The distant sea, white and water is blue, like the most beautiful cornflower petals, but it is also very clear, like the brightest glass. But the road is so deep that any anchor chain can't reach the end. To reach the surface from the bottom of the sea, many church spires must be connected one after another. People under the sea live here.

There is music and singing here. When it gets dark in the evening, all kinds of lanterns light up together. They look like the flags of all countries in the world flying in the air. The little mermaid swam all the way to the ship window. Whenever the waves lifted her up, she could see many men in gorgeous clothes standing there through the glass window like a mirror; But the most beautiful one is the prince with big black eyes: there is no doubt that he is not yet sixteen. Today is his birthday, and it is for this reason that today is so lively.

The sailors are dancing on the deck. When the prince came out, 100 rockets shot into the sky together.

The sky was illuminated like day, so the little mermaid was very scared and quickly sank to the bottom of the water. But in a short time, she put her head out-at this time, she felt as if all the stars had fallen on her. She has never seen such fireworks. Many huge suns hissed and dazzling fish jumped into the blue sky. All this is reflected in this clear and calm sea. The whole hull is so bright that even a small rope can be seen, and of course the people on board can see it clearly. Ah, how beautiful this young prince is! When the music faded away on this wonderful night, he smiled and shook hands with the sailors ...

It was late at night, but the little mermaid couldn't take her eyes off the boat and the beautiful prince.

The little mermaid thought it was a very interesting voyage, but the sailors didn't think so. The ship is breaking up now; Its thick wooden wall was bent by the coming waves. The mast broke like a reed in the middle.

Then the ship began to tilt and the water rushed into the cabin. Then the little mermaid knew that they were in danger. She must also be careful of beams and debris floating on the water.

The sky darkened at once and she couldn't see anything. But when lightning struck, the sky became very bright again, so that she could see everyone on board. Now everyone is trying to find their own way. She pays special attention to the prince. She saw him when the ship split and sank to the bottom of the sea. She became very happy at once, because he is coming towards her now. But she remembered that man could not live in water, and he could not enter her father's official temple unless he died.

No, he must not die! So she swam between the floating beams and boards, never thinking that they would kill her. She sank deeply into the water, then rose high in the waves, and finally she reached the prince's side. In this rough sea, he no longer has the strength to float. His arms and legs are starting to fail. His beautiful eyes closed. If the little mermaid hadn't arrived in time, he would have drowned.

She lifted his head from the water and let the waves take her anywhere.

It's dawn and the storm is over. There are not even fragments of the ship. The bright red sun rose and shone brightly on the water. It seems to inject life into the prince's face. But his eyes are still closed.

The little mermaid gave him a beautiful kiss and brushed his long wet hair back. She thinks he looks like her marble statue in the small garden under the sea. She kissed him again, hoping that he would wake up.

The bell rang from the magnificent white building and many young women came out through the garden. The little mermaid swam far away in the sea, behind several big stones that appeared on the sea. She covered her hair and chest with a lot of sepiolite so that no one could see her little face. She looked here to see who would come to the poor prince.

She has always been a quiet and sentimental child, especially now. Her sisters asked her what she saw when she first rose to the sea, but she couldn't say anything.

Many nights and mornings, she surfaced and swam to the place where she put the prince down. She saw that the fruit in the garden was ripe and picked; She saw the snow on the top of the mountain melt; But she can't see the prince.

So every time she goes home, she always feels more painful. Her only comfort is sitting in her small garden, holding a beautiful marble statue similar to the prince in both hands. But she no longer takes care of her flowers. These flowers seem to grow in the wilderness and spread all over the place: their long stems and leaves intersect with branches, making the place look very dark.

Now she knows where the prince lives. She spent several nights on the water here. She swam to land farther than any other sister. In fact, she even swam into the narrow river until it was under the magnificent marble balcony-its long shadow was reflected on the water. She sat here and looked at the young prince, thinking that he was the only one in the moonlight.

Several nights, she saw him sitting on that gorgeous boat, and many flags fluttered with the music. She poked her head out of the green rushes. When the wind blows up her long silver mask, if anyone sees it, they always think it is a swan spreading its wings.

