Originally:
On the far side of the sea, the water was so blue, like the most beautiful cornflower petals, and at the same time so clear, like the brightest glass. Yet it was deep, deep, so deep that no anchor chain could reach the bottom. To reach all the way from the bottom to the surface of the water, there must be many, many church steeples connected one with the other. The people at the bottom of the sea live down here.
There was music here, and there was singing. As the dusk grew cloudy, lanterns of all colors lit up together. They looked like the flags of the world floating in the air. The little mermaid kept swimming toward the ship's window. Every time the waves lifted her up, she could look through the mirror-like window-panes, and see in them a number of splendidly dressed men standing; but the most beautiful of them all was the prince with the big black eyes: undoubtedly he was not yet sixteen years old. Today was his birthday, and it was for that reason that the day was so lively.
The sailors were dancing on the deck. When the prince stepped out, there were over a hundred rockets fired into the sky in unison.
The sky was illuminated as if it were day, so the little mermaid rose up in great terror and sank quickly under the water. But in a little while she put her head out - and at that moment it seemed to her as if all the stars in the sky were falling down on her, and she had never seen such fireworks before. Many huge suns were hush-hush around them, and great, shining fish were leaping into the blue air. All this was reflected into this clear, calm sea. The whole body of the ship was so brightly illuminated that even every very small rope could be seen, and those on board could certainly see even more clearly. Ah, how beautiful the young prince was! He shook hands with the sailors and laughed and smiled as the music slowly faded away in this glorious night ......
The night was late, but the little mermaid had no way of taking her eyes off the ship and this beautiful prince.
The little mermaid thought it was an interesting voyage, but the sailors saw it differently. The ship now made a cracking sound; its thick planking was bent by the oncoming waves. The ship's masts snapped like reeds halfway down its midriff.
Then the ship began to tilt and water rushed in toward the hold. That's when the little mermaid realized they were in danger. She also had to beware of the beams and wreckage of the ship that drifted on the water.
The sky grew dark immediately, and she could see nothing. But when the lightning switched on, the sky seemed very bright again, allowing her to make out everyone on the boat. Everyone was now trying to find as much life for themselves as they could. She paid special attention to the prince. She saw him as the ship split up and sank into the depths of the sea. Immediately she became very happy, for he was now going to fall to her. But then she remembered that a human being could not live in the water, and that he could not enter her father's official palace unless he became dead.
No, he must not be allowed to die! So she swam between the floating beams and planks, not thinking for a moment that they might smash her to death. She sank deep into the water, then came up high in the waves, and at last she reached the prince, who by no means had the strength to float again in this raging sea. His arms and legs began to fail him. His beautiful eyes had closed. If the little mermaid had not come in time, he would have drowned.
She lifted his head out of the water, letting the waves carry her with him as he drifted off to some random place.
By dawn, the storm had passed. There wasn't even a fragment of that boat. The bright red sun rose and shone brightly over the water. It seemed to breathe life into this prince's face. His eyes were still closed, though.
The little mermaid kissed his clear, high forehead and smoothed his long, permeable hair back behind his head. She thought he looked a lot like the marble statue she had in her little underwater garden. She kissed him again, hoping he would awaken.
The bells rang out from the majestic white building, and a number of young women came out through the garden. The little mermaid swam far out to sea, to the back of several large rocks that rose above the surface. She covered her hair and breasts with much foam from the sea, so that no one could see her tiny face. Here she gazed to see who would come to the poor prince.
She had always been a quiet and thoughtful child, and now she became even more so. Her sisters asked her what she had seen when she first rose to the surface of the sea, but she could say nothing.
There were many nights and mornings when she surfaced and swam toward the spot where she had once laid down her prince. She saw the fruit in that garden ripen and be plucked; she saw the snow melt on the tops of the high mountains; but she could not see the prince.
So she always felt more pain whenever she came home. Her only consolation was to sit in her little garden and hold in her hands the beautiful marble statue that resembled that prince. But she no longer tended her flowers. The flowers seemed like something growing in the wilderness, spread all over the place: their long stalks and leaves crossed with the branches of the trees, and made the place look very gloomy.
Now she knew where the prince lived. Here on the water she spent several twilights and dark nights. She swam farther toward land than any other sister dared to go. Indeed, she even swam into that narrow river as far as the magnificent marble balcony below-its long shadows reflected in the water. Here she sat, looking at the young prince who still thought he was alone in the moonlight.
For many nights she saw him riding in the magnificent ship with its many flags flying amidst the music. She peeked upward through the green corduroy. When the wind blew her long silver-white visor, if anyone saw it they always thought it was a swan spreading its wings.
