Recently, I watched the "Mermaid" directed by Stephen Chow. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info is refreshing, which reminds me of the mermaid in my pen name.

Once unintentionally, after reading Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale "The Daughter of the Sea", I unconsciously was deeply impressed by the heroine mermaid.

I was also very moved by the mermaid's persistent pursuit spirit and extraordinary perseverance.

If we insist on writing, don't we also have this kind of spirit and perseverance!

Now send Hans Christian Andersen's classics to inspire all brothers and sisters to work hard to write!

Hans Christian Andersen's "Daughter of the Sea"

In the distance of the sea, the water is so blue, like the most beautiful cornflower petals, and at the same time so clear, like the brightest glass,

But it's so deep that no anchor chain can reach it. To reach the surface from the bottom of the sea, many, many church spires must be joined one after the other. The people at the bottom of the sea live down here.

But don't think it's just a sea bed of white sand. No, there are the most bizarre trees and plants growing there. Their branches and leaves are so soft that they shake as if they were alive at the slightest touch of water. All the big and small fish swam among the branches, like birds in the sky. The deepest part of the sea is the place where the Sea King's palace is located. Its walls are made of coral, its high spire windows are made of the brightest amber, but the roof is covered with black mussel shells that open and close automatically with the flow of water. This is strangely good-looking, and each mussel shell contains shiny pearls. Any pearl can be the main decoration on the queen's hat.

The Sea King, who lived there, had been a widower for many years, but he had his old mother to take care of the household for him. She was a wise woman, but she was always impressed by her noble origin, so she always wore a dozen oysters on her tail - and the rest of the dignitaries wore only half a dozen each. Besides that, she deserves great praise, especially since she is very much in love with the little sea princesses, some of her granddaughters. They were six beautiful children, and the youngest of them was the most beautiful. Her skin was light and tender, like the petals of a rose, and her eyes were azure, like the deepest lake. However, like the other princesses, she has no legs: the lower part of her body is a fishtail.

They could spend their entire long days in the palace, in halls with flowers on the walls. The big amber windows were open, and the fish swam towards them, just as the swallows flew in when we opened them. But the fish kept swimming to the little princesses, looking for something to eat in their hands, and letting them touch them.

Outside the palace there was a large garden, in which grew many fiery and dark blue trees, the fruits of which were as bright as gold, and the flowers that bloomed like a burning fire, and whose branches and leaves shook incessantly. The ground was full of the finest sand, but it was as blue as the flame of sulfur. There, everywhere there was a strange, blue glow. It's easy to think you're high in the air and not at the bottom of the ocean, with a blue sky all over your head and feet. When the sea is very quiet, you can catch a glimpse of the sun: it looks like a purple flower, and from its calyx shines all kinds of light.

In the garden, each little princess has her own little piece of land on which she can plant as she pleases. Some people decorate their flower beds like a whale, and some feel that it is better to arrange their flower beds like a little mermaid. But the youngest one arranged her flower bed round like a sun, and she planted only flowers as red as the sun. She was an eccentric child, not very talkative, always quietly thinking about something. While the other sisters adorned their gardens with the most bizarre things they had obtained from the shipwreck, she wanted nothing but a beautiful marble statue except a flower as bright red as the sun in the sky. The statue represents a beautiful man, carved out of a white stone, that sank to the bottom of the sea with a shipwrecked ship. She planted a weeping willow as red as a rose next to the statue. The tree grew very luxuriantly. Its fresh branches and leaves hung down to the stone statue and down to the blue sandy bottom. Its reflection has a purple-blue hue. Like its branches, the shadow never stands still, and the roots and tops of the trees seem to be playing a game of kissing each other.

Her greatest pleasure was to hear stories about the human world above. Her grandmother had to tell her everything she knew about ships and cities, humans and animals. It was especially beautiful for her that the flowers on the ground could smell but not on the seabed, that the forests on the earth were green, and that the fish that one could see swimming among the branches sang so crisply and beautifully that it was pleasant. The "fish" that the old grandmother spoke of was in fact a bird, but if she had not said so, the little princess would not have understood her story, for she had never seen a bird.

"When you are fifteen," said the old grandmother, "I will allow you to float to the surface." Then you can sit on top of the stones under the moonlight and watch the huge ships sail past you. You can also see the woods and the city. ”

In the year that was coming one of the sisters had reached the age of fifteen, but the rest - one of them was a year younger. So the youngest princess had to wait five years before she could come up from the bottom of the sea and come to see our world. But each promised the next that she would tell everyone what she had seen and discovered on the first day, because their grandmother had not told enough - how much they had hoped to know!

