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有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第9章

Yet often, in the evening hours,the five sisters would twine their arms about each other and rise to thesurface together. Their voices were more charming than that of any human being,and before the approach of a storm, when they feared that a ship might be lost,they swam before the vessel, singing enchanting songs of the delights to befound in the depths of the sea and begging the voyagers not to fear if theysank to the bottom. But the sailors could not understand the song and thoughtit was the sighing of the storm. These things were never beautiful to them, forif the ship sank, the men were drowned and their dead bodies alone reached thepalace of the Sea King.

When the sisters rose, arm inarm, through the water, their youngest sister would stand quite alone, lookingafter them, ready to cry—only, since mermaids have no tears, she suffered moreacutely.

“Oh, were I but fifteen years old!”said she. “I know that I shall love the world up there, and all the people wholive in it.”

At last she reached her fifteenthyear.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第8章

The fifth sister’s birthdayoccurred in the winter, so when her turn came she saw what the others had notseen the first time they went up. The sea looked quite green, and largeicebergs were floating about, each like a pearl, she said, but larger andloftier than the churches built by men. They were of the most singular shapesand glittered like diamonds. She had seated herself on one of the largest andlet the wind play with her long hair. She noticed that all the ships sailedpast very rapidly, steering as far away as they could, as if they were afraidof the iceberg. Towards evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered thesky, the thunder rolled, and the flashes of lightning glowed red on theicebergs as they were tossed about by the heaving sea. On all the ships thesails were reefed with fear and trembling, while she sat on the floatingiceberg, calmly watching the lightning as it darted its forked flashes into thesea.

Each of the sisters, when firstshe had permission to raise to the surface, was delighted with the new andbeautiful sights. Now that they were grown-up girls and could go when theypleased, they had become quite indifferent about it. They soon wishedthemselves back again, and after a month had passed they said it was much morebeautiful down below and pleasanter to be at home.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第7章

The third sister’s turn followed,and she was the boldest of them all, for she swam up a broad river that emptiedinto the sea. On the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines,and palaces and castles peeping out from amid the proud trees of the forest.She heard birds singing and felt the rays of the sun so strongly that she was obligedoften to dive under the water to cool her burning face. In a narrow creek shefound a large group of little human children, almost naked, sporting about inthe water. She wanted to play with them, but they fled in a great fright; andthen a little black animal—it was a dog, but she did not know it, for she hadnever seen one before—came to the water and barked at her so furiously that shebecame frightened and rushed back to the open sea. But she said she shouldnever forget the beautiful forest, the green hills, and the pretty children whocould swim in the water although they had no tails.

The fourth sister was more timid.She remained in the midst of the sea, but said it was quite as beautiful thereas nearer the land. She could see many miles around her, and the sky abovelooked like a bell of glass. She had seen the ships, but at such a greatdistance 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 hundredfountains were playing in every direction.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第6章

Oh, how eagerly did the youngestsister listen to all these descriptions! And afterwards, when she stood at theopen window looking up through the dark-blue water, she thought of the greatcity, with all its bustle and noise, and even fancied she could hear the soundof the church bells down in the depths of the sea.

In another year the second sisterreceived permission to rise to the surface of the water and to swim about whereshe pleased. She rose just as the sun was setting, and this, she said, was themost beautiful sight of all. The whole sky looked like gold, and violet androse-colored clouds, which she could not describe, drifted across it. And moreswiftly than the clouds, flew a large flock of wild swans toward the settingsun, and like a long white veil across the sea. She also swam towards the sun,but it sank into the waves, and the rosy tints faded from the clouds and fromthe sea.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第5章

None of them longed so much forher turn to come as the youngest—she who had the longest time to wait and whowas so quiet and thoughtful. Many nights she stood by the open window, lookingup through the dark blue water and watching the fish as they splashed aboutwith their fins and tails. She could see the moon and stars shining faintly,but through the water they looked larger than they do to our eyes. Whensomething like a black cloud passed between her and them, she knew that it waseither a whale swimming over her head, or a ship full of human beings who neverimagined that a pretty little mermaid was standing beneath them, holding outher white hands towards the keel of their ship.

