Comparing: The Little Mermaid

Langt ude i Havet er Vandet saa blaat, som Bladene paa den deiligste Kornblomst, og saa klart, som det reneste Glas. Det er der saa uendelig dybt, og man kan komme temmelig langt ned, som man ved. Helst skal man have mange Kirkespirer oven paa hinanden for at naa fra Vandoverfladen og ned til Bunden. Nede paa Bundens boer Sdokongen og mangen anden med ham. Sdokongens Slot laa langt nede, hvor Vandet var dybest. Murene var af Koraller, og de lange, smaa Vinduer af det klareste Rav. Taget var dannet af Muslingeskaller, der aabnede og lukkede sig med Str0mmen, og det saae vidunderligt ud, thi paa hver Muslingelaa laa en perle, og enhver af dem var saa kostbar, at den var mere vaerd end alt, hvad Menneskene have som smukkeste Pynt. Sdokongen havde seks d0ttre, alle deilige Havfruer, men den yngste var den deiligste af dem alle. Hendes Hud var saa klar og fin som et Rosenblad, hendes Ojne saa blaa som det dybeste Hav. Hele dagen legede de nede paa Slottet i de store Sale, hvor levende Blomster voxede fra Veggene. Naar man aabnede de store Ambravinduer, sv0mmede Fiskene ind, lige som hos os Smaafuglene flyve ind, naar vi aabne Vinduerne. Men Fiskene vovede sig mere frem, de stode sig paa Havfruernes Haender og lode sig klappe. Da den lille Havfrue fyldte femten Aar, fik hun Lov at stige op til Havoverfladen. Da hun steg op, saae hun et smukt Skib, og paa Dasket stod en prægtig Prinds, som havde Fodselsdag. Hun betragtede ham med store Ojne, og da det blev m0rkt og Stormen br0d l0s, kuldsejlede Skibet. Prindsen sank i Vandet, og den lille Havfrue sv0mmede hen og reddede ham. Hun bar ham til Land og lagde ham paa Stranden ved et helligt Tempel. Hun holdt sig skjult bag nogle Sten, og da en ung Pige kom ud fra Templet, kravlede hun tilbage i Havet. Hjemme i Sdokongens Slot fortalte hun sine S0stre om Prindsen. Hun laengtes efter at have en ud0delig Sjael som Menneskene, thi Havfruer leve i trehundrede Aar og blive saa til Skum paa Havet. Hun ops0gte Sdokongens Heks og byttede sin r0st for et Trylledrik, der skulde give hende menneskelige Ben. Heksen advarede hende: hvert Skridt skulde føles som at traede paa skaarpe Knive, og hvis Prindsen giftede sig med en anden, vilde hun d0 og blive til Skum paa Havet. Hun drak Trylledrikken og vaklede til Slottet. Prindsen var betaget af hendes Ynde, men hun kunde ikke tale. Han behandlede hende venligt, men han elskede den Pige, som havde fundet ham paa Stranden. Prindsen kunngjorde sit Bryllup med en Prindsesse fra Nabolandet, og den lille Havfrues Hjerte brast. Om Natten kom hendes S0stre op af Vandet med en Dolk: hvis hun st0bte Prindsen, vilde hans Blod give hende Halen tilbage. Hun nægtede. Ved Daggry kastede hun sig i Havet. Men i Stedet for at d0 blev hun en Luftens Datter, en af de Aander, der gennem trehundrede Aars gode Gerninger kan tjene en ud0delig Sjael.

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, and many church steeples would have to be placed one on top of another to reach from the surface to the bottom. Down there lived the Sea King with his mother and six beautiful mermaid daughters. The Sea King's palace was built of coral and polished shells, with great amber windows that opened and closed with the current. Each princess had her own garden plot where red flowers grew like flames and fishes glided in through the windows. The youngest princess was the most beautiful of all, with skin as clear and delicate as a rose petal and eyes as blue as the deepest sea. She was a quiet, thoughtful child who loved to hear her grandmother's tales of the world above. The mermaids were not allowed to rise to the surface until they turned fifteen, and the youngest sister counted the days. At last her fifteenth birthday arrived. She rose through the water as lightly as a bubble and beheld the most glorious sight: a handsome prince on the deck of a splendid ship, celebrating his birthday with music and fireworks. The little mermaid watched him all evening, entranced. Then a terrible storm arose. The waves crashed over the ship, the masts snapped like twigs, and the vessel foundered. The prince sank beneath the waves. The mermaid dove after him, held his head above water, and swam through the raging storm until she reached the shore near a holy temple. She laid him gently on the sand and kissed his pale brow, then hid behind the rocks as a young girl from the temple discovered him. She returned home but could not forget the prince. She told her sisters about him and grew ever more curious about the human world and its immortal souls. Mermaids, she learned, live for three hundred years and then turn to sea foam, their existence ended forever. Humans, however, possess souls that live on in heaven for all eternity. This seemed to her the greatest gift of all. Determined to win the prince's love and gain an immortal soul, she visited the sea witch in her lair among the bubbling hot springs. The witch agreed to brew a potion that would give her human legs, but the price was terrible: the mermaid must surrender her tongue and her beautiful voice. Furthermore, every step on her new legs would feel as though she were treading on sharp knives. And if the prince married another woman, the mermaid would die the very next morning and turn to sea foam. The little mermaid accepted the bargain without hesitation. She drank the potion and felt a searing pain as her tail split into two human legs. She was found on the shore by the prince himself, who was enchanted by her grace and beauty. He took her to the palace and gave her fine clothes and jewels. She danced for him, though every step brought agony, and he admired her more than any other. Yet he never thought of marrying her, for his heart belonged to the temple girl who he believed had saved his life. One day the prince announced his wedding to a princess from a neighboring kingdom. The little mermaid's heart broke, for she knew her fate was sealed. At the wedding feast aboard a ship, she danced one last time, though her feet bled. That night, her sisters appeared on the waves, their long hair shorn. They had traded their hair to the sea witch for a enchanted knife. If the mermaid would plunge the knife into the prince's heart and let his blood fall upon her feet, she would become a mermaid again and return to the sea. She crept into the prince's chamber and stood over his sleeping form. But she could not do it. She loved him too much to harm him. At dawn, she threw herself into the sea. But instead of dissolving into foam, she felt herself rising. She had become a daughter of the air, one of the unseen spirits who, through three hundred years of good deeds, could at last earn what she had always longed for: an immortal soul.