《人鱼公主》汉译项目报告

'三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文分类号H3密级公开UDC翻译专业硕士学位论文《人鱼公主》汉译项目报告学位申请人：黄儒专业领域：英语笔译指导教师：覃芳芳讲师二○一三年五月 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文MasterofTranslationandInterpretingAReportonTranslationofTheLittleMermaidGraduateStudent:HuangRuProfessionalField:TranslationandInterpretingSupervisor:QinFangfangChinaThreeGorgesUniversityYichang,443002,P.R.ChinaApril,2013I 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文三峡大学学位论文原创性声明本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师的指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的成果，除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的作品成果。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体均已在文中以明确方式标明，本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。学位论文作者签名：黄儒日期：2013.6II 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文内容摘要本文是一篇翻译报告。研究对象选自《安徒生童话》中的名篇——《人鱼公主》。儿童文学翻译是文学翻译的一个重要分支。近年来，儿童文学翻译研究方面的论文数量的增长和研究方法的多样化在我国都呈上升趋势。翻译理论和文学理论等都被广泛的应用于儿童文学作品的翻译研究中，如接受美学理论等。本文以读者接受美学的理论来指导笔者的翻译实践。接受美学理论是文学研究中一种新的理论，它在20世纪80年代末被引入中国翻译领域，但是用它解释儿童文学翻译的研究并不多。接受美学理论的两位著名的代表人物是HansRobertJauss和WolfgangIser，它强调以读者的接受为目标。接受美学理论为儿童文作品的翻译提供有力的理论指导。本文旨在分析原文的基础上，对童话作品英译汉的过程中所遇到的各种问题进行阐述和分析，以拓展接受美学理论的应用范围，并试图寻求儿童文学作品翻译中一种有力的理论指导框架。本文的第一章对项目进行概述，包括项目的背景，文献综述，项目的意义和报告的结构。第二章介绍原文作者，分析原文，包括原文版本，主要内容和原文分析。第三章，分析翻译难点，详述准备工作，并重点总结出翻译过程中所遇到的问题，探求解决方案的同时辅以具体实例进行分析。第四章，总结此次翻译项目中所获得的经验教训。关键词：儿童文学的翻译；翻译报告；接受美学；翻译策略；人鱼公主III 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文AbstractThisisatranslationreportonTheLittleMermaid,whichisoneofthemostpopularstoriesinHansChristianAndersen’sFairyTales.Children’sliteraturetranslationisanimportantbranchofliteraturetranslation.Theincreaseofnumberofessaysanddiversityofstudymethodsofthestudyonchildren’sliteraturetranslationshowanupwardtrendinChinarecently.Translationtheoriesandliteraturetheoriesarewidelyappliedinthestudyofchildren’sliteraturetranslation.ThetranslationpracticeofTheLittleMermaidisundertheguidanceofreceptionaestheticsinthisreport.ReceptionAestheticsisanewmethodologyinthefieldofliterature,anditwasintroducedtoChinainthetranslationfieldattheendof1980s.However,therearenotmanypapersstudyingtheReceptionAestheticsonchildren’sliterature.ThetwobestknownfamousrepresentativesofthetheoryareHansRobertJaussandWolfgangIser.Andthistheoryfocusesonthereceptionabilityofreaders.Therefore,receptionaestheticsisaneffectivetheoreticalguidanceforchildren’sliteraturetranslation.InordertoenlargetheappliedrangeofReceptionAesthetics,thispaperiswrittenonelaborationandanalysisoftheproblemstheauthorencounteredintheprocessoftranslation,onthebasisofanalysisofsourcetext.Moreover,theauthortriestoexploreaneffectivetheoreticguidanceforchildren’sliteraturetranslation.Thepaperisdividedintofourparts.Sectiononeisintroductionincludingthebackground,literaturereview,objectiveandsignificanceandthestructureofthetranslationreport.Sectiontwoisintroducingtheauthor,maincontents,linguisticfeaturesandtheevaluationofthesourcetext.AndsectionthreeisontheanalysisandconclusionoftheproblemsandthesolutionsinthetranslationofTheLittleMermaidwithspecificexamples.Keywords:children’sliteraturetranslation；ReceptionAesthetics；translationstrategies；theLittleMermaidIV 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Contents摘要…………………………………………………..……………………………...ⅲAbstract……………………………………………………………...………………ⅳSectionOneIntroduction…………………………………..……….……....11.1Backgroundofthetranslationreport…………………………………….…...11.2Literaturereview…………………………………………………....………..11.3Objectiveandsignificanceofthetranslationreport………………….………21.4Structureofthetranslationreport…………………………….……....………3SectionTwoBackgroundofthesourcetext…………………………….….………42.1Abouttheauthor………………………………….…………………….……...42.2Aboutthesourcetext………………………………….……………….………4SectionThreeProblemsandsolutionsintranslationpractice……………………53.1Difficultiesintranslationpractice…………………………………….………53.2Preparationwork……………………………………………………….……...63.3Translationstrategies………………………………………………………….7SectionfourConclusion…………………………………………….…….………..14Bibliography………………………………………………………………………..16Appendix1SourceText………………………………………….…………...……17Appendix2TranslatedText………………………………….……………………39Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….…..51V 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文AReportonTranslationofTheLittleMermaidSectionOneIntroduction1.1BackgroundoftheTranslationReportThetaskofthistranslationreportistostudyChildren’sLiteratureTranslationunderthetheoreticguidanceofReceptionAesthetics,basedontranslatingthefamousfairytaleTheLittleMermaid.Theauthorchosethistopicforthreereasons.Firstly,ReceptionAestheticsisanewtheoryintroducedintoChinain1980s,whichhaddeepinfluencesonstudiesofliteratureandtranslationallovertheworld.Secondly,thoughstudiesonReceptionAestheticsandchildren’sliteraturetranslationareinanincreasethesesyears,therearenotmanypapersonchildren’sliteraturetranslationundertheoreticguidanceofReceptionAesthetics.AndevennoonedoesresearchontranslationofTheLittleMermaidundertheguidanceofReceptionAesthetics.Soit’screativeandofgreatsignificancetostudyonit.Thirdly,TheLittleMermaidissopopularwithchildrenandalsoadultsinbothChinaandabroad.Fairytalesarefascinatingandfullofwonderfulcolorsoftheworld.Intheworldoffairytalesourcuriositycanbesatisfied,andthewingsofourimaginationwouldbeplump.Eachpersonhasadreamingcastleinthedeepofheart.Andonlypeoplewhokeepachildlikeinnocenceintheheartcanenterthiscastle.ThelittlemermaidhasinfluencedChineseforgenerationssinceitcametoChinaandwastranslatedintoChinese.Besides,thelanguageofthestoryisatthemoderatelevel,goodforthetranslatortoimprovetranslationability.Ittooktwomonthstofinishthisreport,whichconsistsofchoosingmaterial,findingandreadingliteraryworksandpapers,doingthefirstdraftandproofreading,andfinishingthefinalversion.1.2ObjectiveandSignificanceoftheTranslationReportInthefirstplace,thisthesisaimsatdrawingacademicattentionforthe1 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文developmentofchildren’sliteraturetranslationinchina.Childrenareparticularreaders.Children’sliterature,includingthetranslatedforeignchildren’sliteraturehasagreatinfluenceoneveryone’schildhood.Thusitisquiteimportanttopromoteacademicstudyonchildren’sliteratureandchildren’sliteraturetranslation.Inthesecondplace,thethesisisgoingtoexplorethechildren’sliteraturetranslationundertheguidanceofReceptionAestheticstheory,focusingonsolvetheproblemsarisingfromthetranslationprocessofTheLittleMermaid.Childreadershaveanimportantroleandstatusinchildren’sliteraturetranslation.Children’sreceptionisthetranslator’spriorityinordertocaterforthechildreaders’aestheticneed.Therefore,thetranslationofchildren’sliteratureneedstorecreateversionsthatnotonlysucceedingraspingthepecularityofthesourcelanguagetext,butalsowintheyoungheartsofchildreaders.Intermsofthesignificanceofthisstudy,thethesisistoapplytheReceptionAestheticsintochildren’sliteraturetranslation,whichisnotsocommonlydonebefore.Thirdly,thethesisbasedontheprocessoffindingthedetailedproblemsintranslatingTheLittleMermaid.Andthentheauthortriedtosolvetheseproblemswithpropertranslationstrategies.Threemaintranslationstrategiesareusedinthetranslation---thestyleoftargettext,hypotaxisvs.parataxisandtextualcoherence.It’sdoneinhopeofgivingsomeeffectivesuggestionstoothertranslators.1.3LiteratureReviewReceptionAestheticswasestablishedbythe“Germanaestheticsofreception”ortheConstanceCriticalSchoolinthelate1960sandisareactiontointellectual,social,andliterarydevelopmentintheWestGermanyduringthelate1960s.ThetwobestknownfiguresoftheConstanceSchoolareHansRobertJaussandWolfgangIser,whosetheoriesaresignificantlyinfluencedbyhermeneuticsandphenomenologyrespectively,andthemagnificentbreakthroughofreceptiontheoryinbuildingupthereadersasacenterofliterarycriticismhasachievedamodernswerveofresearch2 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文focusfromtheauthorandtheliteraryworktothereader,inthefieldofwesternliterarycriticism.Jauss’sLiteraryHistoryasaProvocationtoLiteraryScholarship(1967)wasacknowledgedasthemanifestoofthebirthofReceptionAesthetics.Asanotherrepresentative,WolfgangIserelaboratedthenotion“impliedreader”inhisTheImpliedReader(1972).Jaussfocusesontheconstructionofhistoryofliterature,whileIserconcentratesontheresponseofthereader.ResearchonReceptionAestheticshasmademuchprogresssinceitwasintroducedintoChinainthe1980s.Byreferencetothewesternstudies,scholarsinChinabegantostudyonthistheory.MaXiao(2000)presentedacomprehensiveanddetailedanalysisontheliteraturetranslationandReceptionAesthetics.WangXiuli(2009)madeastudyontheliteraturetranslationandReceptionAestheticsindetail.JiangTingting(2012)referredtothetheoreticguidancesignificanceofReceptiontheorytochildren’sliteraturetranslation.Thesestudiesaregivinggreatguidancetoothers.However,therearenotmanystudiesontherelationshipofReceptionAestheticsandchildren’sliteraturetranslation.1.4StructureoftheTranslationReportThepaperisdividedintofourparts.Sectiononeisanintroductionincludingthebackground,literaturereview,objectiveandsignificanceandthestructureofthetranslationreport.Sectiontwoisintroducingtheauthor,maincontents,linguisticfeaturesandtheevaluationofthesourcetext.AndsectionthreeisontheanalysisandconclusionoftheproblemsandthesolutionsinthetranslationofTheLittleMermaidwithspecificexamples.TheproblemsweresolvedwithpropertranslationmethodsunderthetheoreticguidanceofReceptionAesthetics.Atlast,itisfollowedbyasummary.SectionTwoBackgroundoftheSourceText2.1AbouttheAuthorofSourceText3 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文HansChristianAndersen,Danishwriter,poet,isfamousforhisfairytalesandiswellknownintheworldasthefounderofthefairytalesintheworldliterature.HansChristianAndersonwasaworld-famouswriteroffairytales.Hewasbornin1805.Whenhewaseleven,hisfatherdied.Hisfamilywasthensopoorthathecouldnotgotoschoolduringhischildhood.Helearnedsewingfromatailor.Attheageoffourteen，hewenttoworkinatheatre.Laterhelpedbysomewarm-heartedartists,hewenttoschool.In1828,hebegantogetadvancededucation.Aftergraduation,hedevotedhimselftoliterature.Hewroteplays，novels,poemsandsoon.Heworkedhardatliterature.Thisledtohisgreatsuccess.Hewrotemorethan160storiesinall.Hewasfamousforhisfunnyfairytales,whichbecamepopularallovertheworld.Hediedon4thAugust,1875.Heisrecognizedasoneofthemostfamousfairytalewritersallovertheworld.2.2AbouttheSourceTextTheinfluenceofHansChristianAndersen’sFairyTalesontheChinesereadersislastingandprofound.TheLittleMermaid,oneoftherepresentativeworksofHansChristianAndersenFairyTales,isdeeplylovedbytheChinesereaders.Manyscholarsandtranslatorsmadestudiesanddidtranslationsonit.However,Translationisnotwordforwordreworkingorasimplytechnicalwork,butacreativeart.Asweallknow,Anderson’sfairytalesarenotonlywrittenforchildren,butalsoforadults.Inthedifferentstagesoftheauthor’slifewhenreadingthisbook,theauthorfounddifferentmeaningsofthesefairytalesandwasdeeplymovedbythesestories.TheEnglishversiontheauthorchosetotranslateistheversiontranslatedbyEricChristianHaugarrd,whichisrecognizedasoneofthemostauthoritativeversions.ThefairytaletheLittleMermaidisaboutthemostbeautifullove.Loveisthemostcomplicatedbutalsothesweetestfeelingsintheworld.Butnoteveryone’slovestorycanreachtheperfectending.Thelittlemermaidisfullofpassion,butcouldnotbewithhim.Becausethepersonshelovesalreadyhasengagementwithanothergirl.4 