None of them were as eager as the younger sister, who had waited the longest, and who was so silent and thoughtful. I don't know how many nights she stood by the open window, peering through the deep blue water, watching the fish waving their tails and wings. She also saw the moon and the stars—of course, their light was a little faint, but through a layer of water, they looked much bigger than they did to our eyes. If something resembling a black cloud floated beneath them, she knew it wasn't a whale swimming above her, or a boat carrying a lot of passengers. But the travelers could no longer have imagined that beneath them was a beautiful little mermaid with her white hands stretched out towards the keel of their ship.

Now the eldest princess was fifteen years old and could rise to the water.

When she returned, she had a myriad of things to tell: but the most beautiful things, she said, were lying on a sand under the moonlight when the sea was calm, gazing against the shore at the lights of the great city that lit up like countless stars, listening to the music, the noise, and the sound of carriages and people, and watching the round towers and minarets of churches, and listening to the jingling bells. Because she couldn't go there, she craved these things the most.

Oh, how fascinated the youngest sister was! When she stood by the open window at night, looking up through the deep blue water, she remembered the great city and the bustling sound in it. Then she seemed to hear the church bells drifting towards her.

The next year, the second sister was given permission to surface and swim wherever she wanted. The sun had just set when she jumped out of the water, and she thought it was a beautiful sight. She said that the whole sky looked like a lump of gold, and the clouds—well, she could not describe their beauty! They swept over her head, red and purple at once. However, even faster than them, like a long veil, was a flock of wild swans skimming the water. They fly to the sun, and she swims to the sun. But the sun had set. A rosy sunset slowly faded between the sea and the clouds.

After another year, the third sister floated up. She was the boldest of them all, so she swam into a great river that flowed into the sea. She saw some beautiful green hills planted with rows and rows of grapes. The palace and the grange were faintly exposed in the thick woods, and she heard how beautiful the birds sang and how warm the sun shone so that she sometimes had to sink into the water so that her burning face might be cooled a little. In a small bay she came across a group of human children, swimming naked and swimming in the water. She wanted to play with them for a while, but they were startled and fled. So a little black animal came over - it was a puppy, a puppy she had never seen before. It barked at her so fiercely that she was frightened and fled into the sea. But she will never forget the magnificent forests, the green mountains, the lovely little babies who can swim in the water, though they don't have tails like fish.

The fourth sister is not so bold. She rested on top of the desolate sea. The most beautiful thing, she says, is to stop at the sea: because from here you can look far, far away, and the sky hangs over it like a giant glass clock. She had seen boats, but they were far away from her and looked like a seagull. She had seen happy dolphins somersaulting and huge whales spewing water from their nostrils as if there were countless fountains surrounding them.

Now it's time for the fifth sister. Her birthday happened to be winter, so she was able to see things that the other sisters hadn't seen when they first surfaced. The sea was stained green, and huge icebergs moved around. She said that each iceberg looks like a bead, yet it is much bigger than a church tower built by humans. They come in all sorts of strange shapes, and they shine like diamonds. She had once sat on one of the largest icebergs, and let the sea breeze blow her slender hair, and all the boats, going around the place where she sit, avoided in terror. But at dusk, a dark cloud suddenly began in the sky. The lightning flashed, and the thunder did not stop. The black waves kicked up entire sheets of ice, causing them to glow in the blood-red thunderbolts. All the ships lowered their sails, creating an atmosphere of horror and terror, but she sat quietly on the floating iceberg, looking at the blue nets that swayed into the reflective sea.

Any one of these sisters, who had risen to the surface for the first time, was always very pleased to see these new and beautiful things. But now, they're big girls, and they can float wherever they like, so these things don't interest them much anymore. They longed to come home. After a month, they said, "It's better to live in the sea—how comfortable it is to live at home!"

At dusk, the five sisters often floated up arm in arm and lined up on the water. They can sing beautiful songs -- more beautiful than any human voice. When the storm was approaching, and they thought that some of the ships were about to fail, they floated up to them and sang very beautiful songs about how lovely it was under the sea, and told the sailors not to be afraid to sink to the bottom of the sea, but they did not understand their lyrics. They thought it was the sound of a gale. They also did not think that they would see anything beautiful at the bottom of the sea, because if the ship sank, the people on it would also drown, and they would only be able to reach the palace of the Sea King as dead.

One night, as the sisters came out to sea, arm in arm, the youngest sister stood alone and watched them. It looked as if she wanted to cry, but the mermaid had no tears, so she felt even more uncomfortable.

"Ah, how I wish I had been fifteen!" she said. "I know I'm going to love the world up there, and the people who live in it. ”

In the end, she really reached the age of fifteen.

"You know, you can leave our hands now," said her grandmother, the Queen Mother. "Come on, let me dress you up like those older sisters of yours. ”

So she put a wreath of lilies on the little girl's hair, but each petal of the flower was half a pearl. The old lady also called eight large oysters to be attached to the princess's tail to signify her noble status.

"It makes me feel bad!" said the little mermaid.