Gradually she began to love humans, and gradually she began to look forward to living among them. She felt that their world was much larger than her world. Indeed, they were able to travel the seas in their ships and climb great mountains that towered above them, while their lands, with their forests and fields, stretched out so far that she could not even look at them. There was so much she wished to know, but her sisters could not answer all her questions. So she had to ask her grandmother. She did know quite a bit about the "Upper World", as she had aptly named the sea country.
"If humans didn't drown," asked the little mermaid, "would they live forever? Will they die like our people who live in the sea?"
"Not at all," said the old woman, "they would die too, and their lives would be even shorter than ours. We can live to be three hundred years old, but when our life here is over, we become foam on the water. On the contrary, mankind has a soul; it lives forever, and even when the body turns to dust, it is still alive. It rises up into the clear sky, all the way up to those shining stars! Just as we rise to the surface of the water and see the world on earth, they rise to those mysterious, magnificent places that we will never see."
"Why don't we get an immortal soul?" The little mermaid asked sadly. "I would give up the hundreds of years of life I could live here if only I could become a human being and have access to the heavenly world, even if I could live there for only one day," "You must never think such thoughts," the old woman said. "We have a much happier and better life here than the humans up there!"
"Then I shall have no choice but to die and become a bubble floating on the water. Will I never hear the music of the waves again, or see the beautiful flowers and the bright red sun? Is there no way for me to get an eternal soul?"
"No!" The old woman said. "Only when a man loves you and treats you as dearer than his parents: only when he puts all his thoughts and love in you; only when he makes the priest put his right hand in yours and promises to be faithful to you for ever, now and in the future, will his soul be transferred to you, and you will receive a share of human joy. "
The little mermaid sighed and glanced his fishtail sadly.
"Let's put some joy in it!" The old woman said. "Let's dance and dance for the three hundred years we get to live. That is quite a long time exactly. Let's have a ball in the palace tonight!"
In the midst of all these people, the little mermaid sang the most beautifully. They all applauded her; and for a few moments she felt great joy in her heart, for she knew that she alone had the most beautiful voice on land and in the sea. But then she immediately remembered the world above.
She could not forget the beautiful prince, nor could she forget the sorrow she had caused by not having an immortal soul like his. So she stole out of her father's palace: and while it was full of song and joy, she sat sadly in her little garden. Suddenly she heard a trumpet sounding from the water. She thought, "He must be rowing up there: he--I love him better than my father and mother; he--I miss him every moment; I place the happiness of my life in his hands. I will sacrifice everything to win him and an immortal soul."
The little mermaid then stepped out of the garden, and walked toward a whirlpool that set up a whirlpool of foam-the witch lived behind it. She had never traveled this way before. There were no flowers, no seaweed, just a bare, gray sandy bottom that stretched out toward the whirlpool. The water swirled here like a noisy waterwheel, turning everything it touched under.
The little mermaid stopped in her tracks before the forest, terrified. Her heart leapt with fear, and she almost wanted to turn back. But as soon as she thought of the prince and the soul of the man, she had courage again. She wrapped her long, flowing hair firmly around her head so that the coral bugs could not catch her. She pressed her hands close to her breast, so that she leaped forward like a fish jumping in the water, among these ugly coral bugs, which had only to wave their long soft arms and fingers behind her.
Now she came to a slimy clearing in the forest. Here big, fat water snakes flopped about, revealing their yellowish, oddly ugly bellies. In the center of the field was a house made of the white bones of dead men. The Witch of the Sea was sitting here, feeding an epileptic toad with her mouth, as we feed a little canary with sugar. She calls those oddly ugly, fat water snakes her chicks, while letting them crawl around on her fat, flabby chest.
"I know what you have come to ask for," said the Witch of the Sea. "After the sun comes up tomorrow, there is nothing I can do to help you, except wait a year. I can decoct a potion for you to drink. You take this medicine with you and swim quickly to land before the sun comes up. You'll sit on the beach and eat the medicine, so your tail will split in half and shrink into what humans call pretty legs. But it hurts - it's like having a sharp knife cut into you. Anyone who sees you will surely say you are the most beautiful child they have ever seen!"
"I can bear it," said the little mermaid in a trembling voice. At that moment she remembered the prince and her volunteer to gain an immortal soul.
"But remember," said the witch, "once you have gained a human form, you can never again become a mermaid, you can never again walk down into the water and return to your sister's or your father's official hall. At the same time if you do not get the love of that prince, if you cannot make him forget his parents for you, love you with all his heart, and call the priest to come and put your hands together in marriage, you will not get an immortal soul.