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Inthestory,heistheproudprince.Itisoneofthemosttouchingfairytales.Thelittlemermaidisinpursuitoflove,beingbraveenoughtosacrificeherbodyandloseherbeautifulvoice.Inordertolove,sheissobravetobeargreatpain.Shegaveupthetonguewithoutsayingpain.Shegothuman’sfeet,whichmadeherfeelingliketobeontheknifeinthedanceparty.Sheperformedthemostbeautifuldanceattheparty,butgotthemostpainfulfeelingbothonthebodyandintheheart.Finally,thewitchtaughtthemermaidtosaveherlife.Theonlywayistokilltheprince.Shechosetodiveintothesea.Trueloveissacrifice,notoccupying.Thisfairytaleisfullofpoeticlanguageandmood.It’salovestoryjustaboutthelittlemermaidherself.ThoughsheistheyoungestprincessofSeaKing,sheisthebravestone.Thisisastoryaboutloveanddevotion.Readersaretoldtobelieveinloveinchildhoodwheneveryonecouldnotpossiblyknowwhatloveis.ThelittlemermaidisnotonlyaculturalsymbolofDenmarkandhasalsobecomeaniconoffaithfulloveinChinesereaders’hearts.SectionThreeProblemsandSolutionsinTranslationPractice3.1DifficultiesinTranslationPracticeIntheprocessoftheauthor’stranslationtherearethreedifficulties.Thefirstishowtounderstandtheparticularityofthetranslationonfairytalesofchildren"sliterature.Thesecondishowtomakeagoodtranslationbyfindingoutandremovingtherepeatedandredundantpartsfromtheoriginalwords.Thatmeansreachingtheacmeofperfection.What’smore,thethirdishowtofindtheimplicitmeaningfrombetweenthelinesandtranslateit,inordertoachieveseamlessconnectiontotheoriginal.ThisisassameasNida’ssaying"translationistranslatingmeaning".Obviously,ifthetranslatorsaretoofaithfultotheoriginalstructureandlackofcreativity,andjustsimplypursuingwordforwordtranslation,thetranslatedversioncannotbeagoodoneacceptedbythereaders.ThisarticlewilldiscussthesethreedifficultiesthroughthetranslationofTheLittleMermaid.5 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文3.2PreparationWorkInordertofinishthethesiswell,theauthordidmuchpreparationfromtheaspectsofpracticeandtheory.Firstofall,theauthorinsistsondoingtranslationpracticeduringthetwo-yearpostgraduatestudy.Itnotonlyhelpstheauthortoimprovetranslationabilities,butalsofindmajorresearchdirectiontheauthorisinterestedin.What’smore,theauthoralsotriedtoreadmanymaterialsaboutchildren’sliterarytranslation.ThetranslationofChildren"sliteratureisabranchofliterarytranslations.However,comparedtootherliterarygenres,researchonthetranslationofchildren"sliteratureisnotmuch.Ononehand,thismaybeduetotheedgepositionofthechildren"sliteratureintheliteraryfield.Ontheotherhanditpartlybecausepeople,evensomescholars,believethatthetranslationofchildren"sliteratureiseasyandsimple.Asabranchofchildren"sliterature,studiesontranslationsoffairytalesaremuchrarer.Asthenameimplies,fairytalesarewrittenforchildren,andservechildren.Childrenarethemainreadersoffairytales.Comparedtoadults,childrenareratherdifferentatthereadinglevels,acceptingabilities,specialaestheticdemandsandemotionalneedsofgrowth.Thespecialtyofthisgroupofreadersandtheirreadingpurposesdeterminetheparticularityoftranslationonthefairytales.Andontheotherhand,afterreadingmanyworksandpapersonliterarytheoriesandtranslationtheories,theauthorfoundReceptionTheoryisagoodtheoreticguidancetochildren’sliteraturetranslation.Toknowtherelevantstudiesonthetheoryisthebasisoffinishingthistranslationreport.Thereceptiontheoryholdsthatthereaderisnotapassiverecipientofacompletelyrealizedmeaning,butanactiveagentintheprocessoftheformulationofthemeaningofthereader,andthereaderandthetextareregardasanorganicunity.Thereader’sreadingresponseandcreativeunderstandingconstitutethefoundationoftheformationofliterarymeaningandliteraryconcept.Andthehorizonofexpectationsreferstothesetofcultural,ethical,6 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文andliteraryexpectationsofthereadersofaliteraryworkinthehistoricalmomentofitsappearance.Besides,thereceptiontheoryholdsthatthemeaningoftheliteraryworkarisesfromtwoaspects,thereaderandthetext.3.3TranslationStrategies3.3.1StyleandTranslationTranslationstrategyhasmuchtodowiththestyleofthesourcetext.Peopleusuallyvaluetranslationsofchildren"sliteratureastheprocessthatthetranslatorsexpressthemeaningoftheoriginalstorywithsimplewordsandshortsentences.Infact,thedifficultyoftranslatingthechildren"sliteratureisnotlessthantranslatingtheadultliterature.Comparedwiththeadultliteraturetranslation,whentranslatingtheforeignchildren"sliteratureintomandarin,thetranslatorneedstoconsidermorequestions,suchasthedefinitionofchildrenreaders,thechildren"sinterest,thecharacteristicsofchildren"sliterature,thetranslationskills,andsoon.Children"sparticularitydecidesthecharacteristicsoftranslationonchildren"sliterature.Sointheprocessoftranslatingfairytales,besidesusingsomecorrespondingtranslationstrategiesandtechniques,thetranslatorsshouldalwayskeeponepointinmindthatchildren’sliteratureissodifferentfromotherliterature.Ourtranslationshouldbefaithfultotheconnotationoftheoriginal,andatthesametimecanletthechildrenacceptourtranslationstorywithinterest.Thereadingneedsandreadabilityofchildrenshouldbetakenintoaccount.Thelanguagestyle,theuseofchildtone,andalsotheflexibleuseofvariousrhetoricalskillsarenecessarytobeconsideredintranslatingfairytales.Herearetheexamples:1）Faroutintheocean,wherethewaterisasblueastheprettiestcornflower,andasclearascrystal,itisvery,verydeep;sodeep,indeed,thatnocablecouldfathomit。初译：在海的深处，那里的水蓝的如同最美的矢车菊，清澈的如同水晶。那是在极深的海里，深得没有锚链能够到达。7 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文改译：在大海的深处，海水就像最美丽的矢车菊花那么蓝，像水晶那么清澈。大海很深，很深，什么样的锚链也沉不到底。如果要从海底到达海面，非得用许多许多教堂的践踏一个接一个地连接起来不可。2）Outsidethecastletherewasabeautifulgarden,inwhichgrewbrightredanddarkblueflowers,andblossomslikeflamesoffire;thefruitglitteredlikegold,andtheleavesandstemswavedtoandfrocontinually.Theearthitselfwasthefinestsand,butblueastheflameofburningsulphur.Overeverythinglayapeculiarblueradiance,asifitweresurroundedbytheairfromabove,throughwhichtheblueskyshone,insteadofthedarkdepthsofthesea.Incalmweatherthesuncouldbeseen,lookinglikeapurpleflower,withthelightstreamingfromthecalyx.初译：城堡外面是一座美丽的花园，那里种着亮红和深蓝色的花儿，花朵盛放如火焰，果实闪亮如金子，茎叶摇摇摆摆。地面上就是最美的沙子，颜色蓝如硫磺燃烧的火焰。这一切上面都笼罩着罕见的蓝色光芒，仿佛置身于湛蓝的天空下而不是这幽暗的深海里。天气晴好时，可以看见太阳，如同一朵太阳花，从花萼里散发着光芒。改译：宫殿外面是一个美丽的花园，里边生长着许多许多火红的深蓝色的花朵，像火焰般地盛开着；树上的果子亮的像黄金，花枝和叶子在不停的摇动。地上全是最细的沙子，但是蓝的想燃烧的硫磺发出的光焰。所有东西都闪着一种奇异的，蓝色的光彩，仿佛是处在蓝色的天空中而不是海底。当天气晴朗平静的时候，可以瞥见太阳，它像一朵紫色的花，从它的花萼里射出亮光。Bythecomparisonofthesetwoexamples,wecanseethatthestyleofthesecondversionsismorechildlike.Atthefirsttime,theauthortranslatedthestorywithoutpayingattentiontotheparticularityoffairytales,justnotingtheemotionandunderlyingmeaningthattheoriginalstoryimpliestoouradults.Sothelanguageusedinthefirstversionisnotgoodforchildrentoacceptandunderstand.Inthefirstexample,thetranslationof“那么……那么……”,“很深很深”and“许多许多”isgoodatasenseofrhythm,whichismoreeasytobeacceptedbychildren.Onthe8 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文otherhand,inthesecondexample,theauthorchanged“如同”,“果实”and“笼罩”into“好像”“果子”and“闪着”.Suchkindofchangemakesthestyleofthesecondversionmorechildlikeandeasiertoaccept.3.3.2Hypotaxisvs.ParataxisEnglishandChinesehasdifferentfeatures.Englishisakindofhypotacticlanguage,whileChineseisparatactic.Intranslation,translatorsmustpayattentiontothisfeature.Translationisanextremelycomplexanddifficultwork.Wearenotdoingatranslationinthevacuum.Translationishardtobetotally"faithfulness".Ontheonehand,itiscausedbyobjectivefactorsintranslation.Itmeansthatthosetranslationobstacles(culture,language,socialfactors,andotherobstacles)ledtotheinevitable"deviation".ButifyoupayattentiontothehistoryandworksoftranslationinChina,wealsocanseetheothersideoftheproblem.Itmeansstudiesontranslationshouldnotsetupanidealrulesandprinciplesonpracticeoftranslation,justbeinglimitedtoanidealpursuit.Whatweshoulddoistofaceuptotheactualproblemsintranslationpractice,andmakeacorrectandobjectivedescription,andanalyzethereasons,inordertodoresearcheswithinalargercategorytodrawtheconclusion(XuJun,2002:34).AmericanscholarAndreLefevere,inhisbookcalledTranslation,RewritingandtheManipulationofLiteraryFame(1992),pointsoutthatTranslationisnotonlyaconversionatthelevelofconversion,butalsoarewritingworkthetranslatordoesontheoriginalatthelevelofculture.Inessence,wordforwordtranslationmeansnottobeyondthebondageofEnglish.Soitcan’treachtheidealtranslationeffect.Evenmore,itmaybecounterproductiveandrunscountertotheoriginal.Butintheprocessoftranslation,thetranslatoralwaysunconsciouslydeviatefromthesetranslationskillsandwillbenaturaltobelimitedtotheoriginalstructureoftheEnglish.Thisisoneofthebiggestobstaclesintranslation.Inordertoovercomethisobstacle,weshouldnottranslatesomewordsselectively.Itmeanstodeletesomewordsthatdonotconformtothe9 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文targetlanguageinthinkingwaysandwayofexpression,inordertoavoidthecumbersometranslation.Somewords,whicharewidelyusedinEnglishandevenindispensable,areredundantorrarelyusedinChinese.Articles,forexample,andwordsas“it”and“there”arewidelyusedinEnglish,buttherearenotsuchkindofwordsinChinese.Atthesametime,pronouns,prepositions,andrelativeterms(includingconjunctions,relativepronouns,linkpronouns,etc.)aremorewidelyusedinEnglishthanChinese.Asaresult,thesewordscanoftenbedeletedwhentheyaretranslatedintoChinese,inordertomakethetranslationconciseandalsobeaccordwithChinesehabit.Intranslation,suchphenomenoniscommon.Butitdoesn’tmeanthetranslatorscandeletethewordsintheoriginalinrandomintheprocessoftranslation.TheoriginaltextshouldbetranslatedintoaconciseandtypicalChinesewritingunderthepremiseofmaintaintheoriginalcontent.Forexample:Shebeckonedtothem,andsmiled,andwantedtotellthemhowhappyandwelloffshewas;butthecabin-boyapproached,andwhenhersistersdiveddownhethoughtitwasonlythefoamoftheseawhichhesaw.初译：她像他们招手和微笑，并想告诉他们她现在的情况有多好。但是一个侍者走过来，他的姐姐们理解跳入海水中，侍者以为他看见的仅仅是泡沫。改译：她向她们招手，微笑，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东西，不过只是些海上的泡沫。