windows of amber stood open, and the fishes swam in through them.
Outside the palace there was a large garden with fiery red and dark blue trees, whose fruit shone like gold, and their flowers were like a flaming fire. They were always moving their stems and leaves.
The ground was of the finest sand, but blue like the flame of sulphur. Down there lay a wonderful blue sheen. In a calm you could see the sun: it looked like a purple flower.
Each of the young Princesses had her little plot in the garden, where she could dig and plant as she liked. Some Princesses made their flower-bed in the shape of a whale, other preferred the shape of a little mermaid, but the youngest made hers quite round, like the sun. She only had flowers that shone red. She was an odd child, quiet and thoughtful. Whereas her other sisters were decking out their gardens with the quaintest things, that they took from sunken ships, she only had red flowers that were like the sun and a pretty statue of marble. It was of a handsome boy, which came down to the sea bottom from a wreck.
Beside the statue she planted a rose-red weeping willow[11], which grew splendidly and hung its fresh branches over it, right down to the blue sand bottom.
She liked to dream about the world of men up above. The old grandmother told her all she knew about ships and horses and men and animals. It seemed to her particularly delightful that up there on earth the flowers smelt sweet (which they did not at the sea bottom). She was surprised that the woods were green and the fish which one saw among the branches could sing loud and prettily. It was a joy to hear them. It was the little birds that the grandmother called fish. The little mermaid never saw a bird.
“When you’re fifteen years old,” said the grandmother, “I’ll allow you to come up out of the sea and sit on the rocks in the moonlight. You’ll see big ships and forests and houses”.
The eldest sister promised the next one to tell her everything about the outer world. Of course, for their grandmother didn’t tell them enough. There were very many things the mermaids wanted to know about.
The youngest mermaid was quiet and thoughtful. Many nights she stood at the open window and gazed up through the dark blue waters where the fish were waving their fins and tails. She could see the moon and the stars. Of course they were very pale, but they looked much larger than they do to our eyes.
If a black passed along beneath them, she knew that it was either a whale, or even a ship with a number of people in it. Certainly they never thought that beneath them there was a lovely little mermaid.
And now the eldest Princess was fifteen years old and could rise up above the surface of the sea.
When she came back she had a hundred things to tell. The most beautiful thing, she said, was to lie on a sandbank in the moonlight in the calm sea, and to see the big town where the lights twinkled like hundreds of stars, and to hear the sound of music and the noise of carts and people, and see all the church towers and hear the bells.
The youngest sister listened and dreamed! And when, in the evening, she stood at the open window and gazed up through the dark blue water, she thought about the big town and all the noise.
The year after, the second sister rose up through the water and swam where she liked. She saw how the sun was going down, and the sight of that was the most beautiful of all. The whole heaven, she said, looked like gold, and the clouds sailed past above her.
Next year the third sister went up. She was the boldest of them all. She swam up a broad river that ran into the sea. She saw beautiful green hills, with rows of vines upon them. Palaces and mansions peeped out from the woods. She heard the songs of the birds, and the sun shone very brightly.
In a little inlet she saw a crowd of young human children. They were naked, and ran about and splashed in the water. She wanted to play with them, but they ran away in a fright. Then came a little black creature (it was a dog) and it barked at her so dreadfully that she was terrified and swam away. She could not forget the splendid woods and the green hills and the pretty children who swam in the water, though they had no fish-tails.
The fourth sister stayed out in the lonely sea, and told them that that was the most beautiful of all. You could see many miles all round, and the sky was like a great bell of glass. She saw the merry dolphins and the big whales. It looked like hundreds of fountains all around her.
Now came the turn of the fifth sister. Her birthday was in winter. The sea was green, and round about there floated large icebergs. Every iceberg was like a pearl, she said, and yet they were bigger than the church towers that men built. They were like diamonds. She was sitting on one of the largest, and all the ships made a wide circle in fear. In the evening the sky was covered with clouds, it lightened and thundered.
Many times the five sisters linked arms together and rose in a row above the water. They had lovely voices, more beautiful than any human being’s. When a storm was coming on, they were swimming before the ships and singing beautifully. But the people could not understand their words; they thought it was the storm. And the people did not see any beautiful things either. When the ship sank they were drowned, and only dead corpses reached the sea King’s palace.
When the sisters rose up through the sea, arm in arm, their little sister stayed quite alone.
“Oh! When I am fifteen,” she said, “I shall become really fond of that world up there and of the people who have their homes there!”
At last she was fifteen years old.
“There now!” said the grandmother, the old widow Queen. “Come here, and let me dress you”.
She put a wreath of white lilies on her hair, only every petal in the flower was a half-pearl. And eight large oysters held tight the Princess’s tail, to indicate her high rank.
“But it hurts so,” said the little mermaid.
“Yes, you must suffer a little for smartness’ sake[12],” said the old lady.
Oh dear! The little mermaid wanted to shake off all this finery and put away the heavy wreath. But she dare not change it.
“Good-bye”, she said, and rose as a bubble, up through the water.
She lifted her head above the sea, but all the clouds were still glowing like gold and roses. In the midst of the pale red heaven the evening star shone clear and beautiful. The air was soft and cool, and the sea calm. There lay a great ship with three masts. Only a single sail was set. On the rigging and on the yard[13], sailors were sitting. She heard music and songs.
The little mermaid swam straight up to the cabin window. She saw through the windows many gaily dressed people. The handsomest of them all was the young Prince with the big black eyes. He was certainly not much over sixteen, and this was his birthday. The sailors danced on the deck, and when the young Prince came out there, more than a hundred rockets shot up into the sky. The little mermaid was frightened and dived down beneath the water. But soon she put up her head again.
Great suns whizzed round, splendid fire-fish darted into the blue heaven. On the ship itself there was so much light that you could see every rope. Oh! How handsome the young Prince was! He shook hands with the crew and smiled and laughed.
It was already late, but the little mermaid could not take her eyes off the ship and the beautiful Prince. No more rockets flew up into the sky, but deep down in the sea there was a murmur and a rumbling.
Meanwhile
weeping willow – плакучая ива
for smartness’ sake – ради красоты
on the rigging and on the yard – на вантах и реях
