海的女儿（十三）

Very soon it was said that the prince must marry， and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife， for a fine ship was being fitted out. Although the prince gave out that he merely intended to pay a visit to the king， it was generally supposed that he really went to see his daughter. A great company were to go with him. The little mermaid smiled， and shook her head. She knew the princes thoughts better than any of the others.

“I must travel，” he had said to her； “I must see this beautiful princess； my parents desire it； but they will not oblige me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her； she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple， whom you resemble. If I were forced to choose a bride， I would rather choose you， my dumb foundling， with those expressive eyes.”

And then he kissed her rosy mouth， played with her long waving hair， and laid his head on her heart， while she dreamed of human happiness and an immortal soul.

“You are not afraid of the sea， my dumb child，” said he， as they stood on the deck of the noble ship which was to carry them to the country of the neighboring king. And then he told her of storm and of calm， of strange fishes in the deep beneath them， and of what the divers had seen there； and she smiled at his descriptions， for she knew better than any one what wonders were at the bottom of the sea.

In the moonlight， when all on board were asleep， excepting the man at the helm， who was steering， she sat on the deck， gazing down through the clear water. She thought she could distinguish her fathers castle， and upon it her aged grandmother， with the silver crown on her head， looking through the rushing tide at the keel of the vessel. Then her sisters came up on the waves， and gazed at her mournfully， wringing their white hands. She beckoned to them， and smiled， and wanted to tell them how happy and well off she was； but the cabin-boy approached， and when her sisters dived down he thought it was only the foam of the sea which he saw.

现在大家在传说王子快要结婚了，她的妻子就是邻国国王的一个女儿。他为这事特别装备好了一艘美丽的船。王子在表面上说是要到邻近王国里去观光，事实上他是为了要去看邻国君主的女儿。他将带着一大批随员同去。小人鱼摇了摇头，微笑了一下。她比任何人都能猜透王子的心事。

“我得去旅行一下！”他对她说过，“我得去看一位美丽的公主，这是我父母的命令，但是他们不能强迫我把她作为未婚妻带回家来！我不会爱她的。你很像神庙里的那个美丽的姑娘，而她却不像。如果我要选择新嫁娘的话，那么我就要先选你——我亲爱的、有一双能讲话的眼睛的哑巴孤女。”

于是他吻了她鲜红的嘴唇，摸抚着她的长头发、把他的头贴到她的心上，弄得她的这颗心又梦想起人间的幸福和一个不灭的灵魂来。

“你不害怕海吗，我的哑巴孤儿？”他问。这时他们正站在那艘华丽的船上，它正向邻近的王国开去。他和她谈论着风暴和平静的海，生活在海里的奇奇怪怪的鱼，和潜水夫在海底所能看到的东西。对于这类的故事，她只是微微地一笑，因为关于海底的事儿她比谁都知道得清楚。

在月光照着的夜里，大家都睡了，只有掌舵人立在舵旁。这时她就坐在船边上，凝望着下面清亮的海水，她似乎看到了她父亲的王宫。她的老祖母头上戴着银子做的皇冠，正高高地站在王宫顶上；她透过激流朝这条船的龙骨瞭望。不一会，他的姐姐们都浮到水面上来了，她们悲哀地望着她，苦痛地扭著她们白净的手。她向她们招手，微笑，同时很想告诉她们，说她现在一切都很美好和幸福。不过这时船上的一个侍者忽然向她这边走来。她的姐姐们马上就沉到水里，侍者以为自己所看到的那些白色的东西，不过只是些海上的泡沫。 （未完待续）