Bycomparisonofthetwotranslations,it’sobviouslythatthewords“and”and“when”arenottranslatedintoChineseinthesecondversion.Inaddition,thetranslationof“how”ischangedfrom“多好”into“很好”,whichreflectsthemeaningoftheoriginalbutnotbeinglimitedtotheexpressionsourcetext.3.3.3TextualCoherenceThefamousAmericanscholarNidasaid：“Translationconsistsinreproducingin10 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文thereceptorlanguagetheclosestnaturalequivalentofthesourcelanguagemessage,firstlyintermsofmeaningandsecondlyintermsofstyle.”Andhealsosaid"translationistranslatingmeaning".Thatisthebiggestprincipleintranslation.Sointheprocessoftranslation,thetranslatorsmustnotbeindiscriminatetocopythelogicorderfromtheoriginaltext.Coherencerulesholdthatthetargettextsmustbecomprehensibletoreceiversintargetlanguagecultureandthecommunicativesituationinwhichthetargettextistobeused.Wordforwordtranslationisnotcorrect.Itwillcausethelogicproblemsofthetranslationwork,whichwouldviolatetherulesofgrammarandwordorderofChinese.Peopleusethelanguageundertheprincipleofalogicalorder.Intheprocessofthinking,iftheconceptisnotclear,thejudgmentwillbewrong,andthenitwillaffectourthinking.ThusthetranslationworkwouldbelackoflogicandnotinconformitywiththeChineseprinciplesofexpression.Translationsaswellasotherwrittenworksneedlogicthinking.Intheprocessoftranslationpractice,thechoiceofwordmeaning,thejudgmentofsentenceandthediscourseoftheinnerrelationshipareinseparablefromthelogicalthinking.Correctlogicalthinkingisnotonlythepremiseofcorrectunderstandingandaccurateexpressionoftheinformationintheoriginaltext,butalsoprovidesstandardsforinspectionthelevelofourtranslation.Translationisnotasimpleprocessoflanguagetransformationbetweentwolanguages,butlanguageactivitiesonthebasisoflogicalthinking.Intranslationpractice,ifwejustdothetranslationonthebasisofpurelinguisticsjustinthepursuitofequivalenttransformationofwordmeaningofEnglish-Chineselanguagewithoutcertainlogicanalysis,thenthetranslationwillnotbeaccurateenoughwithincorrectjudgment,improperinference,andsometimesevencontrarytotheoriginalmeaning.Allinall,intheprocessoftranslation,attentionshouldbepaidtothebasicruleofthelogicalthinking.Anditshouldbevaluedasthebasicprincipleweneedtofollowtoavoidourlogicalmistakesintranslation.TranslatorsshouldtakeintoaccounttherespectiveprinciplesofEnglishandChineseintranslation.11 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Wordforwordtranslation,canresultinoneofthemostcommonproblems:repeatedinformation.Meanwhile,wordforwordtranslationisalsolikelytocauseimproperwordchoiceandmatchproblems.Forexample:1）Butthatoftheyoungestwasroundlikethesun,andcontainedflowersasredashisraysatsunset.Shewasastrangechild,quietandthoughtful;andwhilehersisterswouldbedelightedwiththewonderfulthingswhichtheyobtainedfromthewrecksofvessels,shecaredfornothingbutherprettyredflowers,likethesun,exceptingabeautifulmarblestatue.Itwastherepresentationofahandsomeboy,carvedoutofpurewhitestone,whichhadfallentothebottomoftheseafromawreck.Sheplantedbythestatuearose-coloredweepingwillow.Itgrewsplendidlyandverysoonhungitsfreshbranchesoverthestatue,almostdowntothebluesands.Theshadowhadaviolettint,andwavedtoandfrolikethebranches;itseemedasifthecrownofthetreeandtherootwereatplay,andtryingtokisseachother.初译：但是最小的人鱼公主却弄成了太阳的形状，而且种上了如阳光般红艳的花儿。她是个特别的小孩，安静又体贴；当他的姐姐们因为找到了船只的残骸而兴奋时，她却只关心她的像太阳般美丽的红色花儿或者是那尊美丽的大理石雕像。雕像是一个英俊的男孩，通体用白色石头雕成，是从一艘失事的船只上落入海底的。她在雕像的旁边种上了一颗玫瑰红的席卷柳。柳树长的很快，不久之后它的新枝就垂到了雕像上，几乎垂到了蓝色的沙子上。它的影子是紫罗兰色的，像树枝一样摆动，看起来似乎树冠和树根在嬉戏，努力的想要亲吻对方。改译：可是最年幼的人鱼公主却把自己的花坛布置得圆圆的，像一轮太阳，里面也只种像太阳一样红的花朵。她是一个特别的女孩子，不大爱讲话，总是静静地在想什么东西。当别的姊妹们用她们从沉船里所获得的最奇异的东西来装饰她们的花园的时候，她除了像高空的太阳一样艳红的花朵以外，只愿意有一个美丽的大理石像。这石像雕刻的是一个美丽的男子，它是用一块洁白的石头雕出来的，跟一条遭难的船一同沉到海底。她在这石像旁边种了一株12 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文像玫瑰花那样红的垂柳。这树长得非常茂盛。它新鲜的枝叶垂向这个石像、一直垂到那蓝色的砂底。它的倒影带有一种紫蓝的色调。像它的枝条一样，这影子也从不静止，树根和树顶看起来好像在做着互相亲吻的游戏。2）Theship,withswellingsailsandafavorablewind,glidedawaysmoothlyandlightlyoverthecalmsea.Whenitgrewdarkanumberofcoloredlampswerelit,andthesailorsdancedmerrilyonthedeck.Thelittlemermaidcouldnothelpthinkingofherfirstrisingoutofthesea,whenshehadseensimilarfestivitiesandjoys;andshejoinedinthedance,poisedherselfintheairasaswallowwhenhepursueshisprey,andallpresentcheeredherwithwonder.Shehadneverdancedsoelegantlybefore.Hertenderfeetfeltasifcutwithsharpknives,butshecarednotforit;asharperpanghadpiercedthroughherheart.初译：海风轻拂，船帆鼓动，船儿在海上轻轻的航行着。当天黑时无数盏彩色的灯光亮起来，水手们在船上愉快地跳着舞。小美人鱼情不自禁地想起了她第一次来到海面上的情景，那时她看见的也是这样相似的欢快情景。她也跳起舞来，就像一只被追逐的燕子一样飞舞着，所有的人都在为她喝彩，她也从没跳的如此美丽。她的脚仿佛被锋利的刀子割着，但是她却并不觉得痛，因为她的心里更痛。改译：风儿轻拂，鼓动着船帆。船在这静静的海面上，轻柔地航行着，没有很大的波动。暮色降临，彩色的灯光亮起来了，水手们愉快地在甲板上跳起舞来。小公主不禁想起她第一次浮到海面上来的情景，想起那时她看到的同样华丽和欢乐的场面。她于是旋舞起来，飞翔着，正如一只被追逐的燕子在飞翔着一样。大家都在喝采，称赞她，她从来没有跳得这么美丽。她的细嫩的脚仿佛在锋利的刀尖上舞动，但是她并不感觉到痛，因为她的心比这还要痛。Inthefirstexample,it’seasytofindthatthelanguageofthefirsttranslatedversionseemstobeindisorderbecauseoflackingoflogic.It’snotfollowingthecoherencerules.Thentheauthorused“像”，“里面”“除了…只”and“向它的枝条一样，这影子也…”inthecorrectedversion.Andthesentencesorderiscorrectedinthesecondversion.It’sclearlythatthecorrectedversionismorelogicandcoherent.13 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Inthesecondexample,theauthoradded“想起那时”,“于是”,“正如”,“在锋利的刀尖上舞动着”and“但是…因为…”inthecorrectedversion.Suchchangesmakethecorrectedversion’ssentencesareinalogicorderandthewholeparagraphismorecoherent.Bythecomparisonofthetwoversions,wecanseethattheauthorfirstlywasnaturalbelimitedtothewordorderoftheoriginaltext.Andthewordforwordtranslationcausedsuchproblemsaswronglogicandrepeatedexpressions,andalsocausedimproperwordchoicesandmatchproblems.Sothetranslatorsshouldpayattentiontotextualcoherenceintranslation.SectionFourConclusionThispaperdiscussestheproblemsbroughtbywordforwordtranslationfromtheaboveaspects.AtthesametimetheauthortriedtofindoutthesolutionsagainsttheseproblemsundertheguidanceofReceptionAesthetics.Inreturn,thesestrategiescanhelpusgetridofdoingmechanicaltranslationforbeinglimitedtowordscollocationandsentencestructureofEnglish.Furthermore,thesetranslationstrategieshelpsthetranslatorsalsotrulyunderstandtheoriginalmeaningandaccuratelyexpresstheinformationintranslation.Generallyspeaking,tounderstandtheoriginaltextandtogetridofthefettersoftheoriginalintranslationisratherimportant.ToapplytheReceptionAestheticsintochildren’sliteraturetranslationisgoodforpromotingthedevelopmentandimprovementofthetranslationtheoryonchildren’sliterature.Moreover,itgivesmuchhelptotranslatorstochoosethegoodchildren’sliteratureworksforchildrenandprovidesgreattheoreticguidancetotranslatorsinthepracticeofchildren’sliteraturetranslation.Todoagoodtranslationwork,translatorsmustbegoodatassociationintheprocessofunderstandingtheoriginaltext.Furthermore,translatorsshouldlearntranslationtheoriesandreadalotofliterarymaterials.Asfarasbeingguidedbythe14 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文translationtheories,translatorscoulddogoodtranslationsandresearches.Besides,translatorsbenefitfromtheaccumulationofknowledge.What’smore,translatorsbenefitfromthepractice.And,thankstovariousformsofdiscussionorresearch,wecangetinspirationfromotheraspects.15 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Bibliography[1]AndreLefevere,Translation,RewritingandtheManipulationofLiteraryFame[M].Shanghai:ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,1992.[1]Iser,W.TheImpliedReader[M].Baltimore:TheJohnsHopkinsUniversityPress,1974.[2]Jauss,H.R.TowardsAestheticsofReception[M].Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,1982.[3]Nida,A.Eugene.LanguageandCulture---ContextinTranslating[M],Shanghai:ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,2004.[4]陈逢丹.接受美学与翻译研究综述[J].安徽文学,2009（2）.[5]方梦之.译文如何为读者所接受[J].上海科技翻译,1992（1）.[6]贺微.翻译:文本与译者的对话.外国语,1999（1）.[7]冯庆华.实用翻译教程[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2002.[8]金元浦.接受反应文论[M].济南:山东教育出版社,1998.[9]江婷婷.从期待视野角度探讨儿童文学的翻译[J].海外英语,2012（2）.[10]刘峥.论翻译标准的多元化——从接受理论谈起.外语研究,1991（3）.[11]马萧.文学翻译的接受美学观[J].中国翻译,2000（2）.[12]彭腾瑶.接受美学与儿童文学翻译刍议[J].华章,2012（13）.[13]乔国强.翻译与接受[J].山东外语教学,1988(3).[14]秦洪武.论读者反映论在翻译理论和翻译实践中的意义[J].外国语,1999（1）.[15]任溶溶.小人鱼[M].浙江:江少年儿童出版社,2005.[16]童孝华.翻译是一门创意艺术[J].中国翻译,2013（2）.[17]王松年.向接受美学求助什么？[J].外语学刊,2000（4）.[18]吴持哲.文学翻译者的接受美学[J].中国翻译,1989（6）..[19]许钧.译事探索与译学思考[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2002.[20]王秀丽.接受美学与文学翻译[J].文化研究,2009（4）.[21]朱立元.接受美学[M].上海:上海人民出版社,198916 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Appendix1：SourceTextTheLittleMermaidFARoutintheocean,wherethewaterisasblueastheprettiestcornflower,andasclearascrystal,itisvery,verydeep;sodeep,indeed,thatnocablecouldfathomit:manychurchsteeples,piledoneuponanother,wouldnotreachfromthegroundbeneathtothesurfaceofthewaterabove.TheredwelltheSeaKingandhissubjects.Wemustnotimaginethatthereisnothingatthebottomoftheseabutbareyellowsand.No,indeed;themostsingularflowersandplantsgrowthere;theleavesandstemsofwhicharesopliant,thattheslightestagitationofthewatercausesthemtostirasiftheyhadlife.Fishes,bothlargeandsmall,glidebetweenthebranches,asbirdsflyamongthetreeshereuponland.Inthedeepestspotofall,standsthecastleoftheSeaKing.Itswallsarebuiltofcoral,andthelong,gothicwindowsareoftheclearestamber.Theroofisformedofshells,whichopenandcloseasthewaterflowsoverthem.Theirappearanceisverybeautiful,forineachliesaglitteringpearl,whichwouldbefitforthediademofaqueen.TheSeaKinghadbeenawidowerformanyyears,andhisagedmotherkepthouseforhim.Shewasaverywisewoman,andexceedinglyproudofherhighbirth;onthataccountsheworetwelveoystersonhertail;whileothers,alsoofhighrank,wereonlyallowedtowearsix.She,however,deservedofverygreatpraise,especiallyforhercareofthelittlesea-princesses,hergrand-daughters.Theyweresixbeautifulchildren;buttheyoungestwastheprettiestofthemall;herskinwasasclearanddelicateasarose-leaf,andhereyesasblueasthedeepestsea;but,likealltheothers,shehadnofeet,andherbodyendedinafish"stail.Alldaylongtheyplayedinthegreathallsofthecastle,oramongthelivingflowersthatgrewoutofthewalls.Thelargeamberwindowswereopen,andthefishswamin,justastheswallowsflyintoourhouseswhenweopenthewindows,exceptingthatthefishesswamuptotheprincesses,ateoutoftheirhands,andallowedthemselvestobestroked.17 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Outsidethecastletherewasabeautifulgarden,inwhichgrewbrightredanddarkblueflowers,andblossomslikeflamesoffire;thefruitglitteredlikegold,andtheleavesandstemswavedtoandfrocontinually.Theearthitselfwasthefinestsand,butblueastheflameofburningsulphur.Overeverythinglayapeculiarblueradiance,asifitweresurroundedbytheairfromabove,throughwhichtheblueskyshone,insteadofthedarkdepthsofthesea.Incalmweatherthesuncouldbeseen,lookinglikeapurpleflower,withthelightstreamingfromthecalyx.Eachoftheyoungprincesseshadalittleplotofgroundinthegarden,whereshemightdigandplantasshepleased.Onearrangedherflower-bedintotheformofawhale;anotherthoughtitbettertomakeherslikethefigureofalittlemermaid;butthatoftheyoungestwasroundlikethesun,andcontainedflowersasredashisraysatsunset.Shewasastrangechild,quietandthoughtful;andwhilehersisterswouldbedelightedwiththewonderfulthingswhichtheyobtainedfromthewrecksofvessels,shecaredfornothingbutherprettyredflowers,likethesun,exceptingabeautifulmarblestatue.Itwastherepresentationofahandsomeboy,carvedoutofpurewhitestone,whichhadfallentothebottomoftheseafromawreck.Sheplantedbythestatuearose-coloredweepingwillow.Itgrewsplendidly,andverysoonhungitsfreshbranchesoverthestatue,almostdowntothebluesands.Theshadowhadaviolettint,andwavedtoandfrolikethebranches;itseemedasifthecrownofthetreeandtherootwereatplay,andtryingtokisseachother.Nothinggavehersomuchpleasureastohearabouttheworldabovethesea.Shemadeheroldgrandmothertellherallsheknewoftheshipsandofthetowns,thepeopleandtheanimals.Toheritseemedmostwonderfulandbeautifultohearthattheflowersofthelandshouldhavefragrance,andnotthosebelowthesea;thatthetreesoftheforestshouldbegreen;andthatthefishesamongthetreescouldsingsosweetly,thatitwasquiteapleasuretohearthem.Hergrandmothercalledthelittlebirdsfishes,orshewouldnothaveunderstoodher;forshehadneverseenbirds."Whenyouhavereachedyourfifteenthyear,"saidthegrand-mother,"youwill18 