第2章 小美人鱼 The Little Mermaid(4/9)

首发：~第2章 小美人鱼 The Little Mermaid

之后，当她站在敞开的窗户前透过深蓝色的海水向上望时，她想起了那座大城市，想起了那里的喧嚣与嘈杂，甚至幻想自己能听到海底深处教堂的钟声。

and afterwards, when she stood at the open window looking up through the dark blue water, she thought of the great city, with all its bustle and noise, and even fancied she could hear the sound of the church bells, down in the depths of the sea

又过了一年，二姐得到许可升到水面，可以随意游动。

in another year the second sister received permission to rise to the surface of the water, and to swim about where she pleased

她升出水面的时候，正值太阳落山，她说这是最美丽的景色。

she rose just as the sun was setting, and this, she said, was the most beautiful sight of all

整个天空看起来像金子一样，还有她说不出名字的紫罗兰色和玫瑰色的云彩在她头顶飘浮；

the whole sky looked like gold, while violet and rose - colored clouds, which she could not describe, floated over her;

而且，一群野天鹅朝着夕阳飞去，速度比云彩还要快，看起来就像横在海面上的一条长长的白色面纱。

and, still more rapidly than the clouds, flew a large flock of wild swans towards the setting sun, looking like a long white veil across the sea

她也朝着太阳游去；

she also swam towards the sun;

但是太阳沉入了波浪之中，云彩和大海的玫瑰色也渐渐褪去。

but it sunk into the waves, and the rosy tints faded from the clouds and from the sea

接着就轮到三姐了；

the third sister’s turn followed;

她是她们当中最勇敢的，她沿着一条宽阔的河流向上游去，这条河流入大海。

she was the boldest of them all, and she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea

在河岸上，她看到绿色的山丘上长满了美丽的葡萄藤；

on the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines;

宫殿和城堡从森林中高耸的树木间隐隐露出；

palaces and castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest;

她听到鸟儿在歌唱，阳光非常强烈，她常常不得不潜入水下以冷却她发烫的脸。

she heard the birds singing, and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face

在一条狭窄的小溪里，她发现了一群小人类孩子，全身赤裸，正在水里嬉戏；

in a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children, quite naked, and sporting about in the water;

她想和他们一起玩，但是他们非常惊恐地逃走了。

she wanted to play with them, but they fled in a great fright;

然后一只黑色的小动物来到水边；

and then a little black animal came to the water;

那是一只狗，但她不知道，因为她以前从未见过狗。

it was a dog, but she did not know that, for she had never before seen one

这只动物对着她狂吠，非常可怕，她被吓坏了，赶忙冲回大海。

this animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, and rushed back to the open sea

但她说她永远不会忘记那美丽的森林、绿色的山丘和那些能在水中游泳的可爱小孩子，尽管他们没有鱼尾。

but she said she should never forget the beautiful forest, the green hills, and the pretty little children who could swim in the water, although they had not fish’s tails

四姐比较胆小；

the fourth sister was more timid;

她待在大海中央，但她说那里和靠近陆地的地方一样美丽。

she remained in the midst of the sea, but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land

她能看到周围许多英里远的地方，头顶的天空看起来像一个玻璃钟。

she could see for so many miles around her, and the sky above looked like a bell of glass

她看到过船只，但距离非常远，看起来就像海鸥。

she had seen the ships, but at such a great distance that they looked like sea - gulls

海豚在海浪中嬉戏，大鲸鱼从鼻孔里喷水，直到看起来好像有上百个喷泉在四处喷水。

the dolphins sported in the waves, and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction

五姐的生日在冬天；

the fifth sister’s birthday occurred in the winter;

所以当轮到她的时候，她看到了其他人第一次上去时没有看到的东西。

so when her turn came, she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up