At length the eldest was fifteenand was allowed to rise to the surface of the ocean.

When she returned she hadhundreds of things to talk about. But the finest thing, she said, was to lie ona sand bank in the quiet moonlit sea, near the shore, gazing at the lights ofthe near-by town, that twinkled like hundreds of stars, and listening to thesounds of music, the noise of carriages, the voices of human beings, and themerry pealing of the bells in the church steeples. Because she could not gonear all these wonderful things, she longed for them all the more.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第4章

Nothing gave her so much pleasureas to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell herall she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To herit seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land hadfragrance, while those below the sea had none; that the trees of the forestwere green; and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly that itwas a pleasure to listen to them. Her grandmother called the birds fishes, orthe little mermaid would not have understood what was meant, for she had neverseen birds.

“When you have reached yourfifteenth year,” said the grandmother, “you will have permission to rise up outof the sea and sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships gosailing by. Then you will see both forests and towns.”

In the following year, one of thesisters would be fifteen, but as each was a year younger than the other, theyoungest would have to wait five years before her turn came to rise up from thebottom of the ocean to see the earth as we do. However, each promised to tellthe others what she saw on her first visit and what she thought was mostbeautiful. Their grandmother could not tell them enough—there were so manythings about which they wanted to know.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第3章

Each of the young princesses hada little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and plant as shepleased. One arranged her flower bed in the form of a whale; another preferredto make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; while the youngest child madehers round, like the sun, and in it grew flowers as red as his rays at sunset.

She was a strange child, quietand thoughtful. While her sisters showed delight at the wonderful things whichthey obtained from the wrecks of vessels, she cared only for her prettyflowers, red like the sun, and a beautiful marble statue. It was therepresentation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which hadfallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck.

She planted by the statue arose-colored weeping willow. It grew rapidly and soon hung its fresh branchesover the statue, almost down to the blue sands. The shadows had the color ofviolet and waved to and fro like the branches, so that it seemed as if thecrown of the tree and the root were at play, trying to kiss each other.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第2章

She was, however, deserving ofvery great praise, especially for her care of the little sea princesses, hersix granddaughters. They were beautiful children, but the youngest was theprettiest of them all. Her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose leaf, andher eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feetand her body ended in a fish’s tail. All day long they played in the greathalls of the castle or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. Thelarge amber windows were open, and the fish swam in, just as the swallows flyinto our houses when we open the windows; only the fishes swam up to theprincesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be stroked.

Outside the castle there was abeautiful garden, in which grew bright-red and dark-blue flowers, and blossomslike flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stemswaved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue asthe flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance, asif the blue sky were everywhere, above and below, instead of the dark depths ofthe sea. In calm weather the sun could be seen, looking like a reddish-purpleflower with light streaming from the calyx.

有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第1章

Far out in the ocean, wherethe water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower and as clear as crystal, it isvery, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could sound it, and many churchsteeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath tothe surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects.

We must not imagine that there isnothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed, for on thissand grow the strangest flowers and plants, the leaves and stems of which areso pliant that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as ifthey had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches asbirds fly among the trees here upon land.

In the deepest spot of all standsthe castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long Gothicwindows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells that open andclose as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for ineach lies a glittering pearl which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.

The Sea King had been a widowerfor many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very sensiblewoman, but exceedingly proud of her /haɪ/ birth, and on that account wore twelveoysters on her tail, while others of high rank were only allowed to wear six.

有声英语儿童童话故事 皇帝的新装 第8章

The lords of the bedchamber, whowere to carry his Majesty’s train felt about on the ground, as if they werelifting up the ends of the mantle; and pretended to be carrying something; forthey would by no means betray anything like simplicity, or unfitness for theiroffice.

So now the Emperor walked underhis high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of hiscapital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out,“Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor’s new clothes! What a magnificent trainthere is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!” in short, no onewould allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doingso, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office.Certainly, none of the Emperor’s various suits, had ever made so great animpression, as these invisible ones.

“But the Emperor has nothing atall on!” said a little child.

“Listen to the voice of innocence!”exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one toanother.