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文havepermissiontoriseupoutofthesea,tositontherocksinthemoonlight,whilethegreatshipsaresailingby;andthenyouwillseebothforestsandtowns."Inthefollowingyear,oneofthesisterswouldbefifteen:butaseachwasayearyoungerthantheother,theyoungestwouldhavetowaitfiveyearsbeforeherturncametoriseupfromthebottomoftheocean,andseetheearthaswedo.However,eachpromisedtotelltheotherswhatshesawonherfirstvisit,andwhatshethoughtthemostbeautiful;fortheirgrandmothercouldnottellthemenough;thereweresomanythingsonwhichtheywantedinformation.Noneofthemlongedsomuchforherturntocomeastheyoungest,shewhohadthelongesttimetowait,andwhowassoquietandthoughtful.Manynightsshestoodbytheopenwindow,lookingupthroughthedarkbluewater,andwatchingthefishastheysplashedaboutwiththeirfinsandtails.Shecouldseethemoonandstarsshiningfaintly;butthroughthewatertheylookedlargerthantheydotooureyes.Whensomethinglikeablackcloudpassedbetweenherandthem,sheknewthatitwaseitherawhaleswimmingoverherhead,orashipfullofhumanbeings,whoneverimaginedthataprettylittlemermaidwasstandingbeneaththem,holdingoutherwhitehandstowardsthekeeloftheirship.Assoonastheeldestwasfifteen,shewasallowedtorisetothesurfaceoftheocean.Whenshecameback,shehadhundredsofthingstotalkabout;butthemostbeautiful,shesaid,wastolieinthemoonlight,onasandbank,inthequietsea,nearthecoast,andtogazeonalargetownnearby,wherethelightsweretwinklinglikehundredsofstars;tolistentothesoundsofthemusic,thenoiseofcarriages,andthevoicesofhumanbeings,andthentohearthemerrybellspealoutfromthechurchsteeples;andbecauseshecouldnotgoneartoallthosewonderfulthings,shelongedforthemmorethanever.Oh,didnottheyoungestsisterlisteneagerlytoallthesedescriptions?andafterwards,whenshestoodattheopenwindowlookingupthroughthedarkblue19 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文water,shethoughtofthegreatcity,withallitsbustleandnoise,andevenfanciedshecouldhearthesoundofthechurchbells,downinthedepthsofthesea.Inanotheryearthesecondsisterreceivedpermissiontorisetothesurfaceofthewater,andtoswimaboutwhereshepleased.Sherosejustasthesunwassetting,andthis,shesaid,wasthemostbeautifulsightofall.Thewholeskylookedlikegold,whilevioletandrose-coloredclouds,whichshecouldnotdescribe,floatedoverher;and,stillmorerapidlythantheclouds,flewalargeflockofwildswanstowardsthesettingsun,lookinglikealongwhiteveilacrossthesea.Shealsoswamtowardsthesun;butitsunkintothewaves,andtherosytintsfadedfromthecloudsandfromthesea.Thethirdsister"sturnfollowed;shewastheboldestofthemall,andsheswamupabroadriverthatemptieditselfintothesea.Onthebanksshesawgreenhillscoveredwithbeautifulvines;palacesandcastlespeepedoutfromamidtheproudtreesoftheforest;sheheardthebirdssinging,andtheraysofthesunweresopowerfulthatshewasobligedoftentodivedownunderthewatertocoolherburningface.Inanarrowcreekshefoundawholetroopoflittlehumanchildren,quitenaked,andsportingaboutinthewater;shewantedtoplaywiththem,buttheyfledinagreatfright;andthenalittleblackanimalcametothewater;itwasadog,butshedidnotknowthat,forshehadneverbeforeseenone.Thisanimalbarkedathersoterriblythatshebecamefrightened,andrushedbacktotheopensea.Butshesaidsheshouldneverforgetthebeautifulforest,thegreenhills,andtheprettylittlechildrenwhocouldswiminthewater,althoughtheyhadnotfish"stails.Thefourthsisterwasmoretimid;sheremainedinthemidstofthesea,butshesaiditwasquiteasbeautifulthereasnearertheland.Shecouldseeforsomanymilesaroundher,andtheskyabovelookedlikeabellofglass.Shehadseentheships,butatsuchagreatdistancethattheylookedlikesea-gulls.Thedolphinssportedinthewaves,andthegreatwhales’spoutedwaterfromtheirnostrilstillitseemedasifahundredfountainswereplayingineverydirection.20 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Thefifthsister"sbirthdayoccurredinthewinter;sowhenherturncame,shesawwhattheothershadnotseenthefirsttimetheywentup.Thesealookedquitegreen,andlargeicebergswerefloatingabout,eachlikeapearl,shesaid,butlargerandloftierthanthechurchesbuiltbymen.Theywereofthemostsingularshapes,andglitteredlikediamonds.Shehadseatedherselfupononeofthelargest,andletthewindplaywithherlonghair,andsheremarkedthatalltheshipssailedbyrapidly,andsteeredasfarawayastheycouldfromtheiceberg,asiftheywereafraidofit.Towardsevening,asthesunwentdown,darkcloudscoveredthesky,thethunderrolledandthelightningflashed,andtheredlightglowedontheicebergsastheyrockedandtossedontheheavingsea.Onalltheshipsthesailswerereefedwithfearandtrembling,whileshesatcalmlyonthefloatingiceberg,watchingthebluelightning,asitdarteditsforkedflashesintothesea.Whenfirstthesistershadpermissiontorisetothesurface,theywereeachdelightedwiththenewandbeautifulsightstheysaw;butnow,asgrown-upgirls,theycouldgowhentheypleased,andtheyhadbecomeindifferentaboutit.Theywishedthemselvesbackagaininthewater,andafteramonthhadpassedtheysaiditwasmuchmorebeautifuldownbelow,andpleasantertobeathome.Yetoften,intheeveninghours,thefivesisterswouldtwinetheirarmsroundeachother,andrisetothesurface,inarow.Theyhadmorebeautifulvoicesthananyhumanbeingcouldhave;andbeforetheapproachofastorm,andwhentheyexpectedashipwouldbelost,theyswambeforethevessel,andsangsweetlyofthedelightstobefoundinthedepthsofthesea,andbeggingthesailorsnottofeariftheysanktothebottom.Butthesailorscouldnotunderstandthesong;theytookitforthehowlingofthestorm.Andthesethingswerenevertobebeautifulforthem;foriftheshipsank,themenweredrowned,andtheirdeadbodiesalonereachedthepalaceoftheSeaKing.Whenthesistersrose,arm-in-arm,throughthewaterinthisway,theiryoungestsisterwouldstandquitealone,lookingafterthem,readytocry,onlythatthe21 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文mermaidshavenotears,andthereforetheysuffermore."Oh,wereIbutfifteenyearsold,"saidshe:"IknowthatIshalllovetheworldupthere,andallthepeoplewholiveinit."Atlastshereachedherfifteenthyear."Well,now,youaregrownup,"saidtheolddowager,hergrandmother;"soyoumustletmeadornyoulikeyourothersisters;"andsheplacedawreathofwhiteliliesinherhair,andeveryflowerleafwashalfapearl.Thentheoldladyorderedeightgreatoysterstoattachthemselvestothetailoftheprincesstoshowherhighrank."Buttheyhurtmeso,"saidthelittlemermaid."Pridemustsufferpain,"repliedtheoldlady.Oh,howgladlyshewouldhaveshakenoffallthisgrandeur,andlaidasidetheheavywreath!Theredflowersinherowngardenwouldhavesuitedhermuchbetter,butshecouldnothelpherself:soshesaid,"Farewell,"androseaslightlyasabubbletothesurfaceofthewater.Thesunhadjustsetassheraisedherheadabovethewaves;butthecloudsweretintedwithcrimsonandgold,andthroughtheglimmeringtwilightbeamedtheeveningstarinallitsbeauty.Theseawascalm,andtheairmildandfresh.Alargeship,withthreemasts,laybecalmedonthewater,withonlyonesailset;fornotabreezestiffed,andthesailorssatidleondeckoramongsttherigging.Therewasmusicandsongonboard;and,asdarknesscameon,ahundredcoloredlanternswerelighted,asiftheflagsofallnationswavedintheair.Thelittlemermaidswamclosetothecabinwindows;andnowandthen,asthewavesliftedherup,shecouldlookinthroughclearglasswindow-panes,andseeanumberofwell-dressedpeoplewithin.Amongthemwasayoungprince,themostbeautifulofall,withlargeblackeyes;hewassixteenyearsofage,andhisbirthdaywasbeingkeptwithmuchrejoicing.Thesailorsweredancingondeck,butwhentheprincecameoutofthecabin,morethanahundredrocketsroseintheair,makingitasbrightasday.Thelittle22 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文mermaidwassostartledthatshedivedunderwater;andwhensheagainstretchedoutherhead,itappearedasifallthestarsofheavenwerefallingaroundher,shehadneverseensuchfireworksbefore.Greatsunsspurtedfireabout,splendidfirefliesflewintotheblueair,andeverythingwasreflectedintheclear,calmseabeneath.Theshipitselfwassobrightlyilluminatedthatallthepeople,andeventhesmallestrope,couldbedistinctlyandplainlyseen.Andhowhandsometheyoungprincelooked,ashepressedthehandsofallpresentandsmiledatthem,whilethemusicresoundedthroughtheclearnightair.Itwasverylate;yetthelittlemermaidcouldnottakehereyesfromtheship,orfromthebeautifulprince.Thecoloredlanternshadbeenextinguished,nomorerocketsroseintheair,andthecannonhadceasedfiring;buttheseabecamerestless,andamoaning,grumblingsoundcouldbeheardbeneaththewaves:stillthelittlemermaidremainedbythecabinwindow,rockingupanddownonthewater,whichenabledhertolookin.Afterawhile,thesailswerequicklyunfurled,andthenobleshipcontinuedherpassage;butsoonthewavesrosehigher,heavycloudsdarkenedthesky,andlightningappearedinthedistance.Adreadfulstormwasapproaching;oncemorethesailswerereefed,andthegreatshippursuedherflyingcourseovertheragingsea.Thewavesrosemountainshigh,asiftheywouldhaveovertoppedthemast;buttheshipdivedlikeaswanbetweenthem,andthenroseagainontheirlofty,foamingcrests.Tothelittlemermaidthisappearedpleasantsport;notsotothesailors.Atlengththeshipgroanedandcreaked;thethickplanksgavewayunderthelashingoftheseaasitbrokeoverthedeck;themainmastsnappedasunderlikeareed;theshiplayoveronherside;andthewaterrushedin.Thelittlemermaidnowperceivedthatthecrewswereindanger;evensheherselfwasobligedtobecarefultoavoidthebeamsandplanksofthewreckwhichlayscatteredonthewater.Atonemomentitwassopitchdarkthatshecouldnotseeasingleobject,butaflashoflightningrevealedthewholescene;shecouldseeeveryonewhohadbeenon23 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文boardexceptingtheprince;whentheshipparted,shehadseenhimsinkintothedeepwaves,andshewasglad,forshethoughthewouldnowbewithher;andthensherememberedthathumanbeingscouldnotliveinthewater,sothatwhenhegotdowntoherfather"spalacehewouldbequitedead.Buthemustnotdie.Sosheswamaboutamongthebeamsandplankswhichstrewedthesurfaceofthesea,forgettingthattheycouldcrushhertopieces.Thenshediveddeeplyunderthedarkwaters,risingandfallingwiththewaves,tillatlengthshemanagedtoreachtheyoungprince,whowasfastlosingthepowerofswimminginthatstormysea.Hislimbswerefailinghim,hisbeautifuleyeswereclosed,andhewouldhavediedhadnotthelittlemermaidcometohisassistance.Sheheldhisheadabovethewater,andletthewavesdriftthemwheretheywould.Inthemorningthestormhadceased;butoftheshipnotasinglefragmentcouldbeseen.Thesunroseupredandglowingfromthewater,anditsbeamsbroughtbackthehueofhealthtotheprince"scheeks;buthiseyesremainedclosed.Themermaidkissedhishigh,smoothforehead,andstrokedbackhiswethair;heseemedtoherlikethemarblestatueinherlittlegarden,andshekissedhimagain,andwishedthathemightlive.Presentlytheycameinsightofland;shesawloftybluemountains,onwhichthewhitesnowrestedasifaflockofswanswerelyinguponthem.Nearthecoastwerebeautifulgreenforests,andclosebystoodalargebuilding,whetherachurchoraconventshecouldnottell.Orangeandcitrontreesgrewinthegarden,andbeforethedoorstoodloftypalms.Theseahereformedalittlebay,inwhichthewaterwasquitestill,butverydeep;sosheswamwiththehandsomeprincetothebeach,whichwascoveredwithfine,whitesand,andthereshelaidhiminthewarmsunshine,takingcaretoraisehisheadhigherthanhisbody.Thenbellssoundedinthelargewhitebuilding,andanumberofyounggirlscameintothegarden.Thelittlemermaidswamoutfartherfromtheshoreandplacedherselfbetweensomehighrocksthatroseoutofthewater;thenshecoveredherhead24 