"But you will still have to pay me a reward!" The witch said, "And it is not a tiny thing that I want. Of all the people at the bottom of the sea, your voice has to be the most beautiful. Undoubtedly, you want to charm him with that voice, but that voice you will have to give to me."
"But if you take my voice," said the little mermaid, "then what have I got left?"
"O you still have your beautiful figure," replied the witch, "O you still have your light step and your expressive eyes. With these things, you can easily charm a man's heart. Well, have you lost your nerve? Stick out your tiny tongue so I can cut it out as payment and you can have this strong potion."
"Let it be so." The little mermaid said. The witch then got the pot ready to decoct the magic-rich potion.
"Cleaning is a good thing," she said; so she tied a knot with a couple of snakes and scrubbed the jar with it. Then she scratched her chest and let her black blood drip into the jar. The vapors of the medicine rose into the air in strange shapes and looked strangely fearful. Every few moments the witch added a little of something new to the jar of medicine.
"Take it!" The witch said. So she cut out the little mermaid's tongue. The little mermaid was now a mute, and could neither sing nor speak.
"When you go back through my forest, if the coral worms catch you," said the witch, "you have only to sprinkle a drop of this potion on them, and their arms and fingers will split into pieces and streak in all directions."
She could see her father's official hall. The torches in that wide dancing hall had gone out, and no doubt those within had fallen asleep. She dared not look at them again, though, for she was now a mute and about to leave them forever.
The sun had not yet risen when she saw that prince's palace. She walked solemnly up those marble steps.
The moon shone transparently and very beautifully. The little mermaid drank the strong potion. Immediately, she felt as if a knife, fast on both sides, had split her slender body. She immediately fainted. She fell down as if she were dead. She awoke when the sun shone over the sea, and she felt a sharp pain. At that moment a young and beautiful prince was standing in front of her. His dark eyes were looking at her, causing her to bow her head in embarrassment. She looked at him with her dark blue eyes tenderly and sadly, for she could not speak now. He took her hand and led her into the palace.
As the witch had told her before, she felt as if she were walking on awls and sharp knives at every step. But she was willing to endure the pain. She took the prince's arm and walked as lightly as a blister. He and all the people looked at this civil and light step of hers and marveled.
Now she wore expensive clothes made of silk and fine yarn. She was one of the most beautiful people in the palace, yet she was a mute and could neither sing. Nor could she speak. Beautiful female slaves, dressed in silks and gold and silver ornaments, came forward and sang for the prince and his parents. One slave sang most charmingly, and the prince could not help but applaud and smile at her.
Then the little mermaid felt a pang of sadness. She knew that there was a time when her singing was much more beautiful than that kind of singing! She thought to herself, "Ah! I only wish he knew that I sacrificed my voice forever in order to be with him!"
Now the slaves danced gracefully and lightly to the beautiful music. That's when the little mermaid raised one of her beautiful, white hands and stood on her toes, dancing lightly across the floor - no one had ever danced like this before.
Every movement she made set off her beauty. Her eyes struck a chord more than the slaves' songs.
Everyone was mesmerized, especially the king - he called her his "orphan". She danced on and on, though every time her feet touched the ground, it was as if she were walking on a sharp knife. The prince said that she should stay with him forever afterward; so she was given permission to sleep on a velvet mat outside his door.
At the prince's palace, after all had gone to bed at night, she made her way to the broad steps. So that her feverish feet might feel a little cooler, she stood up into the cold waters. At that moment she couldn't help but think of the people who lived at the bottom of the sea.
The prince loved her more and more every day. He loved her like a good affectionate child, but he never had the thought of marrying her as his queen. Yet she had to be his wife, or she would not get an immortal soul, and would turn into foam on the sea the first morning of his marriage.
"Of all men, do you love me best?" The little mermaid's eyes seemed to say so as he took her into his arms and kissed her forehead.
"Yes, you are my dearest!" The prince said
"Ah, and he doesn't know I saved his life!" The little mermaid thought. "I lifted him out of the sea and took him to a grove of trees where the temple was. I sat behind the foam and peeped to see if anyone would come. I saw that beautiful girl - he loved her more than he loved me."
Now everyone was saying that the prince was about to be married, and that her wife was one of the daughters of a neighboring king. He had a beautiful ship specially outfitted for the occasion. The prince said on the face of it that he was going on a sight-seeing tour in a neighboring kingdom, but in fact he was going in order to see the daughter of the neighboring monarch. He would take a large retinue with him. The little mermaid shook her head and smiled. She could guess what was on the prince's mind better than anyone.
