 Part 1 of The Snow Queen. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Snow Queen and Other Stories by Hans Christian Andersen. Translated by H.B. Paul. The Snow Queen. Which describes a looking-glass and the broken fragments? You must attend to the commencement of the story. For when we get to the end, we shall know more than we do now about a very wicked hobgoblin. He was one of the very worst, for he was a real demon. One day, when he was in a merry mood, he made a looking-glass which had the power of making everything good or beautiful that was reflected in it almost shrink to nothing. Well, everything that was worthless and bad looked increased in size and worse than ever. The most lovely landscapes appeared like boiled spinach and the people became hideous and looked as if they stood on their heads and had no bodies. Their countenances were so distorted that no one could recognize them and even one freckle on their face appeared to spread over the whole of the nose and mouth. The demon said this was very amusing. When a good or pious thought passed through the mind of anyone, it was misrepresented in the glass. And then how the demon laughed at his cunning invention. All who went to the demon's school, for he kept his school, talked everywhere of the wonders they had seen and declared that people could now, for the first time, see what the world and mankind were really like. They carried the glass about everywhere till at last there was not a land nor a people who had not been looked at through this distorted mirror. They wanted even to fly with it up to heaven to see the angels, but the higher they flew the more slippery the glass became and they could scarcely hold it till at last it slipped from their hands, fell to the earth and was broken into millions of pieces. But now the looking glass caused more unhappiness than ever for some of the fragments were not so large as a grain of sand and they flew about the world into every country. When one of these tiny atoms flew into a person's eye, it stuck there unknown to him and from that moment he saw everything through a distorted medium or could see only the worst side of what he looked at for even the smallest fragment reading the same power which had belonged to the whole mirror. Some few persons even got a fragment of the looking glass in their hearts and this was very terrible for their hearts became colds like a lump of ice. A few of the pieces were so large that they could be used as window paints, it would have been a sad thing to look at our friends through them. Other pieces were made into spectacles. This was dreadful for those who wore them for they could see nothing either rightly or justly. At all this the wicked demon laughed till his sight shook. It tickled him so to see the mischief he had done. There was still a number of these little fragments of glass floating about in the air and now you shall hear what happened with one of them. Second story. A little boy and a little girl. In a large town full of houses and people there is not room for everybody to have even a little garden therefore they are obliged to be satisfied with a few flowers and flower pots. In one of these large towns lived two poor children who had a garden something larger and better than a few flower pots. They were not brother and sister but they loved each other almost as much as if they had been. Their parents lived opposite to each other in two garrets where the roofs of neighbouring houses projected towards each other and the water pipe ran between them. In each house was a little window so that anyone could step across the gutter from one window to the other. The parents of these children had each a large wooden box in which they cultivated kitchen herbs for their own use and a little rose bush in each box which grew splendidly. Now after a while the parents decided to place these two boxes across the water pipe so that they reached from one window to the other and looked like two banks of flowers. Sweet peas drooped over the boxes and the rose bushes shot forth long branches which were trained round the windows and clustered together almost like a triumphal arch of leaves and flowers. The boxes were very high and the children knew they must not climb upon them without permission but they were often however allowed to step out together and sit upon their little stools under the rose bushes or play quietly. In winter all this pleasure came to an end for the windows were sometimes quite frozen over but then they would warm copper pennies on the stove and hold the warm pennies against the frozen pane. There would be very soon a little round hole through which they could beep and the soft bright eyes of the little boy and girl would beam through the hole at each window as they looked at each other. Their names were Kay and Gerda. In summer they could be together with one jump from the window but in winter they had to go up and down the long staircase and out through the snow before they could meet. See there are the white bees swarming, said Kay's old grandmother one day when it was snowing. Have they a queen bee? asked the little boy for he knew that the real bees had a queen. To be sure they have, said the grandmother. She is flying there where the swarm is thickest. She is the largest of them all and never remains on the earth but flies up to the dark clouds. Often at midnight she flies through the streets of the town and looks in at the windows then the eyes freezes on the panes into wonderful shapes that look like flowers and casals. Yes I have seen them, said both the children and they knew it must be true. Can this now queen come in here? asked the little girl. Only let her come, said the boy. I'll set her on the stove and then she'll melt. Then the grandmother smoothed his hair and told him some more tales. One evening when little Kay was at home half undressed he climbed on a chair by the window and peeped at through the little hole. A few flakes of snow were falling and one of them, rather larger than the rest, alighted on the edge of one of the flower boxes. This snowflake grew larger and larger till at last it became the figure of a woman dressed in garments of white gauze which looked like millions of starry snowflakes linked together. She was fair and beautiful but made of eyes, shining and glittering eyes. Still she was alive and her eyes sparkled like bright stars but there was neither peace nor rest in their glance. She nodded towards the window and waved her hand. The little boy was