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文andneckwiththefoamoftheseasothatherlittlefacemightnotbeseen,andwatchedtoseewhatwouldbecomeofthepoorprince.Shedidnotwaitlongbeforeshesawayounggirlapproachthespotwherehelay.Sheseemedfrightenedatfirst,butonlyforamoment;thenshefetchedanumberofpeople,andthemermaidsawthattheprincecametolifeagain,andsmileduponthosewhostoodroundhim.Buttoherhesentnosmile;heknewnotthatshehadsavedhim.Thismadeherveryunhappy,andwhenhewasledawayintothegreatbuilding,shediveddownsorrowfullyintothewater,andreturnedtoherfather"scastle.Shehadalwaysbeensilentandthoughtful,andnowshewasmoresothanever.Hersistersaskedherwhatshehadseenduringherfirstvisittothesurfaceofthewater;butshewouldtellthemnothing.Manyaneveningandmorningdidsherisetotheplacewhereshehadlefttheprince.Shesawthefruitsinthegardenripentilltheyweregathered,thesnowonthetopsofthemountainsmeltaway;butsheneversawtheprince,andthereforeshereturnedhome,alwaysmoresorrowfulthanbefore.Itwasheronlycomforttositinherownlittlegarden,andflingherarmroundthebeautifulmarblestatuewhichwasliketheprince;butshegaveuptendingherflowers,andtheygrewinwildconfusionoverthepaths,twiningtheirlongleavesandstemsroundthebranchesofthetrees,sothatthewholeplacebecamedarkandgloomy.Atlengthshecouldbearitnolonger,andtoldoneofhersistersallaboutit.Thentheothersheardthesecret,andverysoonitbecameknowntotwomermaidswhoseintimatefriendhappenedtoknowwhotheprincewas.Shehadalsoseenthefestivalonboardship,andshetoldthemwheretheprincecamefrom,andwherehispalacestood."Come,littlesister,"saidtheotherprincesses;thentheyentwinedtheirarmsandroseupinalongrowtothesurfaceofthewater,closebythespotwheretheyknewtheprince"spalacestood.Itwasbuiltofbrightyellowshiningstone,withlongflightsofmarblesteps,one25 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文ofwhichreachedquitedowntothesea.Splendidgildedcupolasroseovertheroof,andbetweenthepillarsthatsurroundedthewholebuildingstoodlife-likestatuesofmarble.Throughtheclearcrystaloftheloftywindowscouldbeseennoblerooms,withcostlysilkcurtainsandhangingsoftapestry;whilethewallswerecoveredwithbeautifulpaintingswhichwereapleasuretolookat.Inthecentreofthelargestsaloonafountainthrewitssparklingjetshighupintotheglasscupolaoftheceiling,throughwhichthesunshonedownuponthewateranduponthebeautifulplantsgrowingroundthebasinofthefountain.Nowthatsheknewwherehelived,shespentmanyaneveningandmanyanightonthewaternearthepalace.Shewouldswimmuchnearertheshorethananyoftheothersventuredtodo;indeedonceshewentquiteupthenarrowchannelunderthemarblebalcony,whichthrewabroadshadowonthewater.Hereshewouldsitandwatchtheyoungprince,whothoughthimselfquitealoneinthebrightmoonlight.Shesawhimmanytimesofaneveningsailinginapleasantboat,withmusicplayingandflagswaving.Shepeepedoutfromamongthegreenrushes,andifthewindcaughtherlongsilvery-whiteveil,thosewhosawitbelievedittobeaswan,spreadingoutitswings.Onmanyanight,too,whenthefishermen,withtheirtorches,wereoutatsea,sheheardthemrelatesomanygoodthingsaboutthedoingsoftheyoungprince,thatshewasgladshehadsavedhislifewhenhehadbeentossedabouthalf-deadonthewaves.Andsherememberedthathisheadhadrestedonherbosom,andhowheartilyshehadkissedhim;butheknewnothingofallthis,andcouldnotevendreamofher.Shegrewmoreandmorefondofhumanbeings,andwishedmoreandmoretobeabletowanderaboutwiththosewhoseworldseemedtobesomuchlargerthanherown.Theycouldflyovertheseainships,andmountthehighhillswhichwerefarabovetheclouds;andthelandstheypossessed,theirwoodsandtheirfields,stretchedfarawaybeyondthereachofhersight.Therewassomuchthatshewishedtoknow,andhersisterswereunabletoanswerallherquestions.Thensheappliedtoherold26 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文grandmother,whoknewallabouttheupperworld,whichsheveryrightlycalledthelandsabovethesea."Ifhumanbeingsarenotdrowned,"askedthelittlemermaid,"cantheyliveforever?Dotheyneverdieaswedohereinthesea?""Yes,"repliedtheoldlady,"theymustalsodie,andtheirtermoflifeisevenshorterthanours.Wesometimeslivetothreehundredyears,butwhenweceasetoexisthereweonlybecomethefoamonthesurfaceofthewater,andwehavenotevenagravedownhereofthosewelove.Wehavenotimmortalsouls,weshallneverliveagain;but,likethegreensea-weed,whenonceithasbeencutoff,wecanneverflourishmore.Humanbeings,onthecontrary,haveasoulwhichlivesforever,livesafterthebodyhasbeenturnedtodust.Itrisesupthroughtheclear,pureairbeyondtheglitteringstars.Asweriseoutofthewater,andbeholdallthelandoftheearth,sodotheyrisetounknownandgloriousregionswhichweshallneversee.""Whyhavenotweanimmortalsoul?"askedthelittlemermaidmournfully;"IwouldgivegladlyallthehundredsofyearsthatIhavetolive,tobeahumanbeingonlyforoneday,andtohavethehopeofknowingthehappinessofthatgloriousworldabovethestars.""Youmustnotthinkofthat,"saidtheoldwoman;"wefeelourselvestobemuchhappierandmuchbetteroffthanhumanbeings.""SoIshalldie,"saidthelittlemermaid,"andasthefoamoftheseaIshallbedrivenaboutneveragaintohearthemusicofthewaves,ortoseetheprettyflowersnortheredsun.IsthereanythingIcandotowinanimmortalsoul?""No,"saidtheoldwoman,"unlessamanweretoloveyousomuchthatyouweremoretohimthanhisfatherormother;andifallhisthoughtsandallhislovewerefixeduponyou,andthepriestplacedhisrighthandinyours,andhepromisedtobetruetoyouhereandhereafter,thenhissoulwouldglideintoyourbodyandyouwouldobtainashareinthefuturehappinessofmankind.Hewouldgiveasoultoyouandretainhisownaswell;butthiscanneverhappen.Yourfish"stail,whichamongst27 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文usisconsideredsobeautiful,isthoughtonearthtobequiteugly;theydonotknowanybetter,andtheythinkitnecessarytohavetwostoutprops,whichtheycalllegs,inordertobehandsome."Thenthelittlemermaidsighed,andlookedsorrowfullyatherfish"stail."Letusbehappy,"saidtheoldlady,"anddartandspringaboutduringthethreehundredyearsthatwehavetolive,whichisreallyquitelongenough;afterthatwecanrestourselvesallthebetter.Thiseveningwearegoingtohaveacourtball."Itisoneofthosesplendidsightswhichwecanneverseeonearth.Thewallsandtheceilingofthelargeball-roomwereofthick,buttransparentcrystal.Mayhundredsofcolossalshells,someofadeepred,othersofagrassgreen,stoodoneachsideinrows,withbluefireinthem,whichlightedupthewholesaloon,andshonethroughthewalls,sothattheseawasalsoilluminated.Innumerablefishes,greatandsmall,swampastthecrystalwalls;onsomeofthemthescalesglowedwithapurplebrilliancy,andonotherstheyshonelikesilverandgold.Throughthehallsflowedabroadstream,andinitdancedthemermenandthemermaidstothemusicoftheirownsweetsinging.Nooneonearthhassuchalovelyvoiceastheirs.Thelittlemermaidsangmoresweetlythanthemall.Thewholecourtapplaudedherwithhandsandtails;andforamomentherheartfeltquitegay,forsheknewshehadtheloveliestvoiceofanyonearthorinthesea.Butshesoonthoughtagainoftheworldaboveher,forshecouldnotforgetthecharmingprince,norhersorrowthatshehadnotanimmortalsoullikehis;thereforeshecreptawaysilentlyoutofherfather"spalace,andwhileeverythingwithinwasgladnessandsong,shesatinherownlittlegardensorrowfulandalone.Thensheheardthebuglesoundingthroughthewater,andthought-"Heiscertainlysailingabove,heonwhommywishesdepend,andinwhosehandsIshouldliketoplacethehappinessofmylife.Iwillventureallforhim,andtowinanimmortalsoul,whilemysistersaredancinginmyfather"spalace,Iwillgototheseawitch,ofwhomIhavealwaysbeensomuchafraid,butshecangivemecounselandhelp."28 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Andthenthelittlemermaidwentoutfromhergarden,andtooktheroadtothefoamingwhirlpools,behindwhichthesorceresslived.Shehadneverbeenthatwaybefore:neitherflowersnorgrassgrewthere;nothingbutbare,gray,sandygroundstretchedouttothewhirlpool,wherethewater,likefoamingmill-wheels,whirledroundeverythingthatitseized,andcastitintothefathomlessdeep.Throughthemidstofthesecrushingwhirlpoolsthelittlemermaidwasobligedtopass,toreachthedominionsoftheseawitch;andalsoforalongdistancetheonlyroadlayrightacrossaquantityofwarm,bubblingmire,calledbythewitchherturfmoor.Beyondthisstoodherhouse,inthecentreofastrangeforest,inwhichallthetreesandflowerswerepolyp,halfanimalsandhalfplants;theylookedlikeserpentswithahundredheadsgrowingoutoftheground.Thebrancheswerelongslimyarms,withfingerslikeflexibleworms,movinglimbafterlimbfromtheroottothetop.Allthatcouldbereachedintheseatheyseizedupon,andheldfast,sothatitneverescapedfromtheirclutches.Thelittlemermaidwassoalarmedatwhatshesaw,thatshestoodstill,andherheartbeatwithfear,andshewasverynearlyturningback;butshethoughtoftheprince,andofthehumansoulforwhichshelonged,andhercouragereturned.Shefastenedherlongflowinghairroundherhead,sothatthepolypimightnotseizeholdofit.Shelaidherhandstogetheracrossherbosom,andthenshedartedforwardasafishshootsthroughthewater,betweenthesupplearmsandfingersoftheuglypolypi,whichwerestretchedoutoneachsideofher.Shesawthateachheldinitsgraspsomethingithadseizedwithitsnumerouslittlearms,asiftheywereironbands.Thewhiteskeletonsofhumanbeingswhohadperishedatsea,andhadsunkdownintothedeepwaters,skeletonsoflandanimals,oars,rudders,andchestsofshipswerelyingtightlygraspedbytheirclingingarms;evenalittlemermaid,whomtheyhadcaughtandstrangled;andthisseemedthemostshockingofalltothelittleprincess.Shenowcametoaspaceofmarshygroundinthewood,wherelarge,fatwater-snakeswererollinginthemire,andshowingtheirugly,drab-coloredbodies.In29 