于是她向老祖母请教，老祖母对上面的世界了如指掌，她非常正确地称之为海面上的陆地。
then she applied to her old grandmother, who knew all about the upper world, which she very rightly called the lands above the sea.
“如果人类不被淹死，” 小美人鱼问道，“他们能永远活着吗？他们是否像我们在海里一样永远不死呢？”
“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?”
“是的，” 老妇人回答说，“他们也必须死，而且他们的寿命甚至比我们的还短。”
“Yes,” replied the old lady, “they must also die, and their term of life is even shorter than ours.
我们有时能活到三百岁，但当我们在这里不复存在时，我们只会变成水面上的泡沫，而且我们在海底甚至连一个埋葬我们所爱的人的坟墓都没有。
we sometimes live to three hundred years, but when we cease to exist here we only bee the foam on the surface of the water, and we have not even a grave down here of those we love.
我们没有不朽的灵魂，我们永远不会再活过来；
we have not immortal souls, we shall never live again;
但是，就像绿色的海藻一样，一旦被割掉，就再也不能茁壮成长。
but, like the green sea - weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more.
相反，人类有一个永远活着的灵魂，在肉体化为尘土之后仍然活着。
human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust.
它穿过清澈纯净、繁星闪烁之上的空气飞升。
It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars.
就像我们浮出水面，看到地球上所有的陆地一样，他们也会飞升向我们永远无法看到的未知而荣耀的地方。
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.”
“为什么我们没有不朽的灵魂呢？”
“why have not we an immortal soul?”
小美人鱼悲伤地问道；
asked the little mermaid mournfully;
“我愿意欣然放弃我能活的数百年时光，只为做一天的人类，并且有希望了解星空之上那个荣耀世界的幸福。”
“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.”
“你可不能那样想，” 老妇人说；
“You must not think of that,” said the old woman;
“我们觉得自己比人类幸福得多，也富裕得多。”
“we feel ourselves to be much happier and much better off than human beings.”
“那么我将会死去，” 小美人鱼说，“并且我将作为海的泡沫四处飘荡，再也听不到海浪的音乐，看不到美丽的花朵，也看不到红日了。有没有什么办法能让我获得一个不朽的灵魂呢？”
“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?”
“没有，” 老妇人说，“除非一个男人如此爱你，以至于你对他来说比他的父亲或母亲还重要；
“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;
并且如果他所有的思想和全部的爱都集中在你身上，牧师将他的右手放在你的手里，而且他承诺今生来世都对你忠诚，那么他的灵魂就会溜进你的身体，你就会获得一份人类未来的幸福。
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.
他会给你一个灵魂，同时自己也保留灵魂；
he would give a soul to you and retain his own as well;
但这永远不可能发生。
but this can never happen.
你的鱼尾，在我们看来是如此美丽，但在陆地上却被认为非常丑陋；
Your fish’s tail, which amongst us is considered so beautiful, is thought on earth to be quite ugly;
他们不懂（我们的美），而且他们认为必须有两个粗壮的支撑物，他们称之为腿，才显得英俊。
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.”
然后小美人鱼叹了口气，悲伤地看着自己的鱼尾。
then the little mermaid sighed, and looked sorrowfully at her fish’s tail.
“让我们快乐起来吧，” 老妇人说，“在我们必须度过的三百年里跳跃嬉戏，这时间真的够长了；
“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;
之后我们就能更好地休息了。
after that we can rest ourselves all the better.
今晚我们将有一场宫廷舞会。”
this evening we are going to have a court ball.”
这是我们在陆地上永远看不到的壮丽景象之一。
It is one of those splendid sights which we can never see on earth.
大舞厅的墙壁和天花板是由厚实但透明的水晶制成的。
the walls and the ceiling of the large ball - room were of thick, but transparent crystal.
成百个巨大的贝壳，有些是深红色的，有些是草绿色的，一排排地立在两边，贝壳里有蓝色的火焰，照亮了整个大厅，并且透过墙壁闪耀着，这样大海也被照亮了。
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.
数不清的大大小小的鱼游过水晶墙壁；
Innumerable fishes, great and small, swam past the crystal walls;
有些鱼的鳞片闪耀着紫色的光辉，而另一些则像金银一样闪亮。
on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone like silver and gold.
一条宽阔的溪流穿过大厅，男美人鱼和女美人鱼随着自己甜美歌声的韵律在溪流中跳舞。
through the halls flowed a broad stream, and in it danced the mermen and the mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing.
陆地上没有人有他们那样可爱的嗓音。
No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs.
小美人鱼比他们所有人唱得都更甜美。
the little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all.
整个宫廷都用手和尾巴为她鼓掌；
the whole court applauded her with hands and tails;
有那么一瞬间，她的心里感到十分欢快，因为她知道自己有着世上或海里最美妙的嗓音。
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.
