後，一直在努力與你的整個心臟，你遭受，忍受，你必須用好的作品提出了自己的精神的世界，三百年以後可以得到一個不滅的靈魂。 “ 

和小海女僕抬起她的榮耀眼光投向了上帝的太陽，和她第一次感覺到他們用淚水填滿。船上有再生活和噪音。她看到王子和他的新娘在尋找她，然後他們悲哀地看著在翻騰的泡沫，好像他們知道她已經拋出自己入波。看不見，她吻了新娘的額頭，煽動王子，並安裝有空氣對霞它通過乙太浮動的其他孩子。三百年以後，我們將因此飄進天堂！ 

“我們甚至可以到達那裡越快，”低聲空氣的女兒。“無形中我們漂浮在人，其中兒童是家產，每天上，我們找到一個很好的孩子帶來歡樂的家長，值得他們的愛，我們的試用期時間縮短。孩子不知道，當我們飛過屋子的，而當我們微笑著喜悅的孩子的行為，每年從三百點算過，但是當我們看到一個頑皮和惡劣的孩子，我們流下悲傷的眼淚，並為每一滴淚，每天被添加到我們的審判時間。“