有声英语儿童童话故事 海的女儿 第13章

The little mermaid now perceivedthat the crew were in danger; even she was obliged to be careful, to avoid thebeams and planks of the wreck which lay scattered on the water. At one momentit was pitch dark so that she could not see a single object, but when a flashof lightning came it revealed the whole scene; she could see every one who hadbeen on board except the prince. When the ship parted, she had seen him sinkinto the deep waves, and she was glad, for she thought he would now be withher. Then she remembered that human beings could not live in the water, so thatwhen he got down to her father’s palace he would certainly be quite dead.

No, he must not die!So she swam about among the beams and planks which strewed the surface of thesea, forgetting that they could crush her to pieces. Diving deep under the darkwaters, rising and falling with the waves, she at length managed to reach theyoung prince, who was fast losing the power to swim in that stormy sea. Hislimbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have diedhad not the little mermaid come to his assistance. She held his head above thewater and let the waves carry them where they would.