高級英語教材第35課

先讀課文﹕
The Little Mermaid 小美人魚
by Hans Christian Andersen

        Once upon a time, far out to sea, where the water was as blue as
the petals of the loveliest cornflower, lived the Mer - king.  Since the
Mer - king's wife was dead, his old mother kept house for him and his six
daughters.  His youngest daughter was very quiet and thoughtful.  And nothing
pleased her more than hearing her grandmother tell stories about the far-off
world of humans, about ships and towns and people.
        "As soon as you are fifteen," her grandmother said, "you may rise
to the surface of the sea and sit on the rocks and watch the ships sail
by."
        One by one the sisters turned fifteen, until at last it was the
little mermaid's turn.  Her grandmother put a wreath of white lilies and
pearls on her head.  The mermaid said good-bye, and she floated up through
the water as lightly as a bubble.
        When she came to the surface of the sea, the little mermaid saw
the evening star shining in the pink sky.  A three - masted ship was anchored
in the water.  There was singing and dancing on board; and as the night
grew darker, hundreds of lanterns lit the deck.
        The little mermaid swam about the ship, peeking in all the portholes.
 Every time she rose with the waves, she saw a crowd of people dancing.
 They were elegant and well-dressed.  But the most striking of all was a
young prince.  He could not have been more than sixteen.  How handsome he
was-shaking hands with all the guests, laughing and smiling while beautiful
music filled the night.
        But as the little mermaid watched the prince, a sudden storm swept
over the sea.  The waves rose like mountains.  The ship creaked and cracked.
 Water came rushing into the hold.  Just as the ship broke in two, the prince
fell into the deepest part of the sea.
        The little mermaid swam through the dangerous waves until she reached
the prince.  She held his head above the water to keep him from drowning.
At dawn, she carried him into a bay and laid him on the sand.  Then she
sang to him in her lovely voice.  When she heard people coming, she hid
behind some rocks.
        A young girl appeared.  She woke up the prince, and he smiled gratefully
at her.  He did not turn and smile at the little mermaid, though, for he
had no idea that she was the one who had saved him and sung to him.  Soon
others came to help the prince, and he was carried away from the shore.

        Thereafter, many evenings and many mornings, the little mermaid
returned to the shore where she had left the prince.  She saw the fruit
ripen on the trees; she saw the snow melt on the high mountains - but she
never saw the handsome prince.
        At last she told the story to her sisters, and one of them showed
her the palace where the prince lived.  Thereafter, night after night, the
little mermaid rose to the surface of the water and watched the gleaming
palace. She even pulled herself up the marble steps, so she could gaze at
the prince, standing on his balcony in the moonlight.
        The more she visited the palace, the closer the little mermaid felt
to humans, and she longed to be one of them.
        "Do humans live forever?" she asked her grandmother.
        "No," said the old lady.  "Their lives are much shorter than ours.
 We live for three hundred years, but when our lives come to an end, we
turn to foam upon the water.  But a human has a soul which lives on after
the body dies.  It flies up through the sky to the stars."
        "Oh," breathed the little mermaid, "how can I get a human soul?"

        "Well, if a human being loved you dearly and married you, you could
get one," the grandmother said.  "But that will never happen.  The very
thing that is so beautiful in the sea - your mermaid tail - is ugly and
disgusting to humans."
        The little mermaid looked sadly at her tail.
        As time passed, the little mermaid could not forget her prince.
 One day she was filled with such longing that she made a terrible decision.
 "I will call on the sea witch, " she said.  She had always been afraid
of the terrible witch, but now it didn't seem to matter.
        The sea witch's house lay deep in the eerie sea forest.  Her trees
and bushes had long slimy arms that writhed like worms.  Her yard was filled
with fat water snakes slithering about.  The witch's house itself had been
built from the bones of shipwrecked humans.
        "I know what you want," the sea witch said to the mermaid before
she had a chance to speak.  "You want to get rid of your fish's tail and
have two walking stumps like humans have.  You hope the prince will fall
in love with you, and you'll be able to marry him and get a human soul."
 She let out a hideous laugh that sent her snakes sprawling to the floor
of the sea.
        "Well, I shall make a special potion for you," the witch went on.
 Before the sun rises, you must carry it to the shore and drink it.  Then
your tail will divide into two parts.  When those parts shrink into what
humans call 'legs,' the pain will be almost more than you can bear.  Though
you will glide along more gracefully than any dancer, every step you take
will be like treading on sharp knives.  Are you willing to suffer this to
be a human?"
        "Yes, said the little mermaid. 
        "Remember, once you've taken a human shape, you can never be a mermaid
again.  Never be with your sisters or your father.  If you fail to become
the prince's wife, you won't be a human either!  If he marries someone else,
you will turn into foam the morning after his wedding.  Are you willing
to drink the potion and risk your life?"
        "Yes, " whispered the mermaid.
        "And one more thing," said the witch. "You have the loveliest voice
in the sea.  I want it for my payment."
        "But if you take my voice, what will I have?" the mermaid asked.

