Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects.

在海的遠(yuǎn)處，水是那么藍(lán)，像最美麗的矢車菊花瓣，同時又是那么清，像最明亮的玻璃。然而它是很深很深，深得任何錨鏈都達(dá)不到底。要想從海底一直達(dá)到水面，必須有許多許多教堂尖塔一個接著一個地聯(lián)起來才成。海底的人就住在這下面。

We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.

不過人們千萬不要以為那兒只是一片鋪滿了白砂的海底。不是的，那兒生長著最奇異的樹木和植物。它們的枝干和葉子是那么柔軟，只要水輕微地流動一下，它們就搖動起來，好像它們是活著的東西。所有的大小魚兒在這些枝子中間游來游去，像是天空的飛鳥。海里最深的地方是海王宮殿所在的處所。它的墻是用珊瑚砌成的，它那些尖頂?shù)母叽白邮怯米盍恋溺曜龀傻?；不過屋頂上卻鋪著黑色的蚌殼，它們隨著水的流動可以自動地開合。這是怪好看的，國為每一顆蚌殼里面含有亮晶晶的珍珠。隨便哪一顆珍珠都可以成為皇后帽子上最主要的裝飾品。

The Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, and exceedingly proud of her high birth; on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail; while others, also of high rank, were only allowed to wear six. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. They were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish's tail.

住在那底下的海王已經(jīng)做了好多年的鰥夫，但是他有老母親為他管理家務(wù)。她是一個聰明的女人，可是對于自己高貴的出身總是感到不可一世，因此她的尾巴上老戴著一打的牡蠣——其余的顯貴只能每人戴上半打。除此以外，她是值得大大的稱贊的，特別是因為她非常愛那些小小的海公主——她的一些孫女。她們是六個美麗的孩子，而她們之中，那個頂小的要算是最美麗的了。她的皮膚又光又嫩，像玫瑰的花瓣，她的眼睛是蔚藍(lán)色的，像最深的湖水。不過，跟其他的公主一樣，她沒有腿：她身體的下部是一條魚尾。

All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. The large amber windows were open, and the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the windows, excepting that the fishes swam up to the princesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be stroked.

她們可以把整個漫長的日子花費(fèi)在皇宮里，在墻上生有鮮花的大廳里。那些琥珀鑲的大窗子是開著的，魚兒向著她們游來，正如我們打開窗子的時候，燕子會飛進(jìn)來一樣。不過魚兒一直游向這些小小的公主，在她們的手里找東西吃，讓她們來撫摸自己。

Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers, and blossoms like flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the blue sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea. In calm weather the sun could be seen, looking like a purple flower, with the light streaming from the calyx.

宮殿外面有一個很大的花園，里邊生長著許多火紅和深藍(lán)色的樹木；樹上的果子亮得像黃金，花朵開得像焚燒著的火，花枝和葉子在不停地?fù)u動。地上全是最細(xì)的砂子，但是藍(lán)得像硫黃發(fā)出的光焰。在那兒，處處都閃著一種奇異的、藍(lán)色的光彩。你很容易以為你是高高地在空中而不是在海底，你的頭上和腳下全是一片藍(lán)天。當(dāng)海是非常沉靜的時候，你可瞥見太陽：它像一朵紫色的花，從它的花萼里射出各種色彩的光。