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Far out at sea, the water is as blue as the petals of the bluest cornflower, and as clear as the clearest crystal, but it is very deep, deeper than any anchor can fathom. Many a church steeple would have to be stacked, one on top of another, to reach from the very bottom to the surface of the sea. And it is there, in the very depths, that the sea folk live.
Now, don't suppose for a moment that there is nothing but bare white sand on the bottom of the sea...
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The sun had just set when her head appeared above the surface, but the clouds were still tinted with gold and rose, and in the pale pink sky, the evening stars sparkled, clear and bright. The air was mild and fresh and the sea calm. She saw a great three-masted ship with only a single sail set, for not a breath of wind stirred, and the sailors idled about on the rigging and the spars. She heard music and singing on board, and as night came on, hundreds of brightly colored lanterns were lighted, looking like flags of all the nations waving in the air. The little mermaid swam right up to the porthole of the cabin, and each time she rose with the swell, she could see through the clear glass crowds of brilliantly-dressed people, but the handsomest of all was the young prince with great dark eyes. He was scarcely more than sixteen years of age...
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She grew to like human beings more and more, and more and more she longed to live among them. Their world seemed so much larger than her own, for they could skim over the sea in ships and climb up into the lofty mountains high above the clouds and their land stretched out in woods and fields farther than the eye could sea. There was so much she wanted to know Her sisters could not answer all her questions so she asked her old grandmother, who knew so well "the upper world" (which is what she called the countries above the sea...)
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When the sun rose over the sea, she awoke, and felt a burning pain, but before her stood the handsome young prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her, and under his gaze, she lowered her eyes... and saw that her fish tail was gone, and that she had the loveliest pair of white legs any young girl could wish for. But she was naked, so she veiled herself with her long, thick hair. The prince asked who she was and how she had come there. She looked up at him with her deep blue eyes, so tenderly, and yet so filled with sadness, for she could not speak...
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An eternal night, without thought or dream, awaited her who had no soul and could not win one. The merrymaking lasted long after midnight, yet the little mermaid laughed and danced with the thought of death in her heart. The prince kissed his beautiful bride, and she toyed with his black hair, then arm-in-arm, they went to rest in the splendid tent. A hush came over the ship. Only the helmsman stood at the wheel. On deck, the little mermaid leaned her white arms on the rail, and looked to the east, waiting, to see the first red tinge of dawn, the first rays of sun that would strike her dead. Then she saw her sisters rise up among the waves. They were as pale as she, and there was no sign of their lovely long hair fluttering in the wind. It had all been cut off. “We have given our hair to the witch,” they said, “so that she would send you help, and save you from death before dawn!”
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Epilogue
00:50
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"This is the way we shall rise to the heavenly kingdom, after three hundred years.”
“We may even reach it sooner,” whispered another spirit...
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Aurora Audio San Francisco, California
Aurora Wetzel first began her storytelling in the golden years of radio with a weekly children's story hour. She continued working in radio drama and later recorded audiobooks. She has a lifelong passion for the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. We are re-releasing these unabridged Andersen stories so that both children and adults can experience the delight of being read to! ... more