但她很快又想起了上面的世界，因为她无法忘记迷人的王子，也无法忘记自己没有像他那样不朽的灵魂的悲伤；
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 like his;
因此她悄悄地从父亲的宫殿溜了出去，当宫殿里一切都是欢乐和歌声的时候，她却独自悲伤地坐在自己的小花园里。
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.
然后她听到号角声在水中回荡，心想 ——“他肯定正在海面上航行呢，他就是我愿望所系之人，我愿意将自己一生的幸福交托到他手中。
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 like to place the happiness of my life.
我要为他冒险一切，去赢得一个不朽的灵魂，当我的姐妹们在我父亲的宫殿里跳舞时，我要去找海巫婆，我一直非常害怕她，但她能给我建议和帮助。”
I will venture all for him, and to win an immortal soul, while my sisters are dancing in my father’s palace, I will go to the sea witch, of whom I have always been so much afraid, but she can give me counsel and help.”
于是小美人鱼走出她的花园，踏上通往冒着泡沫的漩涡的路，巫婆就住在漩涡后面。
And then the little mermaid went out from her garden, and took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the sorceress lived.
她以前从未走过那条路：
She had never been that way before:
那里既没有花也没有草生长；
neither flowers nor grass grew there;
只有光秃秃、灰蒙蒙的沙地一直延伸到漩涡处，在那里，水就像冒着泡沫的水车，把它卷住的一切东西都卷起来，然后抛进无底的深渊。
nothing but bare, gray, sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool, where the water, like foaming mill - wheels, whirled round everything that it seized, and cast it into the fathomless deep.
小美人鱼必须穿过这些湍急的漩涡中间，才能到达海巫婆的领地；
through the midst of these crushing whirlpools the little mermaid was obliged to pass, to reach the dominions of the sea witch;
而且在很长一段距离内，唯一的路正好要穿过一大片温热、冒泡的泥潭，巫婆称这片泥潭为她的泥炭沼。
and also for a long distance the only road lay right across a quantity of warm, bubbling mire, called by the witch her turfmoor.
在这片泥潭的那一边矗立着她的房子，房子位于一片奇特的森林中央，这片森林里所有的树木和花朵都是珊瑚虫，半是动物半是植物；
beyond this stood her house, in the centre of a strange forest, in which all the trees and flowers were polypi, half animals and half plants;
它们看起来像从地里长出一百个头的蛇。
they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground.
树枝是长长的黏糊糊的手臂，手指像柔软的蠕虫，从根部到顶部一节一节地移动。
the branches were long slimy arms, with fingers like flexible worms, moving limb after limb from the root to the top.
海里能抓到的东西它们都抓，而且抓得紧紧的，所以没有东西能从它们的爪子下逃脱。
All that could be reached in the sea they seized upon, and held fast, so that it never escaped from their clutches.
小美人鱼看到眼前的景象非常惊恐，她站着不动，心因恐惧而跳动，她差一点就转身回去了；
the little mermaid was so alarmed at what she saw, that she stood still, and her heart beat with fear, and she was very nearly turning back;
但是她想到了王子，想到了她渴望得到的人类灵魂，她又鼓起了勇气。
but she thought of the prince, and of the human soul for which she longed, and her courage returned.
她把长长的飘动的头发盘在头上，这样珊瑚虫就抓不到它了。
She fastened her long flowing hair round her head, so that the polypi might not seize hold of it.
她双手交叉放在胸前，然后像鱼在水中穿梭一样向前冲去，在她两侧伸展着的丑陋珊瑚虫柔软的手臂和手指间穿梭。
She laid her hands together across her bosom, and then she darted forward as a fish shoots through the water, between the supple arms and fingers of the ugly polypi, which were stretched out on each side of her.
她看到每个珊瑚虫都用它众多的小手臂紧紧抓住它抓到的东西，就好像那些是铁箍一样。
She saw that each held in its grasp something it had seized with its numerous little arms, as if they were iron bands.
在海上遇难并沉入深水的人类的白色尸骨、陆地动物的尸骨、船桨、船舵和船舱都被它们紧紧抓住；
the white skeletons of human beings who had perished at sea, and 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;
甚至还有一个被它们抓住并勒死的小美人鱼；
even a little mermaid, whom they had caught and strangled;
这在小公主看来是最令人震惊的。
and this seemed the most shocking of all to the little princess.
现在她来到树林里一片沼泽地，那里肥大的水蛇正在泥潭里翻滚，露出它们丑陋的、土褐色的身体。
She now came to a space of marshy ground in the wood, where large, fat water - snakes were rolling in the mire, and showing their ugly, drab - colored bodies.
在这片沼泽地的中央有一座房子，是用失事船只上遇难者的骨头建造的。
In the midst of this spot stood a house, built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings.
海巫婆坐在那里，让一只癞蛤蟆从她嘴里吃东西，就像人们有时用一块糖喂金丝雀一样。
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.
她把那些丑陋的水蛇称作她的小鸡，还让它们在她的胸前爬来爬去。
She called the ugly water - snakes her little chickens, and allowed them to crawl all over her bosom.