She gradually began to love human beings and began to look forward to living in them. She thinks their world is much bigger than hers. Indeed, they can sail on the sea by boat and climb towering peaks. At the same time, their land, including forests and fields, extends out and makes her boundless. She really wants to know a lot, but her sisters can't answer all her questions. So she had to ask her old grandmother. She really knows the "upper world"-this is her proper term for maritime countries.

"If humans don't drown," asked the little mermaid, "will they live forever? Will they die like people living in the sea? "

"Exactly," said the old lady. "They will die, and their life span is even shorter than ours. We can live to be 300 years old, but when our life here is over, we will become bubbles on the water. On the contrary, human beings have souls; It lives forever, even if the body turns to dust, it is still alive. It rose to the clear sky and to the shining stars! Just as we rise to the surface and see the world on earth, they rise to mysterious and gorgeous places that we will never see. "

"Why can't we get an immortal soul?" The little mermaid asked sadly. "As long as I can become a human and enter the world in the sky, even if I only live there for one day, I am willing to give up the hundreds of years I can live here." "You mustn't think of that," said the old lady. "Compared with the humans above, our life here is much happier!"

"Then I have to die and become a bubble floating on the water. Will I never hear the music of the waves again, never see the beautiful flowers and the bright red sun again? Can't I get an eternal soul? "

"no!" The old lady said. "Only when a person loves you and treats you as a kinder person than his parents: only when he puts all his thoughts and love on you; Only when he asks the priest to put his right hand in your hand and promises to be loyal to you forever now and in the future will his soul be transferred to you and you will get a share of human happiness. "

The little mermaid sighed and looked at her fish tail sadly.

"Let's be happy!" The old lady said. "In the three hundred years we can live, let's dance and dance. After all, this is quite a long time. Let's dance in the palace tonight! "

Among these people, the little mermaid sings best. Everyone applauded for her; For a time, she felt very happy, because she knew that only her voice was the most beautiful on land and in the sea. But she immediately remembered the world above.

She can't forget the beautiful prince, and she can't forget the sadness caused by not having an immortal soul like him. So she sneaked out of her father's palace: when she was full of songs and happiness, she sat sadly in her small garden. Suddenly, she heard the trumpet sound coming from the water. She thought, "he must be sailing on it: he-I love him more than my parents;" He-I miss him all the time; I put the happiness of my life into his hands. I will sacrifice everything to win him and an immortal soul. "

So the little mermaid went out of the garden and went to a whirlpool that would emit bubbles-the witch lived behind it. She has never walked this road before. No flowers, no seaweed, only the bare gray sand bottom that extends to the whirlpool. The water spins here, just like a noisy waterwheel, turning everything it touches to the bottom.

The little mermaid stopped in front of the forest and was very afraid. Her heart was beating with fear, and she almost wanted to turn back. But when she thought of the prince and the human soul, she had courage again. She wrapped her long flowing hair tightly around her head so that the coral couldn't catch her. Her hands pressed tightly against her chest, so she jumped forward among these ugly corals like a fish jumping in the water, and these corals just waved their soft long arms and fingers behind them.

Now she came to a muddy clearing in the forest. Here, the big and fat water snakes are turning, revealing their pale yellow ugly bellies. In the middle of this field, there is a house made of dead bones. The witch in the sea sits here and feeds an epileptic toad with her mouth, just like we feed a golden finch with sugar. She called those ugly and fat water snakes her chickens and let them crawl around her fat and soft breasts.

"I know what you want," said the sea witch. "After the sun comes out tomorrow, I can't help you, just wait a year. I can fry a medicine for you to drink. Take this medicine and swim to land before the sun comes out. If you sit on the beach and take this medicine, your tail can be divided into two halves and shrunk into what humans call beautiful legs. But it hurts-like a sharp knife cutting into your body. Anyone who sees you will say that you are the most beautiful child they have ever seen! "

"I can stand it," said the little mermaid in a trembling voice. Then she remembered the prince and her wish for an immortal soul.