"I have to travel a bit!" He had told her, "I have to see a beautiful princess, it's my parents' order, but they can't force me to bring her home as my fiancée! I will not love her. You are very much like the beautiful girl in the temple, and she is not. If I were to choose a new bride, then I would have to choose you first - my dear, mute orphan girl with eyes that can speak."
So he kissed her bright red lips, stroked and caressed her long hair, pressed his head to her heart, and made this heart of hers dream again of earthly happiness and of an immortal soul.
"It is you!" Said the prince, "When I lay like a dead body on the shore, it was you who saved my life!" So he took the shy new bride and held her tightly in his arms. "Ah, I am so happy!" He said to the little mermaid, "the best thing I never dared hope for is now at last a fact. You will rejoice in my happiness, for you are my favorite of all!"
The little mermaid took his hand and kissed it. She felt her heart breaking. The very first morning after his wedding would bring her perdition, would turn her into foam on the sea.
The wind was drumming the sails. The ship sailed gently, without great fluctuation, on this clear, bright sea.
She knew that this was the last night she would see him - for him she had left her people and her family, she had given up her beautiful voice, she had endured daily suffering without end, and yet he had not known a thing. It was the last night she could breathe the same air with him, it was the last night she could see the deep sea and the sky filled with stars.
The ship was quiet now. Only the helmsman stood at the helm. The little mermaid leaned her white arm against the bulwark and gazed to the east, waiting for the morning sun to appear - she knew that the first sunbeam would call her doom - and she saw her sisters emerging from the waves. They were as pale as herself. Their beautiful long hair was no longer flowing in the wind - for it had been cut.
"We have given our hair to the witch in the hope that she will help you and keep you from perishing in the future. She has given us a knife. Take it, and see how fast it is! You'll have to plunge it into that prince's heart before the sun comes up. When his hot blood runs down to your feet, your feet will join together again and become a fishtail, and then you will be restored to your original form as a mermaid, and you will be able to come back to the water we have here; so that you can still live through your three hundred years until you have become a lifeless bubble of salt water.
They uttered a strange, deep sigh, and they sank into the waves.
The little mermaid lifted the purple curtains from that tent, and saw that the beautiful bride had fallen asleep with her head in the prince's arms. She bent down and kissed the prince on his clear brow, whereupon she gazed toward the sky--the morning sun grew brighter. She glanced a heel toward the sharp knives, then dropped her eyes toward this prince; he was murmuring in his sleep the name of his new bride.
Now the sun was rising out of the sea. The sun shone softly and warmly on the cold foam. For the little mermaid did not feel perdition. She saw the bright sun, while above her flew countless transparent, beautiful creatures.
"To whom shall I go?" She asked. Her voice, like these other creatures, seemed ethereal, and no music in the human world could compare to it.
"To the daughter of the sky!" Other voices replied. "The mermaid has no immortal soul, and never will have such a soul unless she gains the love of a mortal. Her eternal existence depends on an alien power. The daughters of the sky do not have eternal souls either, though they can create one through acts of kindness."
The little mermaid raised her shining arms to the sun above, and for the first time she felt the need to shed tears.
On that boat, the sounds of people and activity began again. She saw the prince and his beautiful bride looking for her. They looked mournfully at the churning foam, as if they knew she had jumped into the waves. In the meditation she kissed the forehead of this new bride, and she smiled at the prince. Then she joined the other children of the air and rode up into the sky on a rose-colored lump of cloud.
"So that in three hundred years we may ascend into the heavens!"
"We may not have to wait that long!" A voice whispered. "We fly invisibly into human dwellings where some children live. When we fly through the house, the child will not know it. When we smile happily at him, we can subtract a year from those three hundred years; but when we see a naughty and bad child, and have to cry out in sadness, then each tear adds one more day to the days of our trial."
Expanded:
The Daughter of the Sea is a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, also translated as The Mermaid Princess, first published in 1837.
The story is about the little mermaid, the sea princess, who, in order to pursue the immortal soul of a human being, gives up her free life under the sea and her 300 years of longevity, abandons her beautiful singing voice in the hands of a wicked witch, endures the great pain brought about by turning her fish tail into a human leg, and pursues the immortal and noble soul of a human being with her love, her heart, and her young life and through the "Work of Kindness". "work of kindness" to share all the eternal happiness of man. The writer eulogizes the little mermaid's pursuit of love, soul, and ideals, and shows her kind and pure character, strong perseverance, and spirit of sacrifice.
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