海的女兒(二)

As soon as the eldest was fifteen， she was allowed to rise to the surface of the ocean.

When she came back， she had hundreds of things to talk about; but the most beautiful， she said， was to lie in the moonlight， on a sandbank， in the quiet sea， near the coast， and to gaze on a large town nearby， where the lights were twinkling like hundreds of stars; to listen to the sounds of the music， the noise of carriages， and the voices of human beings， and then to hear the merry bells peal out from the church steeples; and because she could not go near to all those wonderful things， she longed for them more than ever.

Oh， did not the youngest sister listen eagerly to all these descriptions？and afterwards， when she stood at the open window looking up through the dark blue water， she thought of the great city， with all its bustle and noise， and even fancied she could hear the sound of the church bells， down in the depths of the sea.

In another year the second sister received permission to rise to the surface of the water， and to swim about where she pleased. She rose just as the sun was setting， and this， she said， was the most beautiful sight of all. The whole sky looked like gold， while violet and rose-colored clouds， which she could not describe， floated over her; and， still more rapidly than the clouds， flew a large flock of wild swans towards the setting sun， looking like a long white veil across the sea. She also swam towards the sun; but it sunk into the waves， and the rosy tints faded from the clouds and from the sea.

The third sister’s turn followed; she was the boldest of them all， and she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea. On the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines; palaces and castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest; she heard the birds singing， and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face. In a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children， quite naked， and sporting about in the water; she wanted to play with them， but they fled in a great fright; and then a little black animal came to the water; it was a dog， but she did not know that， for she had never before seen one. This animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened， and rushed back to the open sea. But she said she should never forget the beautiful forest， the green hills， and the pretty little children who could swim in the water， although they had not fish’s tails.

The fourth sister was more timid; she remained in the midst of the sea， but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land. She could see for so many miles around her， and the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She had seen the ships， but at such a great distance that they looked like sea-gulls. The dolphins sported in the waves， and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction.

The fifth sister’s birthday occurred in the winter; so when her turn came， she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up. The sea looked quite green， and large icebergs were floating about， each like a pearl， she said， but larger and loftier than the churches built by men. They were of the most singular shapes， and glittered like diamonds. She had seated herself upon one of the largest， and let the wind play with her long hair， and she remarked that all the ships sailed by rapidly， and steered as far away as they could from the iceberg， as if they were afraid of it. Towards evening， as the sun went down， dark clouds covered the sky， the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed， and the red light glowed on the icebergs as they rocked and tossed on the heaving sea. On all the ships the sails were reefed with fear and trembling， while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg， watching the blue lightning， as it darted its forked flashes into the sea.

現在最大的那位公主已經到了十五歲，可以升到水面上去了。

當她回來的時候，她有無數的事情要講：不過她說，最美的事情是當海上風平浪靜的時候，在月光底下躺在一個沙灘上面，緊貼著海岸凝望那大城市里亮得像無數星星似的燈光，靜聽音樂、鬧聲、以及馬車和人的聲音，觀看教堂的圓塔和尖塔，傾聽叮當的鐘聲。正因為她不能到那兒去，所以她也就最渴望這些東西。

啊，最小的那位妹妹聽得多么入神啊！當她晚間站在開著的窗子旁邊、透過深藍色的水朝上面望的時候，她就想起了那個大城市以及它里面熙熙攘攘的聲音。于是她似乎能聽到教堂的鐘聲在向她這里飄來。

第二年第二個姐姐得到許可，可以浮出水面，可以隨便向什么地方游去。她跳出水面的時候，太陽剛剛下落；她覺得這景象真是美極了。她說，這時整個的天空看起來像一塊黃金，而云塊呢——唔，她真沒有辦法把它們的美形容出來！它們在她頭上掠過，一會兒紅，一會兒紫。不過，比它們飛得還要快的、像一片又白又長的面紗，是一群掠過水面的野天鵝。它們是飛向太陽，她也向太陽游去。可是太陽落了。一片玫瑰色的晚霞，慢慢地在海面和云塊之間消逝了。

又過了一年，第三個姐姐浮上去了。她是她們中最大膽的一位，因此她游向一條流進海里的大河里去了。她看到一些美麗的青山，上面種滿了一行一行的葡萄。宮殿和田莊在繁茂的樹林中隱隱地露在外面；她聽到各種鳥兒唱得多么美好，太陽照得多么暖和，她有時不得不沉入水里，好使得她灼熱的面孔能夠得到一點清涼。在一個小河灣里她碰到一群人間的小孩子；他們光著身子，在水里游來游去。她倒很想跟他們玩一會兒，可是他們嚇了一跳，逃走了。于是一個小小的黑色動物走了過來——這是一條小狗，是她從來沒有看到過的小狗。它對她汪汪地叫得那么兇狠，弄得她害怕起來，趕快逃到大海里去。可是她永遠忘不了那壯麗的森林，那綠色的山，那些能夠在水里游泳的可愛的小寶寶——雖然他們沒有像魚那樣的尾巴。

第四個姐姐可不是那么大膽了。她停留在荒涼的大海上面。她說，最美的事兒就是停在海上：因為你可以從這兒向四周很遠很遠的地方望去，同時天空懸在上面像一個巨大的玻璃鐘。她看到過船只，不過這些船只離她很遠，看起來像一只海鷗。她看到過快樂的海豚翻著筋斗，龐大的鯨魚從鼻孔里噴出水來，好像有無數的噴泉在圍繞著它們一樣。

現在臨到那第五個姐姐了。她的生日恰恰是在冬天，所以她能看到其他的姐姐們在第一次浮出海面時所沒有看到過的東西。海染上了一片綠色，巨大的冰山在四周移動。她說每一座冰山看起來像一顆珠子，然而卻比人類所建造的教堂塔還要大得多。它們以種種奇奇怪怪的形狀出現；它們像鉆石似的射出光彩。她曾經在一個最大的冰山上坐過，讓海風吹著她細長的頭發，所有的船只，繞過她坐著的那塊地方，驚惶地遠遠避開。不過在黃昏的時分，天上忽然布起了一片烏云。電閃起來了，雷轟起未了。黑色的巨浪掀起整片整片的冰塊，使它們在血紅的雷電中閃著光。所有的船只都收下了帆，造成一種驚惶和恐怖的氣氛，但是她卻安靜地坐在那浮動的冰山上，望著藍色的網電，彎彎曲曲地射進反光的海里。