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文themidstofthisspotstoodahouse,builtwiththebonesofshipwreckedhumanbeings.Theresattheseawitch,allowingatoadtoeatfromhermouth,justaspeoplesometimesfeedacanarywithapieceofsugar.Shecalledtheuglywater-snakesherlittlechickens,andallowedthemtocrawlalloverherbosom."Iknowwhatyouwant,"saidtheseawitch;"itisverystupidofyou,butyoushallhaveyourway,anditwillbringyoutosorrow,myprettyprincess.Youwanttogetridofyourfish"stail,andtohavetwosupportsinsteadofit,likehumanbeingsonearth,sothattheyoungprincemayfallinlovewithyou,andthatyoumayhaveanimmortalsoul."Andthenthewitchlaughedsoloudanddisgustingly,thatthetoadandthesnakesfelltotheground,andlaytherewrigglingabout."Youarebutjustintime,"saidthewitch;"foraftersunriseto-morrowIshouldnotbeabletohelpyoutilltheendofanotheryear.Iwillprepareadraughtforyou,withwhichyoumustswimtolandtomorrowbeforesunrise,andsitdownontheshoreanddrinkit.Yourtailwillthendisappear,andshrinkupintowhatmankindcallslegs,andyouwillfeelgreatpain,asifaswordwerepassingthroughyou.Butallwhoseeyouwillsaythatyouaretheprettiestlittlehumanbeingtheyeversaw.Youwillstillhavethesamefloatinggracefulnessofmovement,andnodancerwillevertreadsolightly;butateverystepyoutakeitwillfeelasifyouweretreadinguponsharpknives,andthatthebloodmustflow.Ifyouwillbearallthis,Iwillhelpyou.""Yes,Iwill,"saidthelittleprincessinatremblingvoice,asshethoughtoftheprinceandtheimmortalsoul."Butthinkagain,"saidthewitch;"forwhenonceyourshapehasbecomelikeahumanbeing,youcannomorebeamermaid.Youwillneverreturnthroughthewatertoyoursisters,ortoyourfather"spalaceagain;andifyoudonotwintheloveoftheprince,sothatheiswillingtoforgethisfatherandmotherforyoursake,andtoloveyouwithhiswholesoul,andallowthepriesttojoinyourhandsthatyoumaybemanandwife,thenyouwillneverhaveanimmortalsoul.Thefirstmorningafterhemarriesanotheryourheartwillbreak,andyouwillbecomefoamonthecrestofthe30 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文waves.""Iwilldoit,"saidthelittlemermaid,andshebecamepaleasdeath."ButImustbepaidalso,"saidthewitch,"anditisnotatriflethatIask.Youhavethesweetestvoiceofanywhodwellhereinthedepthsofthesea,andyoubelievethatyouwillbeabletocharmtheprincewithitalso,butthisvoiceyoumustgivetome;thebestthingyoupossesswillIhaveforthepriceofmydraught.Myownbloodmustbemixedwithit,thatitmaybeassharpasatwo-edgedsword.""Butifyoutakeawaymyvoice,"saidthelittlemermaid,"whatisleftforme?""Yourbeautifulform,yourgracefulwalk,andyourexpressiveeyes;surelywiththeseyoucanenchainaman"sheart.Well,haveyoulostyourcourage?PutoutyourlittletonguethatImaycutitoffasmypayment;thenyoushallhavethepowerfuldraught.""Itshallbe,"saidthelittlemermaid.Thenthewitchplacedhercauldrononthefire,topreparethemagicdraught."Cleanlinessisagoodthing,"saidshe,scouringthevesselwithsnakes,whichshehadtiedtogetherinalargeknot;thensheprickedherselfinthebreast,andlettheblackblooddropintoit.Thesteamthatroseformeditselfintosuchhorribleshapesthatnoonecouldlookatthemwithoutfear.Everymomentthewitchthrewsomethingelseintothevessel,andwhenitbegantoboil,thesoundwasliketheweepingofacrocodile.Whenatlastthemagicdraughtwasready,itlookedliketheclearestwater."Thereitisforyou,"saidthewitch.Thenshecutoffthemermaid"stongue,sothatshebecamedumb,andwouldneveragainspeakorsing."Ifthepolypishouldseizeholdofyouasyoureturnthroughthewood,"saidthewitch,"throwoverthemafewdropsofthepotion,andtheirfingerswillbetornintoathousandpieces."Butthelittlemermaidhadnooccasiontodothis,forthepolypisprangbackinterrorwhentheycaughtsightoftheglitteringdraught,whichshoneinherhandlikeatwinklingstar.Soshepassedquicklythroughthewoodandthemarsh,andbetweentherushing31 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文whirlpools.Shesawthatinherfather"spalacethetorchesintheballroomwereextinguished,andallwithinasleep;butshedidnotventuretogointothem,fornowshewasdumbandgoingtoleavethemforever,shefeltasifherheartwouldbreak.Shestoleintothegarden,tookaflowerfromtheflower-bedsofeachofhersisters,kissedherhandathousandtimestowardsthepalace,andthenroseupthroughthedarkbluewaters.Thesunhadnotrisenwhenshecameinsightoftheprince"spalace,andapproachedthebeautifulmarblesteps,butthemoonshoneclearandbright.Thenthelittlemermaiddrankthemagicdraught,anditseemedasifatwo-edgedswordwentthroughherdelicatebody:shefellintoaswoon,andlaylikeonedead.Whenthesunaroseandshoneoverthesea,sherecovered,andfeltasharppain;butjustbeforeherstoodthehandsomeyoungprince.Hefixedhiscoal-blackeyesuponhersoearnestlythatshecastdownherown,andthenbecameawarethatherfish"stailwasgone,andthatshehadasprettyapairofwhitelegsandtinyfeetasanylittlemaidencouldhave;butshehadnoclothes,soshewrappedherselfinherlong,thickhair.Theprinceaskedherwhoshewas,andwhereshecamefrom,andshelookedathimmildlyandsorrowfullywithherdeepblueeyes;butshecouldnotspeak.Everystepshetookwasasthewitchhadsaiditwouldbe,shefeltasiftreadinguponthepointsofneedlesorsharpknives;butsheboreitwillingly,andsteppedaslightlybytheprince"ssideasasoap-bubble,sothatheandallwhosawherwonderedathergraceful-swayingmovements.Shewasverysoonarrayedincostlyrobesofsilkandmuslin,andwasthemostbeautifulcreatureinthepalace;butshewasdumb,andcouldneitherspeaknorsing.Beautifulfemaleslaves,dressedinsilkandgold,steppedforwardandsangbeforetheprinceandhisroyalparents:onesangbetterthanalltheothers,andtheprinceclappedhishandsandsmiledather.Thiswasgreatsorrowtothelittlemermaid;sheknewhowmuchmoresweetlysheherselfcouldsingonce,andshethought,"Ohifhecouldonlyknowthat!Ihavegivenawaymyvoiceforever,tobe32 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文withhim."Theslavesnextperformedsomeprettyfairy-likedances,tothesoundofbeautifulmusic.Thenthelittlemermaidraisedherlovelywhitearms,stoodonthetipsofhertoes,andglidedoverthefloor,anddancedasnooneyethadbeenabletodance.Ateachmomentherbeautybecamemorerevealed,andherexpressiveeyesappealedmoredirectlytotheheartthanthesongsoftheslaves.Everyonewasenchanted,especiallytheprince,whocalledherhislittlefoundling;andshedancedagainquitereadily,topleasehim,thougheachtimeherfoottouchedtheflooritseemedasifshetrodonsharpknives."Theprincesaidsheshouldremainwithhimalways,andshereceivedpermissiontosleepathisdoor,onavelvetcushion.Hehadapage"sdressmadeforher,thatshemightaccompanyhimonhorseback.Theyrodetogetherthroughthesweet-scentedwoods,wherethegreenboughstouchedtheirshoulders,andthelittlebirdssangamongthefreshleaves.Sheclimbedwiththeprincetothetopsofhighmountains;andalthoughhertenderfeetbledsothatevenherstepsweremarked,sheonlylaughed,andfollowedhimtilltheycouldseethecloudsbeneaththemlookinglikeaflockofbirdstravellingtodistantlands.Whileattheprince"spalace,andwhenallthehouseholdwereasleep,shewouldgoandsitonthebroadmarblesteps;foriteasedherburningfeettobathetheminthecoldsea-water;andthenshethoughtofallthosebelowinthedeep.Onceduringthenighthersisterscameuparm-in-arm,singingsorrowfully,astheyfloatedonthewater.Shebeckonedtothem,andthentheyrecognizedher,andtoldherhowshehadgrievedthem.Afterthat,theycametothesameplaceeverynight;andonceshesawinthedistanceheroldgrandmother,whohadnotbeentothesurfaceoftheseaformanyyears,andtheoldSeaKing,herfather,withhiscrownonhishead.Theystretchedouttheirhandstowardsher,buttheydidnotventuresonearthelandashersistersdid.Asthedayspassed,shelovedtheprincemorefondly,andhelovedherashe33 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文wouldlovealittlechild,butitnevercameintohisheadtomakeherhiswife;yet,unlesshemarriedher,shecouldnotreceiveanimmortalsoul;and,onthemorningafterhismarriagewithanother,shewoulddissolveintothefoamofthesea."Doyounotlovemethebestofthemall?"theeyesofthelittlemermaidseemedtosay,whenhetookherinhisarms,andkissedherfairforehead."Yes,youaredeartome,"saidtheprince;"foryouhavethebestheart,andyouarethemostdevotedtome;youarelikeayoungmaidenwhomIoncesaw,butwhomIshallnevermeetagain.Iwasinashipthatwaswrecked,andthewavescastmeashorenearaholytemple,whereseveralyoungmaidensperformedtheservice.Theyoungestofthemfoundmeontheshore,andsavedmylife.Isawherbuttwice,andsheistheonlyoneintheworldwhomIcouldlove;butyouarelikeher,andyouhavealmostdrivenherimageoutofmymind.Shebelongstotheholytemple,andmygoodfortunehassentyoutomeinsteadofher;andwewillneverpart.""Ah,heknowsnotthatitwasIwhosavedhislife,"thoughtthelittlemermaid."Icarriedhimovertheseatothewoodwherethetemplestands:Isatbeneaththefoam,andwatchedtillthehumanbeingscametohelphim.Isawtheprettymaidenthathelovesbetterthanhelovesme;"andthemermaidsigheddeeply,butshecouldnotshedtears."Hesaysthemaidenbelongstotheholytemple,thereforeshewillneverreturntotheworld.Theywillmeetnomore:whileIambyhisside,andseehimeveryday.Iwilltakecareofhim,andlovehim,andgiveupmylifeforhissake."Verysoonitwassaidthattheprincemustmarry,andthatthebeautifuldaughterofaneighboringkingwouldbehiswife,forafineshipwasbeingfittedout.Althoughtheprincegaveoutthathemerelyintendedtopayavisittotheking,itwasgenerallysupposedthathereallywenttoseehisdaughter.Agreatcompanyweretogowithhim.Thelittlemermaidsmiled,andshookherhead.Sheknewtheprince"sthoughtsbetterthananyoftheothers."Imusttravel,"hehadsaidtoher;"Imustseethisbeautifulprincess;myparentsdesireit;buttheywillnotobligemetobringherhomeasmybride.Icannotloveher;34 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文sheisnotlikethebeautifulmaideninthetemple,whomyouresemble.IfIwereforcedtochooseabride,Iwouldratherchooseyou,mydumbfoundling,withthoseexpressiveeyes."Andthenhekissedherrosymouth,playedwithherlongwavinghair,andlaidhisheadonherheart,whileshedreamedofhumanhappinessandanimmortalsoul."Youarenotafraidofthesea,mydumbchild,"saidhe,astheystoodonthedeckofthenobleshipwhichwastocarrythemtothecountryoftheneighboringking.Andthenhetoldherofstormandofcalm,ofstrangefishesinthedeepbeneaththem,andofwhatthedivershadseenthere;andshesmiledathisdescriptions,forsheknewbetterthananyonewhatwonderswereatthebottomofthesea.Inthemoonlight,whenallonboardwereasleep,exceptingthemanatthehelm,whowassteering,shesatonthedeck,gazingdownthroughtheclearwater.Shethoughtshecoulddistinguishherfather"scastle,anduponitheragedgrandmother,withthesilvercrownonherhead,lookingthroughtherushingtideatthekeelofthevessel.Thenhersisterscameuponthewaves,andgazedathermournfully,wringingtheirwhitehands.Shebeckonedtothem,andsmiled,andwantedtotellthemhowhappyandwelloffshewas;butthecabin-boyapproached,andwhenhersistersdiveddownhethoughtitwasonlythefoamoftheseawhichhesaw.Thenextmorningtheshipsailedintotheharborofabeautifultownbelongingtothekingwhomtheprincewasgoingtovisit.Thechurchbellswereringing,andfromthehightowerssoundedaflourishoftrumpets;andsoldiers,withflyingcolorsandglitteringbayonets,linedtherocksthroughwhichtheypassed.Everydaywasafestival;ballsandentertainmentsfollowedoneanother.Buttheprincesshadnotyetappeared.Peoplesaidthatshewasbeingbroughtupandeducatedinareligioushouse,whereshewaslearningeveryroyalvirtue.Atlastshecame.Thenthelittlemermaid,whowasveryanxioustoseewhethershewasreallybeautiful,wasobligedtoacknowledgethatshehadneverseenamoreperfectvisionofbeauty.Herskinwasdelicatelyfair,andbeneathherlongdarkeye-lashes35 