“我知道你想要什么，” 海巫婆说；
“I know what you want,” said the sea witch;
“你很愚蠢，但你会得偿所愿的，不过这会给你带来悲伤的，我美丽的公主。
“it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess.
你想摆脱你的鱼尾，像陆地上的人类一样有两条支撑物（双腿），这样年轻的王子就可能爱上你，你也可能拥有一个不朽的灵魂。”
You want to get rid of your fish’s tail, and 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.”
然后巫婆大声而令人厌恶地笑了起来，癞蛤蟆和蛇都掉到地上，在那里扭动着。
And then the witch laughed so loud and disgustingly, that the toad and the snakes fell to the ground, and lay there wriggling about.
“你来得正是时候，” 巫婆说；
“You are but just in time,” said the witch;
“因为明天日出之后，在又一年结束之前我都无法帮助你了。
for after sunrise to - morrow I should not be able to help you till the end of another year.
我会为你准备一剂药，明天日出之前你必须带着它游到陆地，坐在岸边喝下它。
I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land tomorrow before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it.
你的尾巴就会消失，收缩成人类所说的腿，你会感到剧痛，就好像有一把剑穿过你的身体。
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.
但是所有看到你的人都会说你是他们见过的最美丽的小人儿。
but all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw.
你仍然会有同样轻盈优美的姿态，没有舞者会跳得如此轻盈；
You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly;
但是你每走一步都会感觉好像踩在锋利的刀刃上，而且一定会流血。
but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives, and that the blood must flow.
如果你能忍受这一切，我就会帮助你。”
If you will bear all this, I will help you.”
“是的，我愿意。” 小公主颤抖着声音说道，因为她想到了王子和不朽的灵魂。
“Yes, I will,” said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul.
“但是再考虑一下吧，” 巫婆说；
“but think again,” said the witch;
“因为一旦你的身形变得像人类，你就不再是美人鱼了。
for when once your shape has bee like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid.
你再也不能穿过海水回到你的姐妹们身边，或者再次回到你父亲的宫殿；
You will never return through the water to your sisters, or to your father’s palace again;
而且如果你没有赢得王子的爱，以至于他不愿意为了你而忘记他的父亲和母亲，全心全意地爱你，并且让牧师将你们的手结合在一起，使你们成为夫妻，那么你将永远不会拥有不朽的灵魂。
and if you do not win the love of the prince, so that he is willing to forget his father and mother for your sake, and to love you with his whole soul, and allow the priest to join your hands that you may be man and wife, then you will never have an immortal soul.
在他与别人结婚后的第一个早晨，你的心就会破碎，你就会变成浪尖上的泡沫。”
the first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will bee foam on the crest of the waves.”
“我愿意这么做。” 小美人鱼说，她变得像死人一样苍白。
“I will do it,” said the little mermaid, and she became pale as death.
“但我也必须得到报酬，” 巫婆说，“我索要的可不是小数目。
“but I must be paid also,” said the witch, “and it is not a trifle that I ask.
在这海底深处居住的所有人当中，你的声音是最甜美的，而且你相信你也能用它来迷住王子，但你必须把这个声音给我；
You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give to me;
我要用你所拥有的最好的东西来换取我的药。
the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught.
我必须把我自己的血混进去，这样它就会像双刃剑一样锋利。”
my own blood must be mixed with it, that it may be as sharp as a two - edged sword.”
“但是如果你拿走我的声音，” 小美人鱼说，“我还剩下什么呢？”
“but if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?”
“你美丽的外形、优雅的步态和富有表现力的眼睛；
“Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes;
当然凭借这些你就能俘获一个男人的心。
surely with these you can enchain a man’s heart.
怎么，你失去勇气了吗？
well, have you lost your courage?
伸出你的小舌头，这样我就能把它割下来作为报酬；然后你就能得到这强效的药了。”
put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught.”
“就这样吧。” 小美人鱼说。
“It shall be,” said the little mermaid.
然后巫婆把她的大锅放在火上，准备熬制魔药。
then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, to prepare the magic draught.
“干净是件好事，” 她说着，用蛇擦洗锅子，她把蛇系成一个大结；
“cleanliness is a good thing,” said she, scouring the vessel with snakes, which she had tied together in a large knot;
然后她刺向自己的胸部，让黑血滴进锅里。
then she pricked herself in the breast, and let the black blood drop into it.
升起的蒸汽形成了非常恐怖的形状，没有人看到它们不害怕的。
the steam that rose formed itself into such horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear.
巫婆每时每刻都往锅里扔些别的东西，当它开始沸腾的时候，声音就像鳄鱼的哭泣声。
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.
最后，魔药准备好了，它看起来就像最清澈的水。
when at last the magic draught was ready, it looked like the clearest water.
“这是给你的。” 巫婆说。
“there it is for you,” said the witch.
然后她割掉了小美人鱼的舌头，这样小美人鱼就变成哑巴了，再也不能说话或者唱歌。
then she cut off the mermaid’s tongue, so that she became dumb, and would never again speak or sing.