"Of course, a person should suffer a little for the sake of being beautiful," said the old grandmother.

Well, she wished she could get rid of the ornaments and throw the heavy garland aside! The red flowers in her garden would have been much better for her to wear, but she didn't dare do it. "Goodbye!" she said. So she was as light and bright as a blister, and she came out of the water.

By the time she put her head out of the sea, the sun had set, but all the clouds were still shining like roses and gold, and the great white stars were already blinking beautifully and brightly in the reddish sky. The air is mild and fresh. The sea was very calm, and there was a large ship with three masts parked here. Only one sail was hung on the ship, because there was not a single wind blowing. The sailors were sitting around the mast cord and on top of the boom.

There's music here, and there's singing. When the dusk gradually becomes dark, all kinds of lanterns are lit up together. They look like flags of countries around the world floating in the air. The little mermaid kept swimming towards the window of the boat. Every time the waves lifted her up, she could see through the mirror-like windowpanes a number of richly dressed men, but the most beautiful of them all was the prince with great black eyes: no doubt he was not yet sixteen years old. Today is his birthday, and it is for this reason that it is so lively today.

Sailors danced on the deck. When the prince came out, more than a hundred rockets were fired into the sky at once. The sky was lit up as if it were daylight, so the little mermaid was very frightened and quickly sank to the bottom. But in a moment she stuck her head out—and then she felt as if the stars were falling on her, and she had never seen such fireworks before. Many huge suns booed around them, and the dazzling fish leaped into the blue sky. All this is reflected in this clear, calm sea. The whole ship was so brightly illuminated that even every small rope could be seen, and of course the people on board could see it even more clearly. Oh, how beautiful the young prince was! As the music faded away in the glorious night, he shook hands with the sailors, laughed, and smiled......

It was late in the night, but the little mermaid could not take her eyes off the ship and the beautiful prince. Those colored lanterns went out, the rockets stopped firing into the air, and the sound of artillery stopped. But there was a humming and rumbling sound in the depths of the sea. She sat on the water, drifting together so she could see what's in the cabin. But the ship quickened: its sails were flasped one after the other. The waves were great, heavy clouds were rising, and lightning was striking in the distance. Ah, a terrible storm is coming! The sailors took their sails. The huge ship staggered forward in the raging sea. The waves rose like a huge black mountain. It wants to break the mast. But the ship was like a swan, and at one moment it was thrown into the waves, and the next it raised its head on the high waves.

The little mermaid thought it was a fun voyage, but the sailors didn't think so. The ship now made a cracking sound, its thick walls bent by the incoming waves. The mast of the ship broke like a reed in the middle of the waist. Then the boat began to tilt, and the water rushed into the cabin. That's when the little mermaid knew they were in danger. She also had to watch out for the beams and wreckage of the ship floating on the water.

The sky immediately became dark, and she couldn't see anything. But when the lightning went on, the sky was so bright that she could see everyone on board. Now everyone is trying to find a way to survive for themselves. She paid special attention to the prince. She saw him as the ship cracked and sank into the depths of the sea. She was at once very happy, for he was now coming to her. But she remembered that man could not live in water, and that he could not enter her father's house unless he became dead.

No, he must not be allowed to die!, so she swam between the floating beams and planks, not thinking that they might crush her to death. She sank deep into the water, and then rose high in the waves, and at last she reached the prince, who had no strength to rise again in the raging sea. His arms and legs began to lose their support. His beautiful eyes were closed. If the little mermaid hadn't arrived in time, he would have drowned. She lifted his head out of the water, and let the waves carry her wherever she could with him.

By daybreak, the storm had passed. There wasn't even a single piece of the ship. The bright red sun rose and shone brightly on the water. It seemed to breathe life into the prince's face. His eyes were still closed, though. The little mermaid kissed his delicate forehead and pulled his long damp hair back to his head. She thought he looked a lot like the marble statue she had in the little garden under the sea. She kissed him again, hoping he would wake up.

Now she saw a field of land unfold in front of her and a flock of azure mountains, the snow shining on the top of which looked like sleeping swans. Along the coast was a beautiful green grove, and in front of it there was a church or a monastery - she didn't know what it was called, but it was always a building. It has some lemon and orange trees growing in its garden, and tall palms stand in front of its door. The sea forms a small bay here. The water is very calm, but it is very deep from here to near the rocky cliff where there is a lot of fine sand. She carried the beautiful prince and swam there. She lowered him on the sand and very carefully rested his head high in the warm sunlight.

The bell rang out from the majestic white building, and many young women walked out through the garden. The little mermaid swam far into the sea, behind several large rocks that were rising to the surface. She covered her hair and breasts with a lot of foam from the sea, so that no one could see her little face. Here she stared to see who would come to the poor prince.