        "Your beauty, your graceful movements, your speaking eyes.  Now
give me your voice, and I'll give you the potion."
        "Oh dear, no," said the little mermaid.  She was horrified at the
thought of giving up her lovely voice.
        "All right then," said the hideous sea witch, "you will never become
human."
        The little mermaid felt great despair.  She didn't think she could
bear to live if she didn't become human.  "I will give up my voice if I
must, " she said sadly.
        So the witch cut off the mermaid's tongue.  Then she gave her a
vial of magic potion.  The drink glowed like a glittering star.
        The little mermaid swam away from the horrible forest.  When she
saw her father's house, she felt as if her heart would break.  She threw
hundreds of kisses towards the palace.  Then she rose up through the dark
blue sea and swam to the prince's palace.
        In the moonlight she made her way up the marble steps and drank
the burning potion.  A sword seemed to thrust itself through her body; and
she fainted from the pain.
        At dawn the little mermaid woke up.  She felt the pain again.  When
she looked down at her fish's tail, she saw that it was gone.  In its place
were two beautiful white legs.  She had no clothes on, so she Wound her
long hair around her body.
        When the little mermaid looked up, she saw the prince standing before
her.  His coal-black eyes stared intensely at her. 
        "Who are you?  Where have you come from?" he said.
        The mermaid looked at him softly, yet sadly, for she could not speak.
 The prince took her hand, and led her to the palace.
        The little mermaid was the fairest maid in all the kingdom and the
prince was enchanted by her.  They rode together on horseback and climbed
mountains together.  And when they went to parties, the little mermaid danced
as no one had ever danced, and everyone marvelled at her graceful, flowing
movements.
        Sometimes, at night, the little mermaid crept down to the sea, and
she heard the mournful song of her sisters as they swam over the water.
 In the distance, she saw her grandmother and her father stretching out
their arms to her.
        Though the prince was very fond of the little mermaid, he often
seemed distracted, as if he were thinking of someone else.  One night, he
confided in her, "I'm in love with a girl I saw long ago.  Once I was shipwrecked,
 and the waves carried me ashore.  There a young girl found me and saved
my life. She sang to me with her golden voice - a voice more beautiful than
I've ever heard. I've never seen her since that day."
        The mermaid felt great despair.  Since she could not speak, she
could not tell the prince what had really happened, that it was she who
had saved him and sung to him.
        Soon the mermaid heard a rumor that the prince was to be married
to the daughter of a neighboring king.
        "I am obliged to make a sea journey to meet this princess," the
prince told the little mermaid.  "My mother and father have insisted.  But
if I cannot find that girl who saved my life on the shore, I would like
to marry you, my silent orphan with the speaking eyes."  And he kissed her.

        The prince and the mermaid journeyed together to the neighboring
kingdom.  In the moonlit night, the little mermaid sat by the ship's rail,
gazing into the water.  She thought she saw her father's palace and her
grandmother's crown of pearls.
        Soon the ship sailed into the harbor of the neighboring king's city.
Church bells rang, and trumpets blared.  The princess was brought to the
ship.
    When the prince looked upon her, he cried out with great joy. "It is
you!" he said.  "You're the one who saved me when I lay almost dead on the
shore! My wish has come true!" 
        Indeed it was the girl who had discovered the prince on the shore.
 But the little mermaid would never be able to tell the prince that she
herself was the one who had saved him from drowning at sea. She felt as
if her heart would break.
        The wedding ceremony was held immediately.  The mermaid was dressed
in silk and gold, and she held the bridal train.  But she did not hear the
festive music, nor pay attention to the ceremony.  This was her last day
in the world.  The prince's wedding would soon bring her death; tomorrow
she would turn to foam upon the sea.
        That evening the bride and bridegroom slept in a royal tent on deck.
The sails filled in the breeze; the vessel flew swiftly over the shining
sea.
        The little mermaid leaned her white arms on the rail and looked
out to sea.  Dawn would bring an end to her life.  Suddenly she saw her
sisters rising out of the water. They were as pale as ghosts, and their
hair was cut off.
        One sister held up a knife.  "We gave our hair to the witch in return
for help," she said.  "She gave us this knife.  When the sun rises, you
must plunge it into the prince's heart.  When his blood splashes on your
feet, you will have a tail again.  You can join us below in the sea.  Hurry!
 Either he dies or you die."
        The little mermaid took the knife and crept into the royal tent.
 She drew back the purple curtain and looked at the prince sleeping with
his bride. She looked at the knife, then back at the prince.
        The knife quivered in her hand.  Suddenly she rushed out of the
tent and hurled it into the sea.  The waves shone red as though they were
made of blood.
        The little mermaid threw herself into the water.  She saw lovely
transparent creatures floating above her. 
        "You are one of us now, " one of the lovely creatures said.  "We
are spirits of the air.  We have no souls, but with good deeds we can win
them.  We fly to hot countries and send cool breezes to suffering people.
 We spread the fragrance of flowers.  Then after we serve people for three
hundred years, we are given a human soul."
        The little mermaid felt great joy as she raised her arms towards
the sun and floated through the water into the air.  She saw the prince
and his bride on the deck of the ship.  They seemed to be searching for
her.
        Invisible to all, the little mermaid floated to the ship.  She kissed
the bride and smiled at the prince.  Then she rose like a pink cloud high
into the morning sky.

1) 生詞自查。
2) 作者介紹﹕Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805-- August 4, 1875) was
a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories.
 These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little
Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."
3) 關於故事﹕A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female
human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. Mermaids are represented
in the folklore, literature and popular culture of many countries worldwide.
A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males
and females are known as "merfolk" or "merpeople". A "merboy" is a young
merman.
"The Little Mermaid" (Danish: Den lille havfrue, literally: the little seawoman)
 is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen
about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity
as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince.  Written
originally as a ballet, the tale was first published in 1837 and has been
adapted to various media including musical theatre and animated film.
4) 安徒生童話中的美人魚故事應該也是家喻戶曉的。不過﹐學英文的人未必都讀過
英文版本。這也是個很感人的故事﹐值得一讀。

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• 谢谢先生好贴! -tingfeng- ♀ (0 bytes) () 05/26/2012 postreply 06:23:20