“当你穿过树林返回的时候，如果珊瑚虫抓住你，” 巫婆说，“朝它们洒几滴药水，它们的手指就会被撕成碎片。”
“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, and their fingers will be torn into a thousand pieces.”
但是小美人鱼没有机会这么做，因为当珊瑚虫看到她手里闪闪发光像闪烁星星一样的药水时，它们惊恐地缩了回去。
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.
于是她快速穿过树林和沼泽，越过湍急的漩涡。
So she passed quickly through the wood and the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools.
她看到在她父亲的宫殿里，舞厅里的火把都熄灭了，里面所有人都睡着了；
She saw that in her father’s palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished, and all within asleep;
但是她不敢进去找他们，因为现在她变成了哑巴，而且即将永远离开他们，她感觉自己的心好像要碎了。
but she did not venture to go in to them, for now she was dumb and going to leave them forever, she felt as if her heart would break.
她偷偷溜进花园，从每个姐姐的花坛里摘了一朵花，朝着宫殿千百次地亲吻自己的手，然后从深蓝色的海水中升了起来。
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 blue waters.
当她看到王子的宫殿并靠近美丽的大理石台阶时，太阳还没有升起，但是月亮清澈明亮地照耀着。
the sun had not risen when she came in sight of the prince’s palace, and approached the beautiful marble steps, but the moon shone clear and bright.
然后小美人鱼喝下了魔药，就好像一把双刃剑穿过了她娇弱的身体：
then the little mermaid drank the magic draught, and it seemed as if a two - edged sword went through her delicate body:
她昏了过去，像死人一样躺着。
she fell into a swoon, and lay like one dead.
当太阳升起，阳光洒在海面上时，她苏醒过来，感到一阵剧痛；
when the sun arose and shone over the sea, she recovered, and felt a sharp pain;
而就在她面前站着年轻英俊的王子。
but just before her stood the handsome young prince.
他非常热切地将他乌黑的眼睛盯着她，她垂下了自己的眼睛，然后意识到自己的鱼尾不见了，她有了一双任何少女都会羡慕的漂亮的白腿和纤小的双脚；
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, and that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little maiden could have;
但她没有衣服，所以她用自己又长又厚的头发裹住身体。
but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair.
王子问她是谁，从哪里来，她用深蓝色的眼睛温柔又悲伤地看着他；
the prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, and she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes;
但她不能说话。
but she could not speak.
她每走一步都像巫婆说的那样，感觉像是踩在针尖或者锋利的刀刃上；
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;
但她心甘情愿地忍受着，在王子身边走得像肥皂泡一样轻盈，所以王子和所有看到她的人都对她优雅摇曳的身姿感到惊奇。
but she bore it willingly, and stepped as lightly by the prince’s side as a soap - bubble, so that he and all who saw her wondered at her graceful - swaying movements.
很快她就穿上了昂贵的丝绸和薄纱长袍，成了宫殿里最美丽的人；
She was very soon arrayed in costly robes of silk and muslin, and was the most beautiful creature in the palace;
但她是哑巴，既不能说话也不能唱歌。
but she was dumb, and could neither speak nor sing.
穿着丝绸和金饰的美丽女奴走上前，在王子和他的皇室父母面前唱歌：
beautiful female slaves, dressed in silk and gold, stepped forward and sang before the prince and his royal parents:
其中一个唱得比其他人都好，王子鼓掌并对她微笑。
one sang better than all the others, and the prince clapped his hands and smiled at her.
这让小美人鱼非常悲伤；
this was great sorrow to the little mermaid;
她知道自己以前唱歌要甜美得多，她想：“哦，要是他能知道就好了！我为了能和他在一起，永远地失去了我的声音。”
she knew how much more sweetly she herself could sing once, and she thought, “oh if he could only know that! I have given away my voice forever, to be with him.”
女奴们接着伴着美妙的音乐跳起了仙女般的舞蹈。
the slaves next performed some pretty fairy - like dances, to the sound of beautiful music.
然后小美人鱼举起她可爱的白色手臂，踮起脚尖，在地板上滑行，跳起了无人能及的舞蹈。
then the little mermaid raised her lovely white arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided over the floor, and danced as no one yet had been able to dance.
每时每刻她的美丽都更加展露无遗，她那富有表现力的眼睛比女奴们的歌声更能直击人心。
At each moment her beauty became more revealed, and her expressive eyes appealed more directly to the heart than the songs of the slaves.
每个人都被迷住了，尤其是王子，他称她为他捡到的小宝贝；
Every one was enchanted, especially the prince, who called her his little foundling;
她很乐意再次跳舞来取悦他，尽管每次她的脚触碰到地板，都感觉像是踩在锋利的刀刃上。
and she danced again quite readily, to please him, though each time her foot touched the floor it seemed as if she trod on sharp knives.
王子说她应该永远和他在一起，她得到许可睡在他的房门前，睡在一个天鹅绒垫子上。
the prince said she should remain with him always, and she received permission to sleep at his door, on a velvet cushion.
