Far out in the ocean, where the water is blue
here the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower
and the water is as clear as the purest crystal
this water, far out in the ocean is very, very deep
water so deep, indeed, that no cable could reach the bottom
you could pile many church steeples upon each other
but all the churches could not reach the surface of the water
There dwell the Sea King and his subjects
you might think it is just bare yellow sand at the bottom
but we must not imagine that there is nothing there
on this sand grow the strangest flowers and plants
and you can’t imagine how pliant the leaves and stems are
the slightest agitation of the water causes the leaves to stir
it is as if each leaf had a life of its own
Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches
just like when birds fly among the trees here upon land

In the deepest spot of all stands a beautiful castle
this beautiful castle is the castle of the Sea King
the walls of the castle are built of coral
and the long Gothic windows are of the clearest amber
The roof of the castle is formed of sea shells
and the shells open and close as the water flows over them
Their appearance is more beautiful than can be described
within each shell there lies a glittering pearl
and each pearl would be fit for the diadem of a queen

The Sea King had been a widower for many years
and his aged mother looked after the household for him
She was a very sensible woman
but she was exceedingly proud of her royal birth
and on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail
others of high rank were only allowed to wear six oysters
She was, however, deserving of very great praise
there was something she especially deserved praise for
she took great care of the little sea princesses
she had six granddaughters that she loved
all the sea princesses were beautiful children
but the youngest sea princess was the prettiest of them
Her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose leaf
and her eyes were as blue as the deepest sea
but, like all the others, she had no feet
and at the end of her body was a fish’s tail

All day long they played in the great halls of the castle
out of the walls of the castle grew beautiful flowers
and she loved to play among the living flowers
The large amber windows were open, and the fish swam in
it is just like when we leave the windows open
and then the pretty swallows fly into our houses
only the fishes swam up to the princesses
they were the only ones that ate out of her hands
and they allowed themselves to be stroked by her

Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden
in the garden grew bright-red and dark-blue flowers
and there grew blossoms like flames of fire
the fruit on the plants glittered like gold
and the leaves and stems continually waved to and fro
The earth on the ground was the finest sand
but this sand does not have the colour of the sand we know
this sand is as blue as the flame of burning sulphur
Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance
it is as if the blue sky were everywhere
the blue of the sky was above and below
In calm weather the sun could be seen
from here the sun looked like a reddish-purple flower
and the light streamed from the calyx of the flower

the palace garden was divided into several parts
Each of the princesses had their own little plot of ground
on this plot they could plant whatever flowers they pleased
one princess arranged her flower bed in the form of a whale
one princess arranged her flowers like a little mermaid
and the youngest child made her garden round, like the sun
and in her garden grew beautiful red flowers
these flowers were as red as the rays of the sunset

She was a strange child; quiet and thoughtful
her sisters showed delight at the wonderful things
the things they obtained from the wrecks of vessels
but she cared only for her pretty red flowers
although there was also a beautiful marble statue
the statue was the representation of a handsome boy
the boy had been carved out of pure white stone
and the statue had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck
for this marble statue of a boy she cared about too

She planted, by the statue, a rose-colored weeping willow
and soon the weeping willow hung its fresh branches over the statue
the branches almost reached down to the blue sands
The shadows of the tree had the color of violet
and the shadows waved to and fro like the branches
all of this created the most interesting illusion
it was as if the crown of the tree and the roots were playing
it looked as if they were trying to kiss each other

her greatest pleasure was hearing about the world above
the world above the deep sea she lived in
She made her old grandmother tell her all about the upper world
the ships and the towns, the people and the animals
up there the flowers of the land had fragrance
the flowers below the sea had no fragrance
up there the trees of the forest were green
and the fishes in the trees could sing beautifully
up there it was a pleasure to listen to the fish
her grandmother called the birds fishes
else the little mermaid would not have understood
because the little mermaid had never seen birds

her grandmother told her about the rites of mermaids
“one day you will reach your fifteenth year”
“then you will have permission to go to the surface”
“you will be able to sit on the rocks in the moonlight”
“and you will see the great ships go sailing by”
“Then you will see forests and towns and the people”

the following year one of the sisters was going to be fifteen
but each sister was a year younger than the other
the youngest sister was going to have to wait five years before her turn
only then could she rise up from the bottom of the ocean
and only then could she see the earth as we do
However, each of the sisters made each other a promise
they were going to tell the others what they had seen
Their grandmother could not tell them enough
there were so many things they wanted to know about

the youngest sister longed for her turn the most
but, she had to wait longer than all the others
and she was so quiet and thoughtful about the world
there were many nights where she stood by the open window
and she looked up through the dark blue water
and she watched the fish as they splashed with their fins
She could see the moon and stars shining faintly
but from deep below the water these things look different
the moon and stars looked larger than they do to our eyes
sometimes, something like a black cloud went past
she knew that it could be a whale swimming over her head
or it could be a ship, full of human beings
human beings who couldn’t imagine what was under them
a pretty little mermaid holding out her white hands
a pretty little mermaid reaching towards their ship