"But remember," said the witch, "once you get a person's body, you can never become a mermaid again, and you can never go into the water again and come back to your sister's or your father's official temple. At the same time, if you can't get the prince's love, if you can't let him forget his parents for you and love you wholeheartedly, and let the priest put your hands together to form a couple, you won't get an immortal soul.

"But you have to pay me!" The witch said, "What I want is not a small thing. Of all the people at the bottom of the sea, your voice is the most beautiful. There is no doubt that you want to charm him with this sound, but you have to give it to me. "

"But if you deprive me of my voice," said the little mermaid, "what am I left?"

"Your figure is still beautiful," replied the witch. "You still have light footsteps and expressive eyes. With these things, you can easily charm a man's heart. Have you lost your courage? Hold out your small tongue, I can cut it off as a reward, and you can get this powerful medicine. "

"Just do it." Said the little mermaid. The witch then prepared a medicine pot to fry the medicine.

"Cleanliness is a good thing," she said. So she tied several snakes into a knot and used it to wash the jar. Then she scratched her chest and let her black blood drop into the jar. The steam of medicine rises into the air strangely, which looks scary. Every once in a while, the witch will put something new into the medicine jar.

"Take it!" Said the witch. So she cut off the little mermaid's tongue. The little mermaid is mute now. She can neither sing nor talk.

"If corals catch you when you go back through my forest," said the witch, "all you have to do is sprinkle a drop of this medicine on them and their arms and fingers will break into pieces and fly in all directions."

She can see her father's official hall. The torch in the spacious ballroom has been extinguished, and there is no doubt that the people inside have fallen asleep. But she dare not go to see them again, because she is mute now and will leave them forever.

When she saw the prince's palace, the sun had not yet risen. She walked solemnly up the marble steps.

The moon shines transparently and beautifully. The little mermaid drank a powerful medicine. She immediately felt as if there was a knife sharp on both sides, which split her slender body. She fainted immediately. Fall down like a dead man. When the sun shone on the sea, she woke up and felt a sharp pain. At this moment, a beautiful young prince stood in front of her. His black eyes stared at her, which made her bow her head shyly. She looked at him gently and sadly with dark blue eyes, because she can't speak now. He took her by the hand and led her into the palace.

As the witch told her before, she felt that every step was like walking on an awl and a sharp knife. But she is willing to endure the pain. She walked lightly, arm in arm with the prince. He and all the people looked at her gentle and light steps and were surprised.

Now she wears expensive clothes made of silk and spun yarn. She is the most beautiful person in the palace, but she is dumb and can't sing. Can't talk. Beautiful slave girls, dressed in silk and gold and silver ornaments, came forward and sang for the prince and his parents. A slave sang the most charming song, and the prince could not help clapping his hands and smiling at her.

Then the little mermaid felt very sad. She knew that at one time, her singing was much better than that! She thought, "Ah! I just want him to know that I sacrificed my voice forever to be with him! "

Now the slaves dance gracefully and lightly to the beautiful music. Then the little mermaid raised her beautiful white hands, stood on tiptoe and danced lightly on the floor-no one had ever danced like this before.

Her every move sets off her beauty. Her eyes are more touching than slaves' songs.

Everyone was fascinated, especially Wang Yu, who called her his "orphan". She kept dancing, although every time her foot touched the ground, she seemed to be walking on a sharp knife. The prince said that she should be with him forever; So she was allowed to sleep on the velvet mat outside his door.

In the prince's palace, after everyone slept at night, she went to the wide steps. In order to make her feverish feet feel a little cold, she stood in the cold sea. At this moment, she couldn't help thinking of people living at the bottom of the sea.

The prince loves her more and more every day. He loved her like a child, but he never wanted to marry her as a queen. However, she must be his wife, otherwise she won't get an immortal soul, and she will become a bubble at sea in the first morning of his marriage.

"Of all people, do you love me the most?" When he held her in his arms and kissed her on the forehead, the little mermaid's eyes seemed to say so.

"Yes, you are my closest relative!" Said the prince.