他让人给她做了一套侍童的衣服，这样她就可以陪他骑马了。
he had a page’s dress made for her, that she might acpany him on horseback.
他们一起骑马穿过香气四溢的树林，绿色的树枝轻拂着他们的肩膀，小鸟在新鲜的树叶间歌唱。
they rode together through the sweet - scented woods, where the green boughs touched their shoulders, and the little birds sang among the fresh leaves.
她和王子一起爬上高山之巅；
She climbed with the prince to the tops of high mountains;
虽然她娇嫩的双脚流血了，甚至留下了她的脚印，但她只是笑笑，跟着他，直到他们能看到脚下的云朵像一群飞往远方的鸟儿。
and 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 like a flock of birds travelling to distant lands.
在王子的宫殿里，当所有的家人都睡着的时候，她会走出去坐在宽阔的大理石台阶上；
while at the prince’s palace, and when all the household were asleep, she would go and sit on the broad marble steps;
因为把她发烫的双脚浸在冰冷的海水里能让她舒服些；
for it eased her burning feet to bathe them in the cold sea - water;
然后她就会想起海底深处的所有人。
and then she thought of all those below in the deep.
一天夜里，她的姐姐们手挽手地浮上海面，悲伤地唱着歌。
once during the night her sisters came up arm - in - arm, singing sorrowfully, as they floated on the water.
她向她们招手，然后她们认出了她，并告诉她她让她们多么伤心。
She beckoned to them, and then they recognized her, and told her how she had grieved them.
在那之后，她们每晚都来到同一个地方；
After that, they came to the same place every night;
有一次，她远远地看到了她的老祖母，她已经很多年没有到海面上来了，还有老海王，她的父亲，头上戴着王冠。
and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, who had not been to the surface of the sea for many years, and the old Sea King, her father, with his crown on his head.
他们向她伸出手，但他们不像她的姐姐们那样冒险靠近陆地。
they stretched out their hands towards her, but they did not venture so near the land as her sisters did.
随着日子一天天过去，她更加深情地爱着王子，而王子爱她就像爱一个小孩子一样，但他从未想过要让她成为自己的妻子；
As the days passed, she loved the prince more fondly, and he loved her as he would love a little child, but it never came into his head to make her his wife;
然而，除非他娶了她，否则她无法获得不朽的灵魂；
yet, unless he married her, she could not receive an immortal soul;
而且，在他与别人结婚后的第二天早晨，她就会化为海中的泡沫。
and, on the morning after his marriage with another, she would dissolve into the foam of the sea.
“在所有人当中，你难道不是最爱我吗？”
“do you not love me the best of them all?”
当王子把她抱在怀里，亲吻她光洁的额头时，小美人鱼的眼神似乎在这样说。
the eyes of the little mermaid seemed to say, when he took her in his arms, and kissed her fair forehead.
“是的，你对我来说很珍贵，” 王子说；
“Yes, you are dear to me,” said the prince;
“因为你有最善良的心，而且你对我最忠诚；
“for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me;
你就像我曾经见过的一个少女，但我再也见不到她了。
you are like a young maiden whom I once saw, but whom I shall never meet again.
我在一艘失事的船上，海浪把我冲到一座圣殿附近的岸上，那里有几个少女在做礼拜。
I was in a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple, where several young maidens performed the service.
她们中最年轻的那个在岸上发现了我，救了我的命。
the youngest of them found me on the shore, and saved my life.
我只见过她两次，她是这个世界上我唯一能爱的人；
I saw her but twice, and she is the only one in the world whom I could love;
但你像她，你几乎把她的形象从我脑海里赶走了。
but you are like her, and you have almost driven her image out of my mind.
她属于圣殿，我的好运让你来到我身边代替了她；
She belongs to the holy temple, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her;
我们永远不会分开。”
and we will never part.”
“啊，他不知道是我救了他的命，” 小美人鱼想。
“Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life,” thought the little mermaid.
“我带着他越过大海来到有圣殿的树林：
“I carried him over the sea to the wood where the temple stands:
我坐在泡沫下面，一直看着直到人类来救他。
I sat beneath the foam, and watched till the human beings came to help him.
我看到了那个他爱得比爱我还深的美丽少女；”
I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;”
小美人鱼深深地叹了口气，但她流不出眼泪。
and the mermaid sighed deeply, but she could not shed tears.
“他说那个少女属于圣殿，所以她永远不会回到尘世。
“he says the maiden belongs to the holy temple, therefore she will never return to the world.
他们不会再见面了：
they will meet no more:
而我在他身边，每天都能见到他。
while I am by his side, and see him every day.
我会照顾他，爱他，为他献出我的生命。”
I will take care of him, and love him, and give up my life for his sake.”
很快就传言说王子必须结婚了，邻国国王美丽的女儿将成为他的妻子，因为一艘华丽的船正在装备。
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.