After a while, a young woman approached. She seemed very surprised, but it was not long before she called for a number of people. The little mermaid saw the prince gradually waking up, and smiled at the people around her. But he didn't smile at her: of course, he didn't know at all that she was the one who saved him. She felt very sad. So when he was carried into the tall house, she threw herself into the sea in sorrow and returned to her father's palace.

She had always been a quiet and contemplative child, and now she had become even more so. Her sisters asked her what she had seen when she first rose to the surface, but she couldn't say anything.

Many nights and mornings she surfaced and swam to the spot where she had laid down the prince. She saw that the fruit of the garden was ripe and plucked, and she saw the snow melt on the top of the high mountain, but she could not see the prince. So every time she came home, she always felt more pain. Her only consolation was to sit in her little garden, holding in her hands a beautiful marble statue resembling that prince. But she no longer took care of her flowers. The flowers seemed to grow in the wilderness, and they were spread all over the ground: their long stems and leaves intersected with the branches, making the place very gloomy.

In the end, she couldn't take it anymore. But as soon as she told one of her sisters what was on her mind, the rest of the people would soon know. But no one knew anything but them and one or two other merfolk (who only relayed the secret to a few of their confidants' friends). One of them knew who the prince was. She had also seen the celebration on the ship. She knew where the prince had come from and where his kingdom was.

"Come on, little sister!" said the other princesses. They put their hands on each other's shoulders and rose in a long row to the surface of the sea, until they reached a place they thought was the prince's palace.

The palace was built of a glowing yellowish stone with many wide marble steps, one of which reached out to sea. Ornate, golden round towers jut out into the air from the rooftops. In the middle of the columns that surround the entire building, there are many marble statues. They look like living people. Through the bright glass of the tall windows, one can see some of the magnificent halls, with their precious silk curtains and brocades, and the walls adorned with large pictures—even the mere pleasure of looking at them. In the center of one of the largest halls, there is a huge fountain spewing water. The water went all the way to the glass dome above, and the sun shone down through the glass, and shone on the water, on the plants that grew in this great pool.

Now she knew where the prince lived. Here she spent several evenings and nights on the water. She swam far away to land, farther than any other sister dared to go. Indeed, she even swam into the narrow river, to the bottom of the magnificent marble balcony, whose long shadow was reflected in the water. Here she sat and looked at the young prince, who thought he was alone in the moonlight.

For several nights she saw him amidst the sound of music on the splendid ship with many flags flying. She peeked up from the green rush grass. When the wind blew her long silvery mask, if anyone saw it, they thought it was a swan spreading its wings.

For several nights, when the fishermen went out to sea with torches, she heard them say many words of praise to the prince. She rejoiced, and felt that she had come to save his life when the waves had struck him half to death, and she remembered how his head lay tightly in her arms, and how passionately she kissed him. But he didn't know anything about it, and he wouldn't even dream of her.

Gradually, she began to love human beings, and gradually began to look forward to living among them. She felt that their world was much bigger than hers. Indeed, they were able to sail on the sea, to climb the towering mountains, and at the same time their land, with its forests and fields, stretched out so far that she could not see it. She wished she could know a lot, but her sisters couldn't answer all her questions. So she had to ask her old grandmother. She did know quite well about the "upper world", which was the apt name she had given to the maritime nations.

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

"Not at all," said the old lady, "they too will die, and their lives will be even shorter than ours." We can live to be 300 years old, but when our life here ends, we become foam on water. We don't even have a grave for our loved ones here. We don't have an immortal soul. We never get a life after death. We are like the green seaweed, once it is cut off, it will never be green again! On the contrary, human beings have a soul that lives forever, even if the body turns to dust. It rises to the clear sky, all the way to the shining stars! Just as we rise to the surface of the water and see the human world, they rise to those mysterious, gorgeous, places that we will never see. ”

"Why don't we get an immortal soul?" asked the little mermaid sadly. "As long as I can become a human and enter the heavenly world, even if I only live there for one day, I am willing to give up the hundreds of years of life I can live here,"

"You must not think like that," said the old lady, "and our life here is much happier and better than that of the human beings above!"

"Then I'll just die, and become foam and float on the water. Will I never hear the music of the waves again, and see the beautiful flowers and the bright red sun?

"No," said the old lady. "Only when a man loves you, and treats you as a dear person than his parents, only when he puts all his thoughts and love in you, and only when he asks the priest to put his right hand in you, and promises to be faithful to you now and forever, will his soul be transferred to you, and you will receive a share of human happiness. He will give you a soul, and at the same time his own soul will remain immortal. But there's never such a thing! What we think is beautiful here at the bottom of the sea -- your fishtail -- they think it's very ugly on land: they don't know what it means to be beautiful or ugly. In them, if a man wants to be pretty, he must have two stupid pillars - they call them legs!"

The little mermaid sighed and glanced sadly at her fishtail.

