海的女兒（九）

“Let us be happy，” said the old lady， “and dart and spring about during the three hundred years that we have to live， which is really quite long enough； after that we can rest ourselves all the better. This evening we are going to have a court ball.”

It is one of those splendid sights which we can never see on earth. The walls and the ceiling of the large ball-room were of thick， but transparent crystal. May hundreds of colossal shells， some of a deep red， others of a grass green， stood on each side in rows， with blue fire in them， which lighted up the whole saloon， and shone through the walls， so that the sea was also illuminated. Innumerable fishes， great and small， swam past the crystal walls； on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy， and on others they shone like silver and gold. Through the halls flowed a broad stream， and in it danced the mermen and the mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs.

The little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails； and for a moment her heart felt quite gay， for she knew she had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea. But she soon thought again of the world above her， for she could not forget the charming prince， nor her sorrow that she had not an immortal soul like his； therefore she crept away silently out of her father’s palace， and while everything within was gladness and song， she sat in her own little garden sorrowful and alone. Then she heard the bugle sounding through the water， and thought—“He is certainly sailing above， he on whom my wishes depend， and in whose hands I should like to place the happiness of my life. I will venture all for him， and to win an immortal soul， while my sisters are dancing in my father’s palace， I will go to the sea witch， of whom I have always been so much afraid， but she can give me counsel and help.”

And then the little mermaid went out from her garden， and took the road to the foaming whirlpools， behind which the sorceress lived. She had never been that way before： neither flowers nor grass grew there； nothing but bare， gray， sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool， where the water， like foaming mill-wheels， whirled round everything that it seized， and cast it into the fathomless deep. Through the midst of these crushing whirlpools the little mermaid was obliged to pass， to reach the dominions of the sea witch； and also for a long distance the only road lay right across a quantity of warm， bubbling mire， called by the witch her turfmoor. Beyond this stood her house， in the centre of a strange forest， in which all the trees and flowers were polypi， half animals and half plants； they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground. The branches were long slimy arms， with fingers like flexible worms， moving limb after limb from the root to the top. All that could be reached in the sea they seized upon， and held fast， so that it never escaped from their clutches.

The little mermaid was so alarmed at what she saw， that she stood still， and her heart beat with fear， and she was very nearly turning back； but she thought of the prince， and of the human soul for which she longed， and her courage returned. She fastened her long flowing hair round her head， so that the polypi might not seize hold of it. She laid her hands together across her bosom， and then she darted forward as a fish shoots through the water， between the supple arms and fingers of the ugly polypi， which were stretched out on each side of her. She saw that each held in its grasp something it had seized with its numerous little arms， as if they were iron bands. The white skeletons of human beings who had perished at sea， and had sunk down into the deep waters， skeletons of land animals， oars， rudders， and chests of ships were lying tightly grasped by their clinging arms； even a little mermaid， whom they had caught and strangled； and this seemed the most shocking of all to the little princess.

“我們放快樂些吧！”老太太說。“在我們能活著的這三百年中，讓我們跳和舞吧。這究竟是一段相當長的時間，以后我們也可以愉快地休息了。今晚我們就在宮里開一個舞會吧！”

那真是一個壯麗的場面，人們在陸地上是從來不會看見的。這個寬廣的跳舞廳里的墻壁和天花板是用厚而透明的玻璃砌成的。成千成百草綠色和粉紅色的巨型貝殼一排一排地立在四邊；它們里面燃著藍色的火焰，照亮整個的舞廳，照透了墻壁，因而也照明了外面的海。人們可以看到無數的大小魚群向這座水晶宮里游來，有的鱗上發著紫色的光，有的亮起來像白銀和金子。一股寬大的激流穿過舞廳的中央，海里的男人和女人，唱著美麗的歌，就在這激流上跳舞，這樣優美的歌聲，住在陸地上的人們是唱不出來的。

在這些人中間，小人魚唱得最美。大家為她鼓掌；她心中有好一會兒感到非常快樂，因為她知道，在陸地上和海里只有她的聲音最美。不過她馬上又想起上面的那個世界。她忘不了那個美貌的王子，也忘不了她因為沒有他那樣不滅的靈魂而引起的悲愁。因此她偷偷地走出她父親的宮殿：當里面正是充滿了歌聲和快樂的時候，她卻悲哀地坐在她的小花園里。忽然她聽到一個號角聲從水上傳來。她想：“他一定是在上面行船了：他——我愛他勝過我的爸爸和媽媽；他——我時時刻刻在想念他；我把我一生的幸福放在他的手里。我要犧牲一切來爭取他和一個不滅的靈魂。當現在我的姐姐們正在父親的宮殿里跳舞的時候，我要去拜訪那位海的巫婆。我一直是非常害怕她的，但是她也許能教給我一些辦法和幫助我吧。”

小人魚于是走出了花園，向一個掀起泡沫的漩渦走去——巫婆就住在它的后面。她以前從來沒有走過這條路。這兒沒有花，也沒有海草，只有光溜溜的一片灰色沙底，向漩渦那兒伸去。水在這兒像一架喧鬧的水車似地漩轉著，把它所碰到的東西都轉到水底去。要到達巫婆所住的地區，她必須走過這急轉的漩渦。有好長一段路程需要通過一條冒著熱泡的泥地：巫婆把這地方叫做她的泥煤田。在這后面有一個可怕的森林，她的房子就在里面，所有的樹和灌木林全是些珊瑚蟲——一種半植物和半動物的東西。它們看起來很像地里冒出來的多頭蛇。它們的枝椏全是長長的、粘糊糊的手臂，它們的手指全是像蠕蟲一樣柔軟。它們從根到頂都是一節一節地在顫動。它們緊緊地盤住它們在海里所能抓得到的東西，一點也不放松。

小人魚在這森林面前停下步子，非常驚慌。她的心害怕得跳起來，她幾乎想轉身回去。但是當她一想起那位王子和人的靈魂的時候，她就又有了勇氣。她把她飄動著的長頭發牢牢地纏在她的頭上，好使珊瑚蟲抓不住她。她把雙手緊緊地貼在胸前，于是她像水里跳著的魚兒似的，在這些丑惡的珊瑚蟲中間，向前跳走，而這些珊瑚蟲只有在她后面揮舞著它們柔軟的長臂和手指。她看到它們每一個都抓住了一件什么東西，無數的小手臂盤住它，像堅固的鐵環一樣。那些在海里淹死和沉到海底下的人們，在這些珊瑚蟲的手臂里，露出白色的骸骨。它們緊緊地抱著船舵和箱子，抱著陸上動物的骸骨，還抱著一個被它們抓住和勒死了的小人魚——這對于她說來，是一件最可怕的事情。