虽然王子宣称他只是打算去拜访国王，但大家普遍认为他实际上是去看他的女儿。
Although the prince gave out that he merely intended to pay a visit to the king, it was generally supposed that he really went to see his daughter.
一大群人将与他同行。
A great pany were to go with him.
小美人鱼笑了笑，摇了摇头。
the little mermaid smiled, and shook her head.
她比任何人都更了解王子的想法。
She knew the prince’s thoughts better than any of the others.
“我必须旅行，” 他对她说；
“I must travel,” he had said to her;
“我必须见到这位美丽的公主；
“I must see this beautiful princess;
我的父母希望如此；
my parents desire it;
但他们不会强迫我把她带回家做我的新娘。
but they will not oblige me to bring her home as my bride.
我不能爱她；
I cannot love her;
她不像你所类似的圣殿里的那位美丽少女。
she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple, whom you resemble.
如果我被迫选择一位新娘，我宁愿选择你，我不会说话的小宝贝，有着那双富有表现力的眼睛的你。”
If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dumb foundling, with those expressive eyes.”
然后他亲吻她玫瑰色的嘴唇，把玩她长长的飘动的头发，把头靠在她的心上，而她则梦想着人类的幸福和不朽的灵魂。
And then he kissed her rosy mouth, played with her long waving hair, and laid his head on her heart, while she dreamed of human happiness and an immortal soul.
“你不害怕大海，我不会说话的孩子，” 当他们站在将要载着他们去邻国国王的国家的华丽船只的甲板上时，他说道。
“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 carry them to the country of the neighboring king.
然后他给她讲述风暴和平静，讲述他们下方深海里的奇异鱼类，以及潜水者在那里看到的东西；
And then he told her of storm and of calm, of strange fishes in the deep beneath them, and of what the divers had seen there;
她对他的描述报以微笑，因为她比任何人都更清楚海底有哪些奇观。
and she smiled at his descriptions, for she knew better than any one what wonders were at the bottom of the sea.
月光下，当船上所有人都睡着时，除了正在掌舵的舵手，她坐在甲板上，透过清澈的海水向下凝视。
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.
她觉得她能分辨出她父亲的城堡，在城堡上她年迈的祖母头戴银冠，透过汹涌的潮水看着船的龙骨。
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.
然后她的姐妹们浮上海浪，悲伤地凝视着她，绞着她们洁白的双手。
then her sisters came up on the waves, and gazed at her mournfully, wringing their white hands.
她向她们招手，微笑着，想要告诉她们自己是多么幸福和幸运；
She beckoned to them, and smiled, and wanted to tell them how happy and well off she was;
但是船上的侍者走近了，当她的姐妹们潜入水下时，他以为自己看到的只是海面上的泡沫。
but the cabin - boy approached, and when her sisters dived down he thought it was only the foam of the sea which he saw.
第二天早晨，船驶进了一个美丽城镇的港口，这个城镇属于王子即将拜访的国王。
the next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of a beautiful town belonging to the king whom the prince was going to visit.
教堂的钟声敲响，高塔上传来嘹亮的喇叭声；
the church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets;
士兵们举着飘扬的旗帜，拿着闪亮的刺刀，排列在他们经过的礁石两旁。
and soldiers, with flying colors and glittering bayonets, lined the rocks through which they passed.
每一天都是节日；
Every day was a festival;
舞会和娱乐活动接连不断。
balls and entertainments followed one another.
但是公主还没有露面。
but the princess had not yet appeared.
人们说她正在一个宗教场所接受教养，在那里她正在学习每一种皇家美德。
people said that she was being brought up and educated in a religious house, where she was learning every royal virtue.
最后她来了。
At last she came.
小美人鱼非常急切地想看看她是否真的美丽，不得不承认她从未见过如此完美的美人。
then the little mermaid, who was very anxious to see whether she was really beautiful, was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty.
她的皮肤娇嫩白皙，长长的黑色睫毛下，她那欢笑的蓝色眼睛闪烁着真诚和纯洁。
her skin was delicately fair, and beneath her long dark eye - lashes her laughing blue eyes shone with truth and purity.
“是你，” 王子说，“当我躺在海滩上奄奄一息的时候救了我的命。” 然后他把脸红的新娘抱在怀里。
“It was you,” said the prince, “who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach,” and he folded his blushing bride in his arms.
“哦，我太幸福了，” 他对小美人鱼说；
“oh, I am too happy,” said he to the little mermaid;
“我最美好的愿望都实现了。
“my fondest hopes are all fulfilled.
你会为我的幸福而高兴的；
you will rejoice at my happiness;
因为你对我的爱是伟大而真诚的。”
for your devotion to me is great and sincere.”
小美人鱼吻了他的手，感觉自己的心好像已经碎了。
the little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart were already broken.
他的新婚早晨将给她带来死亡，她将变成海里的泡沫。
his wedding morning would bring death to her, and she would change into the foam of the sea.
所有的教堂钟声都敲响了，传令官骑马在城里宣告订婚的消息。
All the church bells rung, and the heralds rode about the town proclaiming the betrothal.