"Let's be happier!" said the old lady. "In these three hundred years that we are alive, let's dance and dance. This is a long time, and then we can rest happily in our grave (1). Let's have a dance in the palace tonight!"

It was a magnificent spectacle that one would never see on land. The walls and ceiling of this expansive ballroom are made of thick, transparent glass. Thousands of giant green and pink shells stood in rows on all sides, and a blue flame burned inside them, illuminating the ballroom, shining through the walls, and thus the sea outside. One could see countless schools of fish, large and small, swimming towards the crystal office, some with purple glowing scales, others shining like silver and gold. A wide rapids passed through the center of the ballroom, and the men and women of the sea, singing beautiful songs, danced on this rapids, and sang such beautiful songs that people living on land could not sing.

Among these people, the little mermaid sang the most beautifully. She was applauded, and for a moment she felt very happy, for she knew that she was the most beautiful voice on land and at sea. But she immediately remembered the world above. She could not forget the beautiful prince, nor the sorrow she had caused because she did not have an immortal soul like his. So she stealthily walked out of her father's palace: while it was full of singing and joy, she sat sadly in her little garden. Suddenly, she heard a trumpet sound coming from the water. She thought, "He must have sailed on it: he—I love him more than my father and mother; he—I miss him all the time; I put the happiness of my life in his hands." I'm going to sacrifice everything to fight for him and an immortal soul. While my sisters are now dancing in my father's palace, I am going to visit the witch of the sea. I've always been very scared of her, but maybe she can teach me something and help me. ”

The little mermaid then walked out of the garden towards a whirlpool of bubbles, behind which the witch lived. She had never walked this path before. There were no flowers, no seaweed, just a smooth gray sand bottom stretching out towards the whirlpool. Here the water swirls like a noisy waterwheel, turning the things it touches to the bottom. To reach the area where the witch lived, she had to walk through this whirlpool of sharp turns. There was a long way to pass through a bubbling mud field: the witch called this place her peat field. Behind this there was a terrible forest, in which her house was, and all the trees and shrubs were full of polyps—a half-plant and half-animal thing. They look a lot like hydras popping out of the ground. Their branches are all long, slimy arms, and their fingers are as soft as worms. They vibrate from root to top. They clung to what they could hold on to in the sea, not letting up at all.

The little mermaid stopped in front of the forest, very alarmed. Her heart jumped with fear, and she almost wanted to turn back. But when she remembered the prince and the soul of the man, she had courage again. She tied her long, flowing hair firmly around her head so that the polyps could not catch her. She clasped her hands tightly to her chest, and she leaped forward like a fish in the water, among the ugly polyps, who only waved their long, soft arms and fingers behind her. She saw each of them grasp something, countless little arms wrapped around it like sturdy iron rings. Those who drowned in the sea and sank under the sea, in the arms of these polyps, exposed white bones. They clung to the rudder and the chest, to the bones of the animals on land, and to a little mermaid whom they had caught and strangled—the most terrible thing that had ever happened to her.

Now she was in a slimy clearing in the middle of the forest. Here the large, fat water snakes were writhing, revealing their yellowish, strangely ugly bellies. In the middle of the field was a house made of the bones of a dead man. The witch of the sea is sitting here, feeding a toad with her mouth, just as we feed a little canary with sugar. She called the ugly, fat water snakes her chicks and let them crawl around her fat, floppy chest.

"I know you're here to ask for something," said the witch of the sea. "You are a fool! Still, my beautiful princess, I will let you achieve your ends, for this matter will bring you a tragic end. You want to get rid of your tail and make two pillars so that you can walk like a human. You want to make that prince fall in love with you, so that you can get him, and therefore an immortal soul. Then the witch laughed abominately, and the toad and the water snake rolled to the ground and crawled about. "You have come at the right time," said the witch. "When the sun comes out tomorrow, I won't be able to help you but wait a year. I can decoction a pill for you to drink. Take this medicine with you, and swim to land before the sun comes out. You sit on the beach and eat the pill, so your tail can split in half and shrink into what humans call beautiful legs. But it hurts - it's like a sharp knife slashing into your body. Anyone who sees you will say that you are the most beautiful child they have ever seen! You will still keep your steps like a swimmer, and no dancer will dance as gently as you do. But every step you take will make you feel as if you are walking on a sharp knife, as if your blood is flowing outward. If you can endure the pain, I can help you. ”

"I can bear it," said the little mermaid in a trembling voice. Then she remembered the prince and her desire to obtain an immortal soul.

"But remember," said the witch, "that once you have acquired the form of a man, you will never again become a mermaid, and you will never again go down into the water and return to the palace of your sister or your father." At the same time, if you don't get the love of that prince, if you can't make him forget his father and mother for you, love you with all his heart, and call the priest to come and put your hands together and be married, you won't get an immortal soul. On the first morning of his marriage, your heart will burst and you will become a foam on the water. ”

"I'm not afraid!" said the little mermaid. But her face was as white as death.