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文herlaughingblueeyesshonewithtruthandpurity."Itwasyou,"saidtheprince,"whosavedmylifewhenIlaydeadonthebeach,"andhefoldedhisblushingbrideinhisarms."Oh,Iamtoohappy,"saidhetothelittlemermaid;"myfondesthopesareallfulfilled.Youwillrejoiceatmyhappiness;foryourdevotiontomeisgreatandsincere."Thelittlemermaidkissedhishand,andfeltasifherheartwerealreadybroken.Hisweddingmorningwouldbringdeathtoher,andshewouldchangeintothefoamofthesea.Allthechurchbellsrung,andtheheraldsrodeaboutthetownproclaimingthebetrothal.Perfumedoilwasburningincostlysilverlampsoneveryaltar.Thepriestswavedthecensers,whilethebrideandbridegroomjoinedtheirhandsandreceivedtheblessingofthebishop.Thelittlemermaid,dressedinsilkandgold,heldupthebride"strain;butherearsheardnothingofthefestivemusic,andhereyessawnottheholyceremony;shethoughtofthenightofdeathwhichwascomingtoher,andofallshehadlostintheworld.Onthesameeveningthebrideandbridegroomwentonboardship;cannonswereroaring,flagswaving,andinthecentreoftheshipacostlytentofpurpleandgoldhadbeenerected.Itcontainedelegantcouches,forthereceptionofthebridalpairduringthenight.Theship,withswellingsailsandafavorablewind,glidedawaysmoothlyandlightlyoverthecalmsea.Whenitgrewdarkanumberofcoloredlampswerelit,andthesailorsdancedmerrilyonthedeck.Thelittlemermaidcouldnothelpthinkingofherfirstrisingoutofthesea,whenshehadseensimilarfestivitiesandjoys;andshejoinedinthedance,poisedherselfintheairasaswallowwhenhepursueshisprey,andallpresentcheeredherwithwonder.Shehadneverdancedsoelegantlybefore.Hertenderfeetfeltasifcutwithsharpknives,butshecarednotforit;asharperpanghadpiercedthroughherheart.Sheknewthiswasthelasteveningsheshouldeverseetheprince,forwhomshe36 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文hadforsakenherkindredandherhome;shehadgivenupherbeautifulvoice,andsufferedunheard-ofpaindailyforhim,whileheknewnothingofit.Thiswasthelasteveningthatshewouldbreathethesameairwithhim,orgazeonthestarryskyandthedeepsea;aneternalnight,withoutathoughtoradream,awaitedher:shehadnosoulandnowshecouldneverwinone.Allwasjoyandgayetyonboardshiptilllongaftermidnight;shelaughedanddancedwiththerest,whilethethoughtsofdeathwereinherheart.Theprincekissedhisbeautifulbride,whilesheplayedwithhisravenhair,tilltheywentarm-in-armtorestinthesplendidtent.Thenallbecamestillonboardtheship;thehelmsman,aloneawake,stoodatthehelm.Thelittlemermaidleanedherwhitearmsontheedgeofthevessel,andlookedtowardstheeastforthefirstblushofmorning,forthatfirstrayofdawnthatwouldbringherdeath.Shesawhersistersrisingoutoftheflood:theywereaspaleasherself;buttheirlongbeautifulhairwavednomoreinthewind,andhadbeencutoff."Wehavegivenourhairtothewitch,"saidthey,"toobtainhelpforyou,thatyoumaynotdieto-night.Shehasgivenusaknife:hereitis,seeitisverysharp.Beforethesunrisesyoumustplungeitintotheheartoftheprince;whenthewarmbloodfallsuponyourfeettheywillgrowtogetheragain,andformintoafish"stail,andyouwillbeoncemoreamermaid,andreturntoustoliveoutyourthreehundredyearsbeforeyoudieandchangeintothesaltseafoam.Haste,then;heoryoumustdiebeforesunrise.Ouroldgrandmothermoanssoforyou,thatherwhitehairisfallingofffromsorrow,asoursfellunderthewitch"sscissors.Killtheprinceandcomeback;hasten:doyounotseethefirstredstreaksinthesky?Inafewminutesthesunwillrise,andyoumustdie."Andthentheysigheddeeplyandmournfully,andsankdownbeneaththewaves.Thelittlemermaiddrewbackthecrimsoncurtainofthetent,andbeheldthefairbridewithherheadrestingontheprince"sbreast.Shebentdownandkissedhisfairbrow,thenlookedattheskyonwhichtherosydawngrewbrighterandbrighter;thensheglancedatthesharpknife,andagainfixedhereyesontheprince,whowhispered37 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文thenameofhisbrideinhisdreams.Shewasinhisthoughts,andtheknifetrembledinthehandofthelittlemermaid:thensheflungitfarawayfromherintothewaves;thewaterturnedredwhereitfell,andthedropsthatspurteduplookedlikeblood.Shecastonemorelingering,half-faintingglanceattheprince,andthenthrewherselffromtheshipintothesea,andthoughtherbodywasdissolvingintofoam.Thesunroseabovethewaves,andhiswarmraysfellonthecoldfoamofthelittlemermaid,whodidnotfeelasifsheweredying.Shesawthebrightsun,andallaroundherfloatedhundredsoftransparentbeautifulbeings;shecouldseethroughthemthewhitesailsoftheship,andtheredcloudsinthesky;theirspeechwasmelodious,buttooetherealtobeheardbymortalears,astheywerealsounseenbymortaleyes.Thelittlemermaidperceivedthatshehadabodyliketheirs,andthatshecontinuedtorisehigherandhigheroutofthefoam."WhereamI?"askedshe,andhervoicesoundedethereal,asthevoiceofthosewhowerewithher;noearthlymusiccouldimitateit."Amongthedaughtersoftheair,"answeredoneofthem."Amermaidhasnotanimmortalsoul,norcansheobtainoneunlessshewinstheloveofahumanbeing.Onthepowerofanotherhangshereternaldestiny.Butthedaughtersoftheair,althoughtheydonotpossessanimmortalsoul,can,bytheirgooddeeds,procureoneforthemselves.Weflytowarmcountries,andcoolthesultryairthatdestroysmankindwiththepestilence.Wecarrytheperfumeoftheflowerstospreadhealthandrestoration.Afterwehavestrivenforthreehundredyearstoallthegoodinourpower,wereceiveanimmortalsoulandtakepartinthehappinessofmankind.You,poorlittlemermaid,havetriedwithyourwholehearttodoaswearedoing;youhavesufferedandenduredandraisedyourselftothespirit-worldbyyourgooddeeds;andnow,bystrivingforthreehundredyearsinthesameway,youmayobtainanimmortalsoul."Thelittlemermaidliftedherglorifiedeyestowardsthesun,andfeltthem,forthefirsttime,fillingwithtears.38 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Ontheship,inwhichshehadlefttheprince,therewerelifeandnoise;shesawhimandhisbeautifulbridesearchingforher;sorrowfullytheygazedatthepearlyfoam,asiftheyknewshehadthrownherselfintothewaves.Unseenshekissedtheforeheadofherbride,andfannedtheprince,andthenmountedwiththeotherchildrenoftheairtoarosycloudthatfloatedthroughtheaether."Afterthreehundredyears,thusshallwefloatintothekingdomofheaven,"saidshe."Andwemayevengettheresooner,"whisperedoneofhercompanions."Unseenwecanenterthehousesofmen,wheretherearechildren,andforeverydayonwhichwefindagoodchild,whoisthejoyofhisparentsanddeservestheirlove,ourtimeofprobationisshortened.Thechilddoesnotknow,whenweflythroughtheroom,thatwesmilewithjoyathisgoodconduct,forwecancountoneyearlessofourthreehundredyears.Butwhenweseeanaughtyorawickedchild,weshedtearsofsorrow,andforeverytearadayisaddedtoourtimeoftrial!"Appendix2：TranslatedText人鱼公主在大海的远处，海水就像最美丽的矢车菊花那么蓝，像水晶那么清澈。大海很深，很深，什么样的锚链也沉不到底。如果要从海底到达海面，非得用许多许多教堂的践踏一个接一个地连接起来不可。那里住着海国国王和他的臣民。你一定以为海底只是一片光秃秃的黄沙滩。不是的，那儿生长着最奇异的树木和植物。它们的枝干和叶子是那么柔软，即使最轻微的水流动一下,它们也会随之舞动，好像它们有生命似的。所有的大大小小的鱼儿在这些枝子中间游来游去，像是陆地林间的飞鸟。海里最深的地方是海王的宫殿。它的墙是用珊瑚砌成的，那些长长的哥特式窗子是用最亮的琥珀做成的；屋顶上却铺着蚌壳，它们随着水的流动可以自动地开合。外面非常的好看,因为每一颗蚌壳里面含有亮晶晶的珍珠,适用于王后的皇冠.那里的海国国王已经鳏居多年了，他的老母亲替他管家.她是一位聪明的妇人,可是很为自己的高贵出身而骄傲,因此尾巴上嵌着十二只蚝.其他的贵人只能得夸奖的,特别是她十分地疼爱那些小海公主,她的孙女们.她们是六个秀丽的孩子,而最不的那个是她们当中最漂亮的,她的皮肤光滑娇嫩得像一片玫瑰花瓣，他的眼睛蓝得想最深的海水；只是和其他的公主一样，她没有脚，神曲的最后一截是鱼的尾巴。39 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文她们整天在宫殿的大厅里消磨时光，或者在长出宫墙的鲜艳花朵间玩耍，琥珀做的大窗户敞开着，鱼儿游进来，如同我们打开窗户燕子飞进屋子里来一样。不同的是，鱼儿可以径直游到小公主的跟前，吃她们手里的东西，任凭她们抚爱。宫殿外面是一个美丽的花园，里边生长着许多许多火红的深蓝色的花朵，像火焰般地盛开着；树上的果子亮的像黄金，花枝和叶子在不停的摇动。地上全是最细的沙子，但是蓝的想燃烧的硫磺发出的光焰。所有东西都闪着一种奇异的，蓝色的光彩，仿佛是处在蓝色的天空中而不是海底。当天气沉静的时候，可以瞥见太阳，它像一朵紫色的花，从它的花萼里射出亮光。每位小公主在花园里都有一小块地，可以按照自己的愿望栽种。有一位公主把她的花园布置成鲸的形状;另一位觉得自己更喜欢把花园布置面成一条小人鱼;可是最年轻的那一位公主把她的花园布置成圆形,像太阳一样,种的全是像太阳落山时那种赤红颜色的花.她是一个很奇特的孩子,安静,喜欢冥想,她的众位姐姐非常喜欢她们从沉船里得到的各种各样的奇异的东西,而她呢,除了漂亮的红色花儿之外,只要了一尊精美的大理石雕像.这块石像雕得是一个美少年,石头洁白无瑕,是随着一条沉船而落到了海底.她在雕像的旁边种植了粉红色的垂柳，树儿长得茂盛，鲜嫩的枝叶从石像上几乎垂延到蓝色的沙底。紫蓝色的荫影随着枝叶一道舞动；仿佛枝冠和树根在一起游戏，互相要亲吻的样子。她最大的快乐，莫过于听讲上面人类世界的事了。她让老祖母给她讲她所知道的一切：船，城市，人和动物。令她听了觉得最奇妙的是，在地面上，花儿会散发出来香味，森林里的树是绿的；树枝间可以看到的那种鱼儿会甜美的唱着歌儿，令人十分开心。老祖母说的鱼就是那些小鸟，不这样说她就听不懂，因为她们没有见过鸟。“等你满了十五岁的时候,”老祖母说,“我就准许你浮到海面上去,坐在月光底下的石头上面,看巨大的船只在你身边驶过去;你也可以看到树林和城市.”在这快要到来的一年，这些姐妹中有一位到了十五岁。可是其余的一个比一个小一岁。因此最年幼的那位公主要等五个年头才能够从海底浮上来,来看看我们这个世界是什么样儿.但是,第位公主都保证:要把第一天看到的,她认为是最美的东西告诉众姐妹;因为老祖母告诉她们的实在太少太少,而她们渴望知道的却太多太多.众姐妹中,最年幼的公主心情最迫切,偏偏她要等的时间最长,而她又是那么的沉默寡言,心事重重.有多少夜晚,她就站在敞开的窗户旁边,透过深蓝色的海水,洋务仰望鱼儿用鳍和尾溅着水.她可以看到月亮和星星,微弱地闪着,不过透过海水,它们看去要比我们用肉眼看去大得多.要是有像乌云这样的东西在月下飘过,那么她就知道,她果不是一条大鲸从她头顶上游过,就是一艘载着许多人的船正在驶过去；船上的人绝对想不到，一条美丽的小人鱼会站在底下，把她白嫩的双手伸向船的龙骨呢。那位最大的公主已经到了十五岁，可以升到水面上去了。当她回来的时候，她有无数的事情要讲；不过她说，最美的事情是当海上风平浪静的时候，在月光底下躺在一个沙洲上面，紧贴着海岸凝望着附近的大城市，那里的灯光亮的像无数星星似的，静听音乐、马车和人的声音，倾听从教堂尖塔，传来欢快的钟声。正因为她不能到好东西哪儿去，所以她也就最渴望那些东西，哦，哪位最小的妹妹听得那么全神贯注啊！后来她站在敞开的窗边，透过深蓝色的海水仰望，一心想着那个喧闹不已的大城市，又想听到教堂传来的钟声，尽管她此刻还待在深深的海底。40 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文第二年二姐得到许可浮到海水上去，想游到哪里便游向哪里。她冒出水面的时候，正是太阳西落的那一瞬间，她说那副景色是最美丽的。整个天空看去就像是金的一样，而那她无法描绘的紫色和粉红的云彩从她头上飘过，比云儿飞的更快的时一群朝日落飞去的野天鹅，掠过海面，像一条长长的白练。她也朝着太阳游去，可是太阳沉入水下去了，粉红色的晚霞在海面，在云朵上消逝了。接下来是三姐了。她是她们的中最大胆的一位，因此她游向一条流进海里的大河里去了。她看到岸上的一些青山，上面种满了美丽的葡萄；宫殿和田庄在茂密的树林中隐隐地露出来；她听到各种鸟儿在唱歌，太阳光线那么强烈，她有时不得不沉入水里，好使水冰凉一下她灼热的面孔。在一个小河湾她碰到一群人间的小孩子，他们光着身子，在水里游来游去；她倒很想跟他们一起玩耍，反倒把他们吓跑了。一个黑色的小动物跑进水里，这是一条狗，可是她不知道那是什么，因为她从未见过狗。这个动物对她汪汪狂叫，她害怕了，只好又重归大海。不过她又说她怎么也忘不了那茂密的森林，青翠的山峦，还有那些可爱的小家伙，他们没有如鱼那样的尾巴，却能在水中游泳。第四位姐姐有些胆小，她只游到大海的中央，但是她说，那儿如近陆一样美丽。她可以看到四周以外的许多东西，上面的天就像一口玻璃钟。她看到了船，但是很远，看上去就像一只只的海鸥，海豚在水里游动，巨大的鲸从他们的鼻孔喷出水来，看去就像周围有一百口喷泉一般。第五个姐姐的生日恰恰是在冬天，所以当她出来的时候她能看到其他的姐姐们在第一次浮出海面时所没有看到过得东西。海看上去很绿，巨大的冰山在四周移动。她说每一座冰山就像一颗珠子，然而却比人类所建造的教堂还大得多。它们以种种奇奇怪怪的形状出现，像钻石似的射出光彩。她曾经在一座最大的冰山上坐过，让海风吹着她的长发。她说所有的船只飞驶而过，远远避开冰山，似乎很害怕。不过在黄昏的时分，天空浓云密布，雷电交加，冰山在起伏的海面上摇荡，在火红的雷电中闪闪发光。航船全都恐慌地手气了风帆，不过，她坐在漂浮的冰山上，镇定自若，一面观看弯弯曲曲的蓝色闪电直射着大海。姐妹们第一次被许露出水面的时候，对自己所看到的的新鲜和美丽的东西都非常高兴，但是现在，她们都是大姑娘了，可以随意游到水面上去，她们也就觉得漠不关心了。她们又想回到水面下去，过了一个月，她们又说，还是下面最漂亮，在家里最好不过了。在黄昏的时候，这五个姐妹常常手挽着手浮上来，在水面上排成一行，她们拥有比人类的任何声音都要动听的嗓音，当风暴快要到来，她们料想有些船只快要出事的时候，她们就游到这些船的面前，唱起非常美丽的歌来，说海底下是多么可爱，同时请求这些水手不要害怕沉到海底；然而这些人却听不懂这些歌词，她们以为这是风暴的声息，这些东西对他们来说一点也不美好，因为如果船沉了的话，上面的人也就淹死了，他们的死尸才能到达海王的宫殿。一天傍晚，众姐妹这么手挽手向海面上游动，最小的那个妹妹，孤孤单单的站着看着她们，她恨不得大哭一场，可是人鱼没有眼泪可流，因此她更加感到难受“唉，我要是到了十五岁就好了。”她说：“我定会喜欢海面上的那个世界，喜欢那个世界里居住的人们。”她终于到十五岁了。“瞧，现在你长大了。”她的祖母，老王后说到：“让我给你打扮打扮，就像给你几个姐姐那样；”于是，她在她的发上带上一个白色的百合花的花环，但是41 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文花上的每片花瓣都是半粒珍珠。老祖母把八只蚝嵌在公主的尾上，以显示她的高贵身份。“好疼啊，”小美人鱼说。“为了漂亮是应该吃点苦的，”老祖母说。哎，她到真想能摆脱这些装饰品，把这沉重的花环扔向一边！她花园里的那些红花要适合的多，但是她不敢这样干，于是她说，“再会吧，”轻盈得像一个水泡冒出水面了。她的头刚刚伸出水面，太阳正好下山。不过，云彩是深红色和金黄色的，黄昏的天空中，晚间的星星已经闪烁着美丽的光芒。大海风平浪静，空气新鲜宜人。有一艘三根大桅杆大船，静静泊在水面上，只挂着一张风帆；因为纹风不动，甲板上和帆索上坐满了悠闲的水手。那里有音乐声，有歌声，天色越来越暗，数百盏彩灯大放光明，仿佛各国国旗在空中飘荡。小人鱼一直游到了舷窗前，每次当海水把她托起来的时候，她都可以透过那洁净的玻璃窗子像里面望去，看到里面有许多打扮得很漂亮的人。最漂亮的却是一位年轻的王子，他长着一双黑眼睛；他只有十六岁，因为是他的生日才有这样的欢庆。水手们在甲板上跳舞，王子从船舱走出来的时候，燃放了数不清的焰火，把天照的如同白昼一般。小人鱼吓坏了，赶紧钻到海水里；但是当她又把头伸出来时，她觉得好像漫天的星星都在向她落下，她从来没有看到这样的焰火。许多的巨大的太阳在周围喷出火光，光耀夺目的萤火虫在向蓝色的空中飞翔。这一切都映到这清明的、平静的海上。这船全身都被照的那么亮，连每根很小的绳子都能很清晰的看出来，那位年轻的王子看上去多漂亮啊，在这灯火辉煌的夜晚，在阵阵乐曲声中，他同人们在握手，微笑。夜色深沉；可是小人鱼的目光忍不住还在盯着那艘船，盯着那位漂亮的王子。五光十色的灯已经熄灭，也不再有焰火射向天空，炮声已经停止；但是，海水不再沉静，海底深处传来嗡嗡嘁嘁的声息。小人鱼仍呆在舷窗旁边，在水中或浮或沉，以便能看清里面的情况。过了一会儿，穿上很快扬起了一个又一个风帆，轮船又向前航行。突然间，水波汹涌起来，大朵的晕笼罩着天空，远处出现了闪电。一切可怕的风暴就要来临了；于是水手又把风帆都收下，大船在波涛汹涌的海里继续飞驶着。海浪来了，就像一座座大山一样高，仿佛要压向桅杆；船像只天鹅似的潜入水中又升到高大的浪峰。小人鱼觉得这样的航行真有趣，但水手们都不这样以为。最终这艘船现在发出破裂的声音，它粗厚的板壁被冲上甲板的浪涛打弯了；船桅像芦苇似的扯断了。船开始倾斜，水冲了进来。这时小人鱼才知道他们遭遇到了危险。她也得当心避开漂流在水上船梁和板壁。刹那间一片漆黑，她什么也看不见，不过当闪电亮起来的时候，又照亮了一切。她可以看出船上的每一个人，只是不见那位王子。当这艘船列开时，她看来他海的深处下沉。她变得非常高兴起来，因为她现在要和他在一起了，可是她又记起来，人是不能在海里生活的，而当他到她父亲的王宫的时候已经死了，但是他不能死，于是她从散落在海面上的船梁和板壁之间游过去，完全忘掉这些东西会把她击碎，她深深地潜到水里，随着波浪起伏，这样她终于游到了年轻王子的身旁，他几乎不能在这波涛汹涌的海里继续游了，她的四肢无力，美丽的眼睛也闭了起来，要不是小人鱼赶了过来，她必定已经死了。她把他的头发捧出水面，任海波载着他们漂流。天明的时分,风暴已经过去了.那条船连一块碎片也不见了.鲜红的太阳升起来了,在水上光耀地照着.它在这位王子的脸上注入了健康的色泽;不过他的眼睛仍然是闭着的.小人鱼在他光滑的高额上吻了一下,把他透湿的长发理向脑后;她42 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文觉得他的样子很像她小花园里的那尊大理石像.她又重新吻了他一下,希望他牟苏醒过来.现在,展现在她眼前的是一片陆地,她看到了蓝色的大山,山顶上的白雪仿佛是一群白色天鹅在那儿栖息。