Little Mermaid

Author: (Denmark) Hans Christian Andersen
Translator: Cheng Yue / Country: Denmark
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Hans Christian Andersen was a renowned Danish fairy tale writer in the 19th century and the founder of world fairy tale literature. From a young age, he had a deep love for literary and artistic creation. In 1835, his novel gained international acclaim, but what made him famous worldwide were his fairy tales. The impoverished little match girl went to a warm and beautiful world in her heart; the foolish emperor wore a non-existent new suit; the Little Mermaid made selfless and unwavering sacrifices for love; the Ugly Duckling finally transformed into a noble swan. This is The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, a fairy tale not just for children but also for adults, a timeless classic that transcends time and space. In the long history of world juvenile literature, the masterpieces of these great writers have continuously influenced generations of young readers. This book is part of the World Juvenile Literature Classics Series, which primarily selects and republishes influential world juvenile literary masterpieces that have stood the test of time. The main purpose is to provide young readers with better literary reading materials, allowing them to gain more meaningful insights from these juvenile literary classics, thereby broadening their horizons, refining their character, enriching their imagination, and adding color and joy to their lives.
Deep in the vast sea, the water is so blue, as if the petals of the most beautiful chrysanthemums; the water is also incredibly clear, like bright glass. Yet the sea is so deep, so deep, that no anchor can reach its bottom. To go from the seabed to the surface, it would take countless church spires connected one after another. The people who live beneath the sea reside here. However, do not think that it is just a sea floor covered in white sand. It is not like that. There grow the most extraordinary trees and other plants. Their branches and leaves are so soft, swaying gently with the slight movement of the water, as if they have life. Big and small fish swim among these branches and leaves, as if birds flying in the sky. The deepest part of the sea is where the palace of the Sea King is located. The palace walls are built from coral, and the pointed windows are made of amber. However, the roof is covered with black shells that open and close freely with the water’s flow, creating a beautiful sight, because each shell contains brilliant, shining pearls, any one of which could be an important decoration for the queen’s crown.
The Sea King, who has been a widower for many years, lives in the underwater palace. Fortunately, his mother manages the household for him. Although she is a clever woman, she always feels proud of her noble birth, so her tail is always adorned with a dozen oysters—while other dignitaries can only wear half a dozen each. Apart from showing off her high status, she is greatly praised in other aspects, especially for how much she loves her little sea princesses—her granddaughters. They are six very beautiful girls, and the youngest among them is the most beautiful. Her skin is smooth and white, like the petals of a rose; her eyes are a deep blue, as if the deepest lake. However, like the other princesses, she does not have human legs; instead, her lower body is a fish tail. In the palace, in the grand hall where the walls are covered with flowers, they can spend the entire long day. The large windows, inlaid with amber, are always open, and fish swim toward them, just as swallows fly in when we open our windows. But the fish keep swimming toward the little princesses, seeking food in their gentle hands, allowing them to stroke themselves.
Outside the palace is a vast garden, where many trees with red and deep blue leaves grow. The fruits on the trees shine like gold, and the flowers bloom like burning flames. The flowers and leaves sway constantly, the ground covered in fine, soft sand that glows blue like sulfur’s light. Everywhere in the garden sparkles with a strange, blue light. This scene makes it easy to think that one is in the high sky rather than the deep sea. Above and below, it is all a deep blue. When the sea is calm, one can glimpse the sun: it shines like a purple flower, radiating colorful light from its calyx. In this garden, each little princess has her own small plot, where she can plant freely. Some princesses arrange their flowerbeds like a whale, while others prefer to arrange them like a little mermaid. But the youngest princess arranges her flowerbed like a round sun, and she only plants flowers as red as the sun. She is a peculiar child, not very talkative, always lost in thought. When the other sisters decorate their gardens with strange treasures from sunken ships, she is content with nothing but a beautiful marble statue. The statue depicts a handsome young man, carved from a single piece of white stone, which sank to the bottom of the sea with a ship. Next to the statue, the little princess plants a weeping willow as red as a rose. The tree grows very lush, its fresh branches and leaves hanging down to the statue, reaching the blue sand below. Its reflection has a purplish-blue hue. Like the swaying branches, the reflection never stands still, making it seem as if the roots and top of the tree are kissing each other.
What pleases the little princess most is hearing stories about the human world above. Thus, her grandmother has to tell her everything she knows about ships, cities, humans, and animals. What delights her most is that the flowers on land emit a charming fragrance, while those underwater do not: the forests on land are green, and the “fish” that swim among the branches—birds—sing sweetly. The “fish” her grandmother refers to are actually birds. But if she didn’t say so, the little princess wouldn’t understand her stories, because she had never seen a bird before.
“When you turn fifteen,” her grandmother said kindly, “I will allow you to float to the surface. Then you can sit on a stone under the moonlight and watch the great ships pass by you. You will also see the forests and cities.”
The following year, one of the sisters turned fifteen. But the others—well, they decrease in age one by one. So the youngest princess still has to wait another five years before she can rise from the depths to see our world. However, each princess promises her younger sister that she will share her experiences from the first day she sees the world, because the stories her grandmother tells are far from satisfying their desire to learn more!
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