"But you have to pay me!" said the witch, "and it is not a small thing that I want. Your voice is the most beautiful of all the people under the sea. No doubt you want to charm him with this voice, but you have to leave it to me. I must get your best in exchange for my precious medicine! I must put my own blood in this medicine so that it is as sharp as a knife with two faces!"

"But if you take my voice away," said the little mermaid, "then what else do I have left?"

"Thou art still beautiful," replied the witch, "and thou hast a light gait and expressive eyes." With these things, it's easy for you to captivate a man's heart. Well, have you lost your courage, stick out your little tongue, I can cut it off as a reward, and you can get this powerful potion. ”

"Let's do it. The little mermaid said. The witch then prepared the jar and fried the magical medicine.

"Cleanliness is a good thing," she said, and she tied a knot with a few snakes and used it to scrub the jar. Then she scratched her chest and let her black blood drip into the jar. The vapor of the medicine rose into the air in a strange shape, and it looked strangely frightening. Every once in a while the witch added something new to the pot. When the medicine boiled to a boil, a crocodile-like cry floated out. In the end, the medicine was decoctioned. It looks like very clear water.

"Take it!" said the witch. So she cut out the little mermaid's tongue. The little mermaid is now a mute and can neither sing nor speak.

"When you go back through my forest, if the polyps catch you," said the witch, "you have to sprinkle a drop of this potion on them, and their arms and fingers will break into pieces and fly in all directions." But there was no need for the little mermaid to do so, for as soon as the polyps saw the sparkling potion, which was as bright as a shining star in her hand, they shrank back in terror before her. In this way, she quickly walked through forests, swamps, and whirlpools.

She could see her father's palace. The torches in the large ballroom had been extinguished, and no doubt the occupants had fallen asleep. But she didn't dare to look at them again, for she was now mute, and was about to leave them forever. Her heart felt like it was about to break to pieces. She stealthily went into the garden, plucked a flower from each of her sisters' flower beds, and flew a thousand kisses with her fingers at the imperial official, and then he floated out of the deep blue sea.

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 the potion of potion. She immediately felt as if a knife that was fast on both sides had split through her slender body. She immediately fainted. Fall down as if dead. She woke up when the sun reached the sea, and she felt a sharp pain. At this moment a young and beautiful prince stood in front of her. His dark eyes were looking at her, causing her to bow her head in embarrassment. At this time, she found that her fishtail was gone, and she had obtained the most beautiful little white legs that only a maiden could have. But she was undressed, so she covered her body with her long thick hair. The prince asked her who she was and how she had come here. She looked at him tenderly and sadly with her dark blue eyes, for she could not speak now. He took her by the hand and led her into the palace. As the witch had told her before, she felt like walking on an awl and a sharp knife with every step. But she was willing to endure the pain. She took the prince by the arm and walked as light as a blister. He and all the others looked at her graceful and light steps in amazement.

Now she was dressed in expensive garments 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 can they speak. Beautiful female slaves, dressed in silk and wearing gold and silver ornaments, came forward and sang songs for the prince and his parents. There was one slave who sang the most charmingly, and the prince could not help but applaud and smile at her. Then the little mermaid felt a pang of sorrow. She knew that there was a time when her singing voice was much more beautiful than that!

"Oh, I only wish he knew that I sacrificed my voice forever to be with him!"

Now the slaves danced gracefully and lightly to the beautiful music. Then the little mermaid lifted up her beautiful, white hands, stood on tiptoe, and danced lightly on the floor—no one had ever danced like this before. Her every movement brings out her beauty. Her eyes touched the hearts more than the songs of the slaves.

Everyone was fascinated, especially Wang Yu, whom he called his "orphan." She danced non-stop, though every time her feet touched the ground, it was as if she were walking on a quick knife. The prince said that she should be with him forever, and so she was allowed to sleep on a velvet cushion outside his door.

He had a man's garment made for her, so that she could accompany him on horseback. They walked through the fragrant woods, green branches sweeping over their shoulders, birds singing behind fresh leaves. She and the prince climbed the mountain. Though her slender feet were bleeding and were visible to all, she only laughed and stayed with him until they saw the clouds moving below like a flock of birds flying toward a distant country.

In the prince's palace, after everyone had slept during the night, she went up the wide staircase. In order to cool her feverish feet, she stood in the cold water. Then she couldn't help but think of the people who lived at the bottom of the sea.

One night, her sisters floated up arm in arm. They swim in the water and sing a sad song. Then she beckoned to them. They recognized her, and they said how she had grieved them. After this time, they came to see her every night. One night, she saw her grandmother, who had not surfaced for many years, and the crowned Aquaman. They reached out to her, but they didn't dare to swim near the ground like her sisters.