海岸线一代是大建筑物，究竟是教堂还是修道院，她也弄不清楚。花园里有橘树和香橼树，大门前矗立着高大的棕榈树。大海在这儿有一个小湾，湾里的水平静如镜，可是很深；她带着美丽的王子游到了沙滩上，上面铺着白色、精细的沙。她把他放在温暖的阳光下，特别留神地将他头高搁过身体。白色的大建筑响起了钟声，许多年轻姑娘走进了花园。于是小人鱼游到远离海岸一点的地方，藏在几块从海水里伸出的高石块之间，把海水泡沫抹在自己的头上和脖子上，不让人看见她那小小的脸，然后，她注意着是谁来到那可怜的王子跟前。不一会儿，她看到一个年轻的女子走到他身旁。她起初似乎非常吃惊，不过时间不久，她找了许多人来，小人鱼看到王子渐渐的苏醒过来了，并且向站在周围的人发出微笑。可是他没有对她微笑；他一点也不知道救他的人就是她，她感到非常难过。因此当他被抬到那栋高大的建筑物里去的时候，她悲伤的跳进海里，回到她父亲的宫殿里去了。她一向安静而又喜欢想问题，现在更是如此。几个姐姐问她第一次浮出海面看到了些什么，她却一个字也不肯对她们讲。有多少个黄昏，多少个黎明，她都往她离开王子的地方游去。她看到，花园里的果子成熟了，被摘走了，山顶上的积雪融化；可她就是看不到王子。因此，她回家的时候，总是一次比一次更加伤心。她坐在小小的花园里，用自己的胳臂拥着那美丽的像王子的大理石雕塑成了她唯一的慰藉；她不在照管她的花了，花杂乱的长着，涨到了小径上，花枝和长长的叶子缠到了树枝上，于是花园里昏暗了起来。最后她再也忍受不住了，告诉了一个姐姐，接着其余的人也就都知道了这个秘密。两个知己的人鱼之中有一位知道那个王子是什么人。她也看到过那次在船上举行的庆典，她告诉她们这位王子是从什么地方来的，他的王国在什么地方。“来吧，小妹妹，”别的公主们说。她们彼此手挽手，排成一长排升到到海面，一直游到一块她们认为是王子的宫殿的地方。它是用一种明亮的黄色石块建成，石块还闪闪发光，一段长长的台阶用大理石砌成，有一个台阶直接通向大海。宫殿顶上有华美的金色圆塔突兀伸起。宫殿四周有许多圆柱相绕，圆柱之间矗立着许多大理石雕像，一个个看上去栩栩如生。窗户高大，透过明洁的玻璃就看到富丽堂皇的大厅，悬挂着珍贵的丝帘和挂毯；四方墙壁都装饰着美丽的画，看上去真是令人开心。在中心那间最大的厅里，安置了一座喷泉，水柱高高地喷起。一直喷到了圆形的天花板上，照在生长在池里的美丽的花草上。这下子她知道他住在哪里了，好多个黄昏夜晚她都来到这宫殿附近的水面上。她游得比其他敢游的姐姐还要近一些。是的，她有一次一直游进那大理石阳台下面的一条狭小的河流里去，阳台宽大的阴影倒映在水上。她在这儿坐着，瞧着那个年轻的王子，而这位王子却还以为在明亮的月光中只有他一个人呢。有好多次，她看到他在音乐声中乘着艘飘着许多旗帜的船愉快地航行。她从绿灌木丛中向外偷望，当风吹起她银白色的长面纱时，如果有人看到的话，他们总以为这是一只天鹅在展示它的翅膀。无数个夜晚，当渔民们带着火把出海时，她听到他们讲王子做过的许多好事，她非常高兴当他在海浪上颠簸得半死时自己救了43 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文他的命。她想起了他的头靠在自己的胸脯上，她由衷地吻了他；但是他却一无所知，更不会梦到她。她越来越喜欢人类了，越来越盼望她能上岸到他们中间去，他们的世界再她看来比她的大得多。他们可以乘船掠过大海，爬到耸入云端的高山；他们的土地上面长着树林，田野延伸得那么远，直到她眼睛看不见。她希望知道许多许多的东西，可是姐姐们又无法给她回答。因此她就去问老祖母，她对上面的那个世界，知道得很清楚，她非常正确地把它称为海外的陆地。“要是人类不被水淹死，”小人鱼问，“他们可以永远活着吗？我们住在海里还有死的一天，难道他们就不会死吗？”“不，”老祖母回答说，“他们也会死的，他们的生命甚至比我们还要短。我们可以活到三百岁，不过一旦生命结束，我们就变成了水面上的泡沫，在我们热爱的这个地方连一个坟墓也没有，我们没有不朽的灵魂，也绝不会有再生；我们像那绿色的海草一样，只要一割断了，就再也无法茁壮成长。相反，人类有一个不朽的灵魂，即使身体化为尘土，它仍然活着的。它升向晴朗，纯净的天空，一直升向那些闪耀着的星星。正如我们升到水面、看到人间的世界一样，他们升向那些神秘的、华丽的、我们永远不会看见的地方。”“我们怎么就没有不朽的灵魂呢？”小人鱼很伤感地问道；“我宁可放弃这可以活着的几百年的寿命，让自己变成一个人，哪怕活一天也是好的，让我知道那星星之外华丽世界的幸福。”“你可不许这样想，”老祖母回答说，“我们这儿的生活比上面人类要好得多，也幸福得多。”“就是说，我会死掉，”小人鱼说，“变成海上的泡沫，再听不见水波的音乐，看不见美妙的花朵和那鲜红的太阳。难道我真的没有办法赢得一个不朽的灵魂吗？”“没有，”老太太说，“只有当一个人非常爱你，把你当作比他父母还要亲的人的时候；只有当他把他全部的思想和爱情放在你身上，并且当牧师把他的右手放在你的手里，他答应现在和将来永远对你忠诚的时候，他的灵魂才会转移到你的身上去，而你就会得到一份人类的快乐。他就会分给你一份灵魂，而同时他们自己的灵魂又能保持不灭。但是这是从来不会发生的。我们在这儿海底所以认为美丽的东西——你的那条鱼尾，在陆地上却被他们认为非常难看；他们不知道什么叫美丑。他们认为一个人想要显得漂亮，必须生有两根他们叫做腿的呆笨的支柱。”“大家高兴些吧，”老太太说，“我们要活三百年，真够长的，我们就跳舞吧，欢腾吧；三百年以后，我们还能休息得更愉快。今天晚上我们就举行宫廷舞会。”那个场面十分壮观，这情景我们在陆地上不可能看到的。宽敞的大厅里，墙壁和天花板都是厚厚的却及透明的玻璃建成的。好几百个巨型蚌，有的是深红色的，有的是草绿色的，排成队站在两边拿着蓝色火把，整个大厅照得通亮，亮光穿出了墙，所以外边的海也是亮的。无数大大小小的鱼，都朝着玻璃墙游了过来；有的鱼身上的鳞散发着紫色的光，另外一些鱼身上的光好似是银白金黄的。一股宽大的肌瘤穿过大厅，海里的男人和女人，唱着美丽的歌，就在这激流中跳舞。这样优美的歌声，住在陆地上的人们是唱不出来的。在这些人中间，小人鱼唱得最好。大家用手和尾巴为她鼓掌。她心中有好一会儿感到非常快乐，因为她知道，在陆地上和海里只有她的声音最美。不过她马上又想起上面的那个世界，她忘记44 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文不了那位漂亮的王子，忘不了自己心中的忧愁，因为她不能像他那样有个不朽的灵魂。因此，她悄悄地游出了父亲的宫殿。正当所有的人欢歌狂舞时，她却很伤心地独自待在自己的小花园里。就在这时，她听到水中传来的号角的鸣声，她思忖着——“毫无疑问，是他在海上航行。她是我终身所系，我愿意把医生的幸福托付在他手中。我要不顾一切的来赢得他和一颗不朽的灵魂。我的姐姐正在我父亲的宫殿里面跳舞，我却要到海底女巫那里去，我一直是害怕她的，不过她能出点主意给我帮助。”于是，小人鱼离开了自己的花园朝那个湍急的漩涡游去，女巫就住在漩涡的背后。这条路她从来没有走过，这儿没有长什么花，也没有什么水草；有的只是光秃秃的灰色沙底，一直向漩涡那儿伸去。水在这儿像一架喧闹的水车似的旋转着，把它所碰到的东西都缠绕起来，投到深不可测的海底。要到达海底巫婆统治的地区，她必须走过这急转的漩涡。有好长一段路程正好通过一条冒着热泡的泥地，巫婆把这地方叫做她的泥炭沼泽。在这后面有一个奇怪的森林，她屋子就在里面；所有的树和花全是水螅，一种半植物半动物的东西；它们看起来很像地里冒出来的百头蛇。树枝就是粘糊糊的手臂，长的很长。手指就像柔软的蠕虫，从根到顶，一节一节地在蠕动。水里能抓住的东西它们就死死的抓住不放，没有东西可以幸免。小人鱼看到这些很害怕，静静的站着，心里面七上八下，担惊受怕，差不多想往回跑了。但是她马上想到了王子，想到了他渴望拥有的人的灵魂，她又鼓起了勇气。她把她的长发紧紧的盘在头上，以免被水螅抓住，双手贴在胸前，就像鱼能飞着穿过海水跳跃那样，跳进了那些丑陋的水螅中间，伸出它们柔软的胳臂和指头去抓她。她看到，无数只小胳臂里总抓着些什么东西，像铁环一样。遇难后深深沉入海底的人的白骨骸，陆地动物的骨骸，船桨，船舵和箱柜也被它们牢牢缠住，还有一个被它们抓住和勒死了的小人鱼，这对小公主来说是一件最可怕的事情。现在她来到了森林中的一块沼泽地。这儿有又大又肥的水蛇在翻动着，露出黄褐色的，奇丑的肚皮。在这块地中央有一栋用死难者白骨砌成的房子。海巫婆就正坐在这儿，用她的嘴喂一只癞蛤蟆，正如我们人用糖喂一只金丝雀一样。她把那些奇丑的水蛇叫做她的小鸡，同时让它们在她的胸口上爬来爬去。“我知道你要干什么海巫婆说道；“你真蠢，你的选择只会给你带来不幸的，我的可爱的公主。你想去掉你的尾巴，换上两条支柱，像陆地上的人那样，好让那位年轻的王子爱上你，你好得到灵魂。”女巫大笑着，令人厌恶极了，癞蛤蟆和蛇都掉到地上，躺在那蠕动着。“你来的正式时候，”女巫说道；“等到明天早晨太阳一出来，我就没有办法帮你了，只有等待一年再说。我可以准备一服药给你喝。你带着这服药，在明天太阳出来以前，赶快游向陆地，你就坐在海滩上，把这服药吃掉，于是你的尾巴就会消失，变成人类所谓的腿了。可是你会感到很痛的，这就像一把尖刀刺进你的身体。凡是看到你的人，一定会说你是他们所见到的最美丽的孩子。你将仍旧会保持你像游泳时的优雅的步子，任何舞蹈家也不会像你那样轻柔，不过你没移动一步，就仿佛踏在尖刀上，仿佛在流血。如果你能忍受这些苦难，我就能帮你。”“是的，我能忍受，”小人鱼说道，声音在颤抖。她想着王子，想着那不灭的灵魂。“但是，你要记住，”女巫婆：“你一旦变成了人形，你永远也就不能再变成人鱼了，永远下不了海回到你姐姐的身边，或是进到你父亲的宫殿里去；如果你45 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文不能赢得王子的爱情，使她为了你忘掉他的父亲和母亲，用他的整个灵魂来爱着你，让牧师把你们的手搭在一起，让你们成为夫妻，那你也就得不到不朽的灵魂。他和另外一个人结婚的第二天一早，你的心便会破碎，你就会成为海浪上的泡沫。”“我愿意，”小人鱼说道，脸庞变得像死的那样苍白。“但是我要求酬劳，”女巫婆说，“而且我所要的也并并不是一件微小的东西，在海底的人中，你的声音要算是最美丽的了，你想用这声音去迷住王子；可是这个声音你得交给我；我必须得到你最好的东西，作为我的贵重药物的代价。我得把我自己的血混进这药物里，好使它尖锐得像一柄双刃剑。”“不过，如果你把我的声音拿去了，”小人鱼说，“那么我还剩下什么呢？”“还有美丽的身材，优美的步伐，楚楚动人的眼睛；就凭这些你就可以俘虏一个男人的心。怎么啦，你丧失勇气了吗？快把小舌头伸出来，让我割下作为给我的报酬。这样你将得到强烈功效的药。”“也只得这么办了，”小人鱼说。女巫把大锅放到火上，开始煎这种神奇的药。“干净是件好事儿，”她说，于是她把蛇捆成一大团，用它把容器擦了擦；接着便刺破了自己的胸脯，让黑血滴进去。冒出的气形状恐怖，没有人看到会不害怕的。女巫不断往里面添加一些新的东西，药剂沸腾的时候，就像是鳄鱼哭一样。最后这副神奇的药剂熬好了，看上去就像是清澈的水。“给你，”女巫说道，割下了小人鱼的舌头，现在她哑了，既不能唱也不能说话了。“当你穿过森林回去的时候，如果水螅捉住了你的话，”女巫婆说，“你只须把这瓶药水洒几滴道它们的身上，它们的指头就会裂成碎片。”可是小人鱼没有这样做的必要，因为当水螅一看到这亮晶晶的药水，——它在她的手里亮得像一颗闪耀的星星——的时候，它们就在她面前惶恐地缩回去了。这样，她很快就走过了森林，沼泽和急转的漩涡。她看到父亲的宫殿了。大厅里，火把已经熄灭了，大家都在睡觉；可是，她还不敢到他们呢那儿去，因为她现在已成了哑巴，还要永远离开她们的。她感到自己的心要碎了。她悄悄地进了花园，分别从姐姐的花坛上摘了一朵花，一次又一次地对着王宫飞吻，终于穿过了深蓝色的大海，浮出了水面。她看见王子的宫殿，靠近那漂亮的大理石台阶的时候，太阳还没出来，月亮射出明净的光。小人鱼喝下了那副奇妙的药剂，就像一柄双刃的利剑穿透了她娇嫩的身体，她昏了过去，躺在那里好像死了一般。当太阳升起找到海上的时候，她醒了过来，感到一阵剧烈疼痛；但是就在她前面，站立着那位英俊的年轻王子。王子用他乌黑的眼睛盯着她，只好低下自己眼睛，这才看到自己已失去的尾巴。但是，她却长了一双漂亮白嫩得退和只有少女才能有的小巧的脚。可是她没有衣服，就只好用浓浓的长发把身子裹住。王子问她是谁，从哪儿来的，她只好以深蓝色的眼睛对他看看，那样子既柔和又悲伤；因为她已经不能说话了。正如女巫以前跟他讲过的一样，她觉得每步都好像是在针尖和利刃上行走。可是她情愿忍受这苦痛。她在王子身边走起路来轻盈得像一个水泡。他和所有的人望着她这文雅轻盈的步子，感到惊奇。很快，她穿上了价值最昂贵的丝绸，薄纱做的服装，在王宫中她是最漂亮的；但是，她哑了，既不会唱歌，也不会说话。漂亮的女仆，穿着华丽，走上前来为王子和他的父王母后唱歌。有一个女仆46 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文唱得比其他的女仆都更加美妙，王子鼓着掌对她微笑。可是小人鱼却很悲伤，她知道，她曾经唱得比这些美妙多了，她想着，“唉，要是他知道，我为了和他一起，把我的声音永远丧失了，那该多好！”接着，奴隶们跟着美丽的音乐，跳起优雅的、轻柔的舞来。这时小人鱼举起一双美丽的、白嫩的手臂，用脚尖站着，在底板上轻盈地滑动，从来还没有人这样舞过。她的每一个动作都更能衬托出她的美，她的眼神比奴隶们的歌声更能打动人的心坎。大家都看得入了迷，特别是那位王子，他把她叫做他的“小孤儿”。她非常乐意地舞着，虽然每次当她的脚接触到地面的时候，她就像踏在锋利的刀上一样。王子说，她应该永远跟他在一起，因此她就得到了许可睡在他门口的一个天鹅绒垫子上面。他叫人为她做了一套男子穿的衣服，好使她可以陪他骑马。他们骑马穿过香气扑鼻的树林，绿色的枝子扫过他们的肩膀，小鸟儿在枝头新嫩的叶子间歌唱。她和王子一起爬上高山顶；虽然她娇嫩的脚出了血，每一步都留下血印，她只是笑笑，还是跟着他，一直到他们看到云彩在他们脚下浮游，就像一群鸟儿往遥远的国度飞去。在王子的宫殿里，所有的人都睡觉了，她却出了们，坐到宽大的大理石台阶上；好使她发烧的脚在冰冷的海水里凉爽一点。就在这时，她想起了海底的亲人。有一天夜晚，她的姐姐们手挽手出了海，一面唱着凄凉的歌。她向她们招了招手，她们也认出是她，并且对她说，大家都为她而感到悲伤。后来，她们每天晚上都到同样的地方去看她。有一晚，她远远地看到了多年不曾浮出海面的老祖母，和戴着王冠的海王父母。他们对她伸出手来，但是他们不像她的那些姐姐，没敢游近岸边。她对王子一天比一天更加热爱，他像爱一个小孩子那样爱她，但是看他从来没有娶她为妻的思想。然而除非他娶她，否则她就不能得到一个不灭的灵魂，而且会在他和别人结婚的头一个早上就融化成海上的泡沫。“在所有的人当中，你不是最喜欢我吗？”在他把她拥在怀里，亲吻着她白皙的额头的时候，小人鱼的眼睛似乎这样问道。“是的，你是我最亲爱的人，”王子说道，“因为你有最善良的心，对我是最忠实的，你很像我有一次见到的一位姑娘，我再也遇不到她。那时我在一艘遇难的船上，海波把我推到了一座圣庙附近的岸边，有一些年轻姑娘在那座庙里作气到，最年轻的那个在海滩边上发现了我，就救了我。我只见过她两次。在这个世界上我能爱的只有她。可是，你很像她，能使我从脑海你想到她。她是属于圣庙里的人，因此，我的好运把你送给了我，而不是她，我们永远也不要分离。”“啊，他不知道是我救了他的生命，”小人鱼想。“我把他从海里托出来，送到圣庙所在的一个树林里。我坐在泡沫底下观望着，知道有人来救他。我看到那个美丽的姑娘他爱她胜过爱我；”这时小人鱼深深的叹了一口气，她哭不出声来。他说那个姑娘是属于那个圣庙的，因此她永远不会走向这个世界。他们永远不会见面了。我是跟他们在一起，每天看到他的。我要照看他，热爱他，为他献出我的生命。很快，有人说，王子要结婚了，邻国国王美丽的女儿将成为他的妻子，为了这个缘故，他装备了一艘十分宏伟的船。虽然王子说他要去参观邻国，据说他实际上是为了看邻国国王的女儿。有一大堆人要跟着他去。然而小人鱼却摇摇头笑了；她比所有人都更了解王子的心思。47 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文“我得去，”他曾对她说过，“我得去看那位美丽的公主，我的父母要求这样做，但是他们并没有逼我把她带回家当我的新娘。我不可能爱她；她不想圣庙里的那位没，美丽的女子，而你却非常像。如果要我选新娘，我宁可选你，我可爱的哑巴孤女，你那双眼睛多机灵。”他吻了吻她那玫瑰红的嘴唇，理了理她那长长的头发，把头靠在她的心口，她梦想着人间的幸福，梦想着不朽的灵魂。“我的哑巴孩子，你不怕大海，”他问道。这时候，他们站在那艘豪华的船的甲板上，驶向邻近的王国。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，和潜水者在海底能看到的东西，对于他的描述，她只是微微地一笑，因为关于海底的奇观她比谁都知道得清楚。在月夜里，船上的人都睡了，只有掌舵的人立在舵旁。这时她就坐在甲板上，凝望着下面清亮的海水。她想象着能看到她父亲的宫殿，上面站着她年迈的祖母，她投上戴着银色的皇冠，透过汹涌的激流朝着这条船的龙骨望着。然后，她的中卫姐姐来到了海面上，他们悲伤着望着她，挥舞着自己洁白的手。她向她们挥手，微笑着，想告诉她们自己有多幸福，有多好；然而船舱的服务员向她走近，众位姐姐马上潜了下去，所以她还以为看到的那些东西是海面上的泡沫呢。第二天早上，轮船驶进了王子要参观的邻国壮丽的城市的港口，教堂的钟声齐鸣，高塔里的喇叭劲吹。与此同时，士兵们手持飘扬的彩旗盒明光闪闪的刺刀在沿途的岩石上列队。宴会天天都在举行，舞会和招待会一个接着一个。可就是公主不出现。人们说，她在接受教育，学习皇家的所有礼仪。她终于出来了。小人鱼迫切地想要看看她的美貌，她不得不承认她从来没有看见过比这更美的形体。她的皮肤是那么细嫩、洁白，在她黑而长的睫毛下面是一对微笑的蓝色眼珠，闪烁着忠诚和纯洁。“是你啊，”王子说道，“当我像一具尸体躺在海岸边上的时候是你救活了我，”他把面带娇羞的新娘拥在手臂里。“啊，我真是太幸福了，”他对小人鱼说；“我最美好的愿望终于实现了。你会为我的幸运而高兴的，因为你对我的奉献是最大最忠心得。”小人鱼吻着他的手，觉得她的心完全破碎了。他的婚礼后的第一个早晨会给她带来死亡，只有她变成海上的泡沫。教堂全都敲响了钟声，信使们骑着马在城里四处传报着订婚的喜讯。每个祭坛上，豪华的银灯都燃起了芳香四溢的油脂。牧师们转动着香炉，新郎和新娘手拉着手，接受主教的祝福。这时小人鱼身穿金光闪闪的丝绸衣服，托着新娘的披纱。但是，她听到的不是欢快的乐曲，看到的也不是神圣的婚礼仪式；她一心想的是即将来临的夜晚之后的死亡，想的是她在这人世间所有的一切统统消失。在同一个晚上，新郎和新娘来到船上；礼炮响起来了，旗帜在飘扬着。衣蛾金色和紫色的华贵帐篷在船中央架起来了，里面陈设着精美的长沙发，这是为新婚夫妇过夜准备的。风儿在鼓着船帆，船在这平静的海上，轻柔地航行着。当暮色渐渐浓的时候，彩色的灯光就亮起来了，水手们愉快地在甲板上跳起舞来。小人鱼不禁想起她第一次游出海面的场面，她随着大家一起跳起舞来。她旋转着，就像一只追逐快乐的燕子那样。大家都兴高采烈地为她欢呼，她从来没有如此开心舞过，她娇嫩的双脚像被加内的刀割一样，但是她感觉不到，因为她的心被割得更加疼痛万分。她知道，这是最后一个夜晚可以看到王子了。正是为了他她离开了亲人和家庭；她放弃了美丽的嗓音，每天都在为他遭受巨大的痛苦，可是他对这一切全然不知。这是最后一个夜晚她能和他同呼吸，能看到繁星密布的天空，48 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文能看到深沉的大海；等待她的是另一种永恒的夜晚，那是一种没有思想或者没有梦想的野望，因为她没有灵魂，现在她什么也得不到。一直到半夜过后，船上的一切还是欢乐和愉快的；她和大家一起笑着，舞着，但是她心中一直想着死亡。王子吻着自己的美丽的新娘，新娘抚弄着他乌亮的头发，他们手挽着手到那华丽的帐篷里去休息。船上的一切都很安静了。只有舵手清醒地站在舵旁。小人鱼把她洁白的手臂倚在船舷上，向东方凝望，等待着晨曦的出现，因为黎明的第一道光纤将给她带来死亡。这时，她看到她的众位姐姐升出海面，她们都和她一样苍白，在风中再没有了飘逸的长发，她们的发都剪掉了。“我们把头发给了女巫，”她们说，“要她帮着不让你今夜死掉。她给了我们一把刀，在这里，你看多么锋利。太阳升起以前，你必须把它刺进王子的心脏，他温暖的血流到你的脚上的时候，她们又会长到一起，变成一条鱼尾，你又成了一条人鱼，可以游回到我们身边。你就可以再活三百年，然后变成咸水泡沫。快抓紧时间；太阳出来之前，你和他之间必须有一个人死。我们的老祖母为了你而归于悲哀，连白发都脱落了，正如我们的头发被女巫剪掉一样。刺死王子，回来吧；抓紧时间吧，天上已透露出第一道红光了，你看到没有？太阳马上就要升起，到那时你就必然灭亡。”她们发出沉重而又悲伤的叹息声，便沉入浪涛里去了。小人鱼把帐篷上深红色的帘子掀开，看到那位美丽的新娘把头枕在王子怀里睡着了。她弯下腰，在王子清秀的眉毛上吻了一下，然后望了望天空，晨曦的粉红月越发地鲜亮起来。她看了看锋利的刀，又用眼睛盯着王子，王子在梦中念着新娘的名字，他的思想中只有她。刀在小人鱼的首重颤抖着，但是，她马上把它抛得远远的，抛落到浪花里；刀子落下的地方闪着红光，看起来就像一滴滴的血从水中溅出来。她用更加留恋的目光模糊地望着王子，然后从船上跳入海中，她感到，她的身躯一点点化成泡沫。太阳已升出了海面，和煦的阳光洒在由小人鱼化成的冰冷的泡沫上，她一点没有死亡的感受。她看到灿烂的太阳，看到周围有无数透明好看的东西在飘荡；她透过轮船的白帆和天空的红云看到了那些生物。它们的语言旋律美妙，可是非常飘渺，人的耳朵听不到的，正如人的肉眼看不见一样。小人鱼感到自己身子也和那些东西很想象，渐渐地从泡沫中升浮。“我在哪里呢？”她问。她的声音跟周围其他的生物一样，显的虚无飘渺；人世间的任何音乐都不能和它相比。“到孔子的女儿哪儿去吖，”有一个声音回答说。“人鱼是没有不灭的灵魂的，而且永远不会有这样的灵魂，除非她获得一个凡人的爱情。她的永恒的存在要依靠外来的力量。空气的女儿也没有永恒的灵魂，不过她们可以通过善良的行为创造出一个灵魂。我们飞向温暖的国度去，冷却那里炎热的带有瘟毒的扼杀人类的空气。我们传播鲜花的味道，送去健康和痊愈。只要在三百年中我们尽自己的可能行善，我们就能获得永生的灵魂，参加到人类的幸福中区。你这可怜的小人鱼，你诚心诚意地和我们一样在尽你的努力；你遭受痛苦，忍受绒裤，你通过善行升到了精神世界。现在你也可以以同样的方式在三百年里为自己创造一个不灭的灵魂。”小人鱼把充满光辉的眼睛投向太阳，她生平第一次感觉到她的眼睛里饱含着泪水，这时候，在她离开王子的那艘轮船上又响起了嘈杂的人声；她看到：王子和她美丽的新娘在寻找她；他们望着珍珠一般的泡沫，心里很悲哀，仿佛已经意49 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文识到她跳进了波涛之中。她在冥冥之中吻了新娘的前额，对美丽的王子微笑。于是她就跟其他的空气中的孩子一道，骑上玫瑰色的云块，升入天空里去了。“这样三百年以后，我们就可以升入天国了，”她说。“我们也许很快就到那儿了，”一个同伴低语着。“我们无形无影地飞进人类的屋子离去，那里面生活着一些孩子，每一天如果我们找到一个好号子，如果他给他父母带来快乐、值得他父母爱他的话，考验我们的时间久可以缩短。我们在屋里飞过，孩子是不知道的，我们因为他们的善行而快乐地微笑时，三百年便会减去一年。不过如果我们看到一个淘气的孩子，或是一个坏孩子，那我们就得悲伤地哭了，每一滴眼泪会给考验的时间增加一天呢！”50 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文AcknowledgementsFirstofall,IwouldliketoexpressmyheartfeltthankstoMs.QinFangfangforhermeticulousguidanceandinsightfulsuggestionsformythesiswriting.What’smore,Iwillextendmythankstoherforherstrictinstructionsformytwo-yearpostgraduatestudyandhervaluableencouragementonmystudyandlife,whichwillaccompanymeforever.Secondly,IwouldliketoshowmysincereappreciationtoProfessorLiuPeng,XuJiangang,andProfessorHuXiaoqiongfortheirenlighteninglecturesinmypostgraduatestudy.Lastbutnotleast,I’msogratefulforthesupportandlovefrommyfamilyandfriends.指导教师___________________学科(系)主任____________________院分管领导____________________51'