"Ah, but he doesn't know that I saved his life!" The little mermaid thought. "I took him out of the sea and sent him to a forest where the temple was located. I sat behind the bubble to see if anyone would come. I saw that beautiful girl-he loved her more than me. "

Now it is said that the prince is getting married, and his wife is the daughter of a neighboring king. He specially equipped a beautiful ship for this purpose. On the surface, the prince said he was going to visit a neighboring country, but in fact he was going to meet the daughter of a neighboring monarch. He will go with a large entourage. The little mermaid shook her head and smiled. She can read the prince's mind better than anyone else.

"I have to go!" He said to her, "I must meet a beautiful princess." This is my parents' order, but they can't force me to take her home to be my fiancee! I won't love her. You look like a beautiful girl in a temple, but she is not. If I want to choose a new bride, then I must first choose you-my dear dumb orphan with talking eyes. "

So he kissed her bright red lips, stroked her long hair, put his head on her heart, and made her heart dream of human happiness and immortal soul again.

"It's you!" The prince said, "When I was lying on the shore like a dead body, you saved my life!" " So he held the shy bride tightly in his arms. "Oh, I'm so happy!" He said to the little mermaid, "the best thing I never dared to expect has finally come true." You will be happy for my happiness, because you like me best! "

The little mermaid kissed his hand. She felt her heart broken. The first morning after his wedding will bring her destruction and turn her into a bubble at sea.

The wind blew the sails. The ship sailed smoothly on the clear sea without big fluctuations.

She knew that this was the last night she saw him-for him, she left her people and family, she handed over her beautiful voice, and she endured endless pain every day, but he didn't know it at all. This is the last night that she can breathe the same air as him, and this is the last night that she can see the deep sea and the starry sky.

This ship is very quiet now. Only the helmsman stood by the rudder. The little mermaid leaned her snow-white arm against the bulwark and stared at the east, waiting for the dawn-she knew that the first ray of sunshine would kill her, and she saw her sisters emerge from the waves. They are as pale as she is. Their beautiful long hair no longer floats in the wind-because it has been cut off.

"We have given our hair to the witch, hoping that she can help you, so that you will not perish in the future. She gave us a knife. Here, look, how fast! Before the sun comes out, you should put it in the prince's heart. When his blood flows to your feet, your feet will be reconnected and become a fish tail, then you can restore the original shape of the mermaid and you can come back to our water; In this way, you can live for 300 years before you become a lifeless salt water bubble.

They let out a strange, deep sigh and then sank into the waves.

The little mermaid lifted the purple curtain on the tent and saw the beautiful bride buried her head in the prince's arms and fell asleep. She bent down, kissed the prince's delicate eyebrows and stared at the sky like this-the morning glow gradually brightened. She looked at the sharp knife, and then looked at the prince. He mumbled the name of his bride in his dream.

Now the sun rises from the sea. The sun shone softly and warmly on the cold foam. Because the little mermaid didn't feel extinct. She saw the bright sun, and at the same time, countless transparent and beautiful creatures flew above her.

"Who am I going to find?" She asked. Her voice is as ethereal as other creatures, and no music in the world can match it.

"Go find the daughter of the sky!" Another voice replied. "Mermaids have no immortal soul. Unless they are loved by mortals, there will never be such a soul. Her eternal existence depends on external forces. The daughters of the sky have no eternal soul, but they can create a soul through good behavior. "

The little mermaid raised her shining arm to the sun overhead, and she felt tears for the first time.

On that ship, the sound and activity began again. She saw the prince and his beautiful bride looking for her. They looked at the churning foam sadly, as if they knew she had jumped into the waves. Somehow she kissed the bride's forehead and smiled at the prince. So she rode on the rosy clouds in the air with other children and rose into the sky.

"In this way, after 300 years, we can ascend to heaven!"

"We may not have to wait that long!" A voice whispered. "We virtually flew into the human house, where some children lived. The children won't know when we fly over the house. When we smile at him happily, we can subtract one year from these three hundred years; But when we see a naughty bad boy and have to cry sadly, then every tear adds another day to our test. "