The prince loved her more than ever. He loved her as if she were a good and affectionate child, but he never had the idea of marrying her as a queen. However she must be his wife, or she will not receive an immortal soul, and will turn into a bubble on the sea on the first morning of his marriage.

"Of all the people, do you love me the most?" said the little mermaid's eyes as he took her into his arms and kissed her on the forehead.

"Yes, you are my dearest person!" said the prince, "for you have the kindest heart of all men." You are dearest to me, you are very much like a young woman I saw at one time, but I will never see her again. I was in a boat -- the ship had sunk. The waves pushed me to the shore next to a temple. Several young women prayed there. The youngest of them found me on the shore and saved my life. I've only seen her twice: she's the only person I can love in this world, but you're so much like her, and you've almost taken the impression of her in my soul. She belongs to this temple, so my luck has given you to me. Let's never separate!"

"Ah, he didn't know I had saved his life!" thought the little mermaid. "I lifted him out of the sea and sent him to a grove where the temple was located. I sat behind the bubble and watched to see if anyone was coming. I saw that beautiful girl—he loved her more than me. Then the little mermaid sighed deeply—she couldn't cry. "That girl belongs to that temple—he had said. She will never come into this earthly world - they will never see each other again. I was with him and saw him every day. I want to take care of him, love him, and give my life to him!"

Now it is rumored that the prince is about to get married, and that his wife is a daughter of the king of a neighboring country. He had a beautiful ship specially equipped for this purpose. The prince ostensibly wanted to visit a neighboring kingdom, but in fact he was there to see the daughter of a neighboring monarch. He will go with a large number of attachés. The little mermaid shook her head and smiled. She could guess the prince's mind better than anyone else.

"I have to go on a trip!" he said to her, "I have to see a beautiful princess, it is my parents' order, but they cannot force me to bring her home as my fiancée! You are very much like the beautiful girl in the temple, and she is not. If I were to choose a bride, I would have to choose you, my dear, mute orphan girl with a pair of talking eyes. ”

So he kissed her bright red lips, stroked her long hair, and laid his head to her heart, so that her heart dreamed of earthly happiness and an immortal soul.

"Aren't you afraid of the sea, my dumb orphan?" he asked. Now they were standing on the splendid ship, which was heading for the neighboring kingdom. He talked to her about the storm and the calm sea, the strange fish that lived in the sea, and what the diver could see at the bottom of the sea. She only smiled at these kinds of stories, because she knew better than anyone else about the bottom of the sea.

In the moonlit night, everyone slept, and only the helmsman stood by the helm. Then she sat on the edge of the boat, gazing at the clear waters below, and she seemed to see her father's palace. Her old grandmother, with a silver crown on her head, stood high on the top of the palace, and she peered through the rapids towards the keel of the ship. In a moment his sisters came to the surface, and they looked at her sadly, twisting their white hands in pain. She waved to them, smiled, and wanted to tell them that everything was good and happy with her right now. But then one of the ship's attendants suddenly approached her. Her sisters immediately sank into the water, and the waiter thought that what they saw was nothing more than foam on the sea.

The next morning, the ship sailed into the harbor of the magnificent imperial city of the neighboring country. All the church bells rang, horns sounded from many tall buildings, and soldiers saluted with fluttering flags and bright bayonets. There is a banquet every day. The ball and the party were held alternately, but the princess had not yet appeared. It is said that she was educated in a distant temple and learned all the virtues of the royal family. Finally she arrived.

The little mermaid was desperate to see her beauty. She had to admit her beauty, she had never seen a more beautiful form. Her skin was so delicate and white, and behind her long black eyelashes were smiling, loyal, dark blue eyes.

"It is you!" said the prince, "and when I lie on the shore like a dead body, you are the one who revived me!" and he took the shy bride tightly in his bosom. "Ah, I'm so happy!" he said to the little mermaid, "and the best things I never dared to hope for are now true." You will rejoice in my happiness, for you are the one who likes me the most of all!"

The little mermaid kissed his hand. She felt like her heart was breaking. The first morning after his wedding would bring her destruction, and he would turn her into a bubble on the sea.

The church bells rang to announce the good news of the engagement on horseback in the streets. On each altar, fragrant grease burns in precious oil lamps. The priests waved incense burners, and the bride and groom held hands with each other to receive the bishop's blessing. The little mermaid was now dressed in silk and gold ornaments, and held the bride's shawl, but her ears could not hear the joyous music, and her eyes could not see the sacred ceremony. She remembered the morning of her destruction, and all that she had lost in this world.

On the same evening, the bride and groom came to the boat. The salute was fired, and the flags were flying. A royal tent of gold and purple was erected in the middle of the ship, furnished with the most beautiful cushions. Here, the beautiful newlyweds will spend their cool and quiet evenings.