每个祭坛上昂贵的银灯里都燃着香油。
perfumed oil was burning in costly silver lamps on every altar.
牧师们挥舞着香炉，与此同时新娘和新郎手牵手接受主教的祝福。
the priests waved the censers, while the bride and bridegroom joined their hands and received the blessing of the bishop.
小美人鱼身着丝绸和金饰，托着新娘的裙摆；
the little mermaid, dressed in silk and gold, held up the bride’s train;
但她的耳朵听不见喜庆的音乐，她的眼睛看不到神圣的仪式；
but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, and her eyes saw not the holy ceremony;
她想着即将降临到自己身上的死亡之夜，以及她在这世上所失去的一切。
she thought of the night of death which was ing to her, and of all she had lost in the world.
就在同一个晚上，新娘和新郎登上了船；
on the same evening the bride and bridegroom went on board ship;
大炮轰鸣，旗帜飘扬，船中央搭起了一座用紫色和金色装饰的昂贵帐篷。
cannons were roaring, flags waving, and in the centre of the ship a costly tent of purple and gold had been erected.
帐篷里有精致的长椅，供新婚夫妇夜间休息。
It contained elegant couches, for the reception of the bridal pair during the night.
船帆鼓起，顺风而行，在平静的海面上轻快而平稳地滑行。
the ship, with swelling sails and a favorable wind, glided away smoothly and lightly over the calm sea.
天黑时，许多彩灯被点亮，水手们在甲板上欢快地跳舞。
when it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit, and the sailors danced merrily on the deck.
小美人鱼不禁想起她第一次浮出海面时看到的类似的欢庆和喜悦场景；
the little mermaid could not help thinking of her first rising out of the sea, when she had seen similar festivities and joys;
她也加入到舞蹈中，像燕子追逐猎物时那样在空中盘旋，在场的所有人都惊叹地为她欢呼。
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.
她以前从未跳得如此优雅。
She had never danced so elegantly before.
她娇嫩的双脚感觉就像被锋利的刀子割着一样，但她不在乎；
her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it;
一种更强烈的痛苦刺痛了她的心。
a sharper pang had pierced through her heart.
她知道这是她能见到王子的最后一个夜晚，为了他，她已经抛弃了自己的亲人和家园；
She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home;
她放弃了自己美妙的声音，每天为他忍受着难以想象的痛苦，而他却一无所知。
she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard - of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it.
这是她能和他呼吸同样空气、凝视星空和深海的最后一个夜晚；
this was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea;
一个没有思想、没有梦境的永恒之夜在等着她：
an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her:
她没有灵魂，现在她永远也无法得到一个了。
she had no soul and now she could never win one.
船上一直充满欢乐和喜庆，直到午夜过后很久；
All was joy and gayety on board ship till long after midnight;
她和其他人一起欢笑、跳舞，而死亡的念头却在她心中。
she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart.
王子亲吻他美丽的新娘，而她把玩着他乌黑的头发，直到他们手挽手走进华丽的帐篷休息。
the prince kissed his beautiful bride, while she played with his raven hair, till they went arm - in - arm to rest in the splendid tent.
然后船上变得一片寂静；
then all became still on board the ship;
只有舵手醒着，站在舵旁。
the helmsman, alone awake, stood at the helm.
小美人鱼把她洁白的手臂靠在船舷上，朝着东方望去，等待着清晨的第一缕红晕，等待着那将带来她死亡的第一道曙光。
the little mermaid leaned her white arms on the edge of the vessel, and looked towards the east for the first blush of morning, for that first ray of dawn that would bring her death.
她看到她的姐姐们从海水中浮了出来：
She saw her sisters rising out of the flood:
她们和她一样苍白；
they were as pale as herself;
但是她们长长的美丽秀发不再随风飘动，已经被剪掉了。
but their long beautiful hair waved no more in the wind, and had been cut off.
“我们把头发给了女巫，” 她们说，“为了得到帮助来救你，这样你今晚就不会死了。
“we have given our hair to the witch,” said they, “to obtain help for you, that you may not die to - night.
她给了我们一把刀：
She has given us a knife:
看，就在这儿，它非常锋利。
here it is, see it is very sharp.
在太阳升起之前，你必须把它刺进王子的心脏；
before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince;
当温热的血滴到你的脚上时，它们会重新长在一起，变成鱼尾，你将再次成为美人鱼，回到我们身边，在你死去变成咸的海泡沫之前过完你的三百年。
when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again, and form into a fish’s tail, and you will be once more a mermaid, and return to us to live out your three hundred years before you die and change into the salt sea foam.
快点，那么；
haste, then;
在日出之前他或者你必须死。
he or you must die before sunrise.
我们的老祖母因为你悲叹不已，她的白发因悲伤而脱落，就像我们的头发在女巫的剪刀下掉落一样。
our old grandmother moans so for you, that her white hair is falling off from sorrow, as ours fell under the witch’s scissors.
