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Now when her sisters thus rose arm in arm through the sea, the little sister would remain below alone looking up after them, and she felt as if she must cry; but mermaids have no tears and so suffer all the more. "Oh, if only I were fifteen!" said she. "I know that I shall love the world above and the men who live there." And at last she was fifteen years old. "Well, now at last we have you off our hands," said her grandmother, the widow of the late king. "Come here and let me dress you like your sisters." And she placed a wreath of white lilies in her hair, but every petal was the half of a pearl, and the old lady commanded eight large oysters to cling fast to the Princess's tail to mark her high rank. "But they hurt me so!" said the little mermaid. "Yes, but one must suffer a little for the sake of appearances," said the old lady. Oh, how gladly the little mermaid would have tarn off all this finery and laid aside her wreath; the red flowers from her garden suited her much better; but she dared not do it. "Farewell!" she said and rose, light and bright as a bubble, up to the surface of the water. The sun had just sunk as she raised her head above the sea, but the clouds were still pink and gold, and in the midst of the pale sky sparkled the evening star, so clear and lovely. The air was mild and cool and the sea as still as a mirror. | 一天晚上，当姊妹们手挽着手浮出海面时，那位最小的妹妹孤单地留在后面目送她们。她看起来仿佛是想要哭泣的样子，不过人鱼是没有眼泪的，因此她感到更加难过。 「啊！多么希望我已经十五岁了，」她说。 「我知道我将会喜欢上面的世界，并且爱上住在那个世界里的人们。」 终于她已经十五岁了。 「理所当然的，你现在终于可以离开我们的手心了！」她的祖母老皇太后说。 「过来，让我把你打扮得像姊姊们一样吧！」 于是她在这小姑娘的头发上戴了一个百合花编的花冠，而且每一个花瓣上都有半颗珍珠。老太太又叫八个大牡蛎紧紧地附贴在公主的尾巴上，以表示她尊贵的地位。 「但是这样真让我难受！」小美人鱼说。 「一定的，但是为了漂亮就应该忍受点苦头。」老祖母说。 哎！她倒想摆脱这些装饰品，把这沉重的花环扔到一边，花园里的那些红花，戴起来反倒舒适多了，但是她不敢这样做。 「再会了！」她说着。于是她轻盈、明净得像一个泡沫，浮到海面上去了。 当她把头探出海面的时候，太阳已经沉下去了，不过天空的云朵，仍呈淡淡红彩有如黄金般灿烂；同时明亮和美丽的繁星，也在暗淡的夜空中闪闪发亮。 空气是温和、清新的，海也宁静如镜。 |
章节正文
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