The wind was blowing the sails. The ship sailed gently on this clear sea, without great fluctuations.

As the twilight faded, the coloured lights came on and the sailors danced happily on the deck. The little mermaid couldn't help but think of the first time she had surfaced, and of the same gorgeous and joyous scenes she had seen at that time. She whirled and flew like a swallow being chased. Everyone was cheering and praising her, she had never danced so beautifully. The sharp knife seemed to be cutting at her delicate feet, but she didn't feel the pain, because her heart hurt more than that.

She knew it was the last night she saw him—she had left her people and her family for him, she had given up her beautiful voice, and she had endured endless pain every day, and yet he knew nothing. It was the last night she could breathe the same air with him, the last night she could see the deep sea and the starry sky. At the same time, an eternal night without thoughts and dreams awaited her—without a soul, and without a soul. Until after midnight, everything on board was joyful and pleasant. She laughed and danced, but she had dead thoughts in her heart. The prince kisses his beautiful bride: the bride strokes his shiny hair. They went hand in hand to rest in the ornate tent.

The ship is quiet now. Only the helmsman stood beside the helmsman. The little mermaid leaned her white arms against the bulwark, staring to the east, waiting for the dawn to appear—she knew that the first rays of the sun would destroy her, and she saw her sisters emerge from the waves. They were as pale as herself. Their beautiful long hair was no longer fluttering in the wind - it had been cut off.

"We have given the hair to the witch in the hope that she will help you so that you will not perish in the future. She gave us a knife. Take it, you see, how fast it is! Before the sun comes out, you have to stick it into the prince's heart. When his blood flows to your feet, your feet will join together as a fishtail, and you will be restored to your original form as a mermaid, and you will be able to return to our waters, so that you will live for three hundred years before you become an inanimate saltwater bubble. Before the sun comes out, either he dies or you die! Our old grandmother was so grieved that her gray hair fell like our hair fell under the witch's scissors. Stab that prince to death, and come back quickly! Don't you see the red light in the sky, and in a few minutes the sun will come out, and then you will surely perish!"

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

The little mermaid lifted the purple curtain on the tent and saw the beautiful bride fall asleep with her head in the prince's arms. She bent down and kissed the prince on his delicate eyebrow, and he gazed up at the sky—the morning glow grew brighter. She glanced at the knife, then dropped her eyes to the prince, who was muttering the name of his bride in his dreams. She was the only one in his mind. The knife trembled in the little mermaid's hand. But just then, she threw the knife far into the waves. Where Wanzi sank, the waves emitted a red light, as if many blood droplets were splashed out of the water. She cast her bewildered gaze on the prince once more, and then she jumped out of the boat into the sea, feeling her body melt into foam.

Now the sun has risen from the sea. The sun shone softly and warmly on the icy foam. Because the little mermaid did not feel perished. She saw the bright sun while countless transparent, beautiful creatures flew above her. Through them, she could see the white sails of the ship and the clouds in the sky. Their sound is harmonious music. But they are so ethereal that the human ear can hardly hear them, just as the eyes of the earth cannot see them. They have no wings, but float in the air with their light form. The little mermaid felt that she had acquired their form, and gradually rose from the foam.

"Who am I heading to?" she asked. Her voice, like these other creatures, was ethereal, and no music department in the world could compare to it.

"Go to the daughter of the sky!" replied the other voice. "A mermaid has no immortal soul, and never will, unless she gains the love of a mortal. Her eternal existence depends on external forces. The daughters of the sky do not have eternal souls, but they can create a soul through good deeds. We fly to the hot land, where the air of disease is hurting the people, we can blow the cool wind, we can spread the fragrance of flowers in the air, we can spread health and happiness. Three hundred years from now, when we have done all the good deeds we can, we will have an immortal soul and will be able to share in all the eternal happiness of mankind. You, poor individual fish, like us, once fought wholeheartedly for that goal. You've endured pain, you've persevered, you've ascended into the world of elves. Through your good works, after three hundred years, you can create an immortal soul for yourself. ”

The little mermaid raised her glossy arms to God's sun, and for the first time she felt about to shed tears.

On that boat, the voices and the 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 darkness she kissed the bride's forehead, and she smiled at the prince. So she, along with the other children in the air, rode up the rose-colored clouds and rose into the sky.

"In this way, in three hundred years, we can ascend to heaven!"

"We probably won't have to wait that long!" a voice whispered. "We flew into the human house without a shadow, and there were some children living in it. Every day, if we find a good child, if he brings joy to his parents and deserves his parents' love for him, God can shorten the time of our trials. When we fly over the house, the child doesn't know. When we smile happily at Him, we can subtract one year from these three hundred years, but when we see a naughty and nasty child and have to cry out with sorrow, then every tear adds one more day to our trials. ”

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