杀死王子然后回来；
Kill the prince and e back;
快点：
hasten:
你没看到天空中最初的红色条纹吗？
do you not see the first red streaks in the sky?
再过几分钟太阳就要升起了，而你必须得死。”
In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die.”
然后她们深深地、悲伤地叹了口气，沉入了海浪之下。
And then they sighed deeply and mournfully, and sank down beneath the waves.
小美人鱼拉开帐篷的深红色帘子，看到美丽的新娘头靠在王子的胸膛上。
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.
她弯下腰亲吻他光洁的额头，然后看向天空，玫瑰色的黎明在天空中越来越明亮；
She bent down and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy dawn grew brighter and brighter;
然后她看了一眼锋利的刀，又把目光投向王子，王子在梦中低语着他新娘的名字。
then she glanced at the sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams.
她在他的思绪里，小美人鱼手中的刀颤抖起来：
She was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid:
然后她把刀远远地抛进海浪里；
then she flung it far away from her into the waves;
刀落水的地方水变红了，溅起的水滴看起来像血。
the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood.
她又带着留恋、半昏厥地看了王子一眼，然后从船上跳进海里，觉得自己的身体正在化为泡沫。
She cast one more lingering, half - fainting glance at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was dissolving into foam.
太阳升上海面，他温暖的光线落在小美人鱼冰冷的泡沫上，小美人鱼并没有感觉到自己正在死去。
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.
她看到明亮的太阳，数百个透明而美丽的生灵在她周围漂浮；
She saw the bright sun, and all around her floated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings;
透过它们她能看到船上白色的船帆和天空中的红色云彩；
she could see through them the white sails of the ship, and the red clouds in the sky;
它们的话语悦耳动听，但太空灵了，凡人的耳朵听不到，就像凡人的眼睛也看不见它们一样。
their speech was melodious, but too ethereal to be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes.
小美人鱼发觉自己有一个和它们一样的身体，并且她不断地从泡沫中越升越高。
the little mermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam.
“我在哪里？”
“where am I?”
她问道，她的声音听起来很空灵，就像和她在一起的那些生灵的声音一样；
asked she, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those who were with her;
世间的音乐无法模仿这种声音。
no earthly music could imitate it.
“在空中的女儿们中间。” 其中一个回答道。
“Among the daughters of the air,” answered one of them.
“美人鱼没有不朽的灵魂，除非她赢得一个人类的爱，否则也无法获得一个。
“A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being.
她永恒的命运取决于他人的力量。
on the power of another hangs her eternal destiny.
但是空中的女儿们，虽然她们没有不朽的灵魂，却能通过自己的善行，为自己获得一个。
but the daughters of the air, although they do not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves.
我们飞往温暖的国度，使那用瘟疫毁灭人类的闷热空气变得凉爽。
we fly to warm countries, and cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence.
我们带着花朵的芬芳去传播健康和活力。
we carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration.
在我们竭尽全力做了三百年善事之后，我们就会得到一个不朽的灵魂并分享人类的幸福。
After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul and take part in the happiness of mankind.
你，可怜的小美人鱼，已经全心全意地尝试像我们一样去做了；
You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing;
你受苦受难，通过自己的善行使自己提升到精灵的世界；
you have suffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit - world by your good deeds;
现在，通过以同样的方式奋斗三百年，你就可以获得一个不朽的灵魂。”
and now, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul.”
小美人鱼抬起她那充满荣耀的眼睛望向太阳，第一次感觉到自己的眼睛里充满了泪水。
the little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears.
在她离开王子的那艘船上，有生机和喧闹声；
on the ship, in which she had left the prince, there were life and noise;
她看到他和他美丽的新娘在寻找她；
she saw him and his beautiful bride searching for her;
他们悲伤地凝视着珍珠般的泡沫，仿佛知道她已经跳进了海浪里。
sorrowfully they gazed at the pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves.
她悄悄地亲吻了新娘的额头，为王子扇风，然后和其他空中的孩子一起升上一朵在天空中漂浮的玫瑰色云彩。
Unseen she kissed the forehead of her bride, and fanned the prince, and then mounted with the other children of the air to a rosy cloud that floated through the aether.
“三百年后，我们将这样飘入天国，” 她说。
“After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdom of heaven,” said she.
“我们甚至可能更快到达那里，” 她的一个同伴小声说。
“And we may even get there sooner,” whispered one of her panions.
“我们可以悄悄地进入有孩子的人家，如果我们发现一个好孩子，他是父母的欢乐、值得父母的爱，那我们的考验时间就会缩短。
“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.
孩子不知道，当我们飞过房间时，我们会为他的良好行为而高兴地微笑，因为我们可以把三百年的时间减少一年。
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.
但是当我们看到一个淘气或者邪恶的孩子时，我们会悲伤地流泪，每一滴眼泪都会使我们的考验时间增加一天！”
but when we see a naughty or a wicked child, we shed tears of sorrow, and for every tear a day is added to our time of trial!”