frightened and sprang from the chair. At the same moment it seemed as if a large bird flew by the window. On the following day there was a clear frost and very soon came the spring. The sun shone, the young green leaves burst forth, the swallows built their nests, windows were opened and the children sat once more in the garden on the roof high above all the other rooms. How beautiful the roses blossomed this summer! The little girl had learnt a hymn in which roses were spoken off and then she thought of their own roses and she sang the hymn to the little boy and he sang too. Roses bloom and cease to be but we shall the Christ child see. Then the little ones held each other by the hand and kissed the roses and looked at the bright sunshine and spoke to it as if the Christ child was there. Those were splendid summer days. How beautiful and fresh it was out among the rose bushes which seemed as if they would never leave off blooming. One day Kay and Gerda sat looking at a book full of pictures of animals and birds and then just as the clock in the church tower struck twelve Kay said, Oh! Something has struck my heart and soon after there is something in my eye. The little girl put her arm round his neck and looked into his eye but she could see nothing. I think it is gone, he said, but it was not gone. It was one of those bits of the looking glass that magic mirror of which we have spoken. The ugly glass which made everything great and good appear small and ugly while all that was wicked and bad became more visible and every little fault could be plainly seen. Poor little Kay had also received a small grain in his heart which very quickly turned into a lump of eyes. He felt no more pain but the glass was there still. Why do you cry? said he at last. It makes you look ugly. There is nothing the matter with me now. Oh! See! he cried suddenly. That rose is worm eaten and this one is quite crooked. After all they are ugly roses just like the box in which they stand. And then he kicked the boxes with his foot and pulled off the two roses. Kay! What are you doing? cried the little girl. And then when he saw how frightened she was, he tore off another rose and jumped through his own window away from little Gerda. When she afterwards brought out the picture book, he said, it was only fit for babies and long clothes. And when grandmother told any stories, he would interrupt her with, but, or when he could manage it, he would get behind her chair, put on a pair of spectacles and imitate her very cleverly to make people laugh. By and by he began to mimic the speech and gate of persons in the street. All that was peculiar or disagreeable in a person, he would imitate directly and the people said, that boy will be very clever. He has a remarkable genius. But it was a piece of glass in his eye and the coldness in his heart that made him act like this. He would even tease little Gerda who loved him with all her heart. His games too were quite different. They were not so childish. One winter's day when it snowed, he brought out a burning glass. Then he held out the tail of his blue coat and let the snowflakes fall upon it. Look in this glass, Gerda, said he, and she saw how every flake of snow was magnified and looked like a beautiful flower or a glittering star. Is it not clever? said Kay, and much more interesting than looking at real flowers. There is not a single fault in it and the snowflakes are quite perfect till they begin to melt. Soon after Kay made his appearance in large thick gloves and with a sledge at his back. He called upstairs to Gerda. I got a leap to go into the Great Square where the other boys play and ride. And away he went. In the Great Square, the boldest among the boys would often tie their sledges to the country people's carts and go with them a good way. This was capital. But while they were all amusing themselves and Kay with them, a great sledge came by. It was painted white and in it sat someone wrapped in a rough white fur and wearing a white cap. The sledge drove twice round the square and Kay fastened his own little sledge to it so that when it went away he followed with it. It went faster and faster right through the next tweet and then the person who drove turned round and nodded pleasantly to Kay, just as if they were acquainted with each other. But whenever Kay wished to loosen his little sledge, the driver nodded again so Kay sat still and they drove out through the town gate. Then the snow began to fall so heavily that the little boy could not see a hand's breath before him but still they drove on. Then he suddenly loosened the cord so that the large sled might go on without him but it was of no use. His little carriage held fast and away they went like the wind. Then he called out loudly but nobody heard him while the snow beat upon him and the sledge flew onwards. Every now and then it gave a jump as if it were going over hedges and ditches. The boy was frightened and tried to say a prayer but he could remember nothing but the multiplication table. The snowflakes became larger and larger till they appeared like great white chickens. All at once they sprang on one side, the great sledge stopped and the person who had driven it rose up. The fur and the cap which were made entirely of snow fell off and he saw a lady tall and white. It was the Snow Queen. We have driven well, said she, but why do you tremble? Here creep into my warm fur. She seated him beside her in the sledge and as she wrapped the fur around him he felt as if he were sinking into a snowdrift. Are you still cold? She asked as she kissed him on the forehead. The kiss was colder than eyes. It went quite through to his heart which was already almost a lump of eyes. He felt as if he were going to die but only for a moment. He soon seemed quite well again and did not notice the cold around him. My sledge! Don't forget my sledge! was his first thought and then he looked and saw that it was bound fast to one of the white chickens which flew behind him with the sledge at its back. The Snow Queen kissed little Kay again and by this time he had forgotten little Gerda, his grandmother and all at home. Now you must have no more kisses, she said, or I should kiss you to death. Kay looked at her and saw that she was so beautiful he could not imagine a more lovely and intelligent face. She did not now seem to be made of eyes as when he had seen her through his window and she had nodded to him. In his eyes she was perfect and she did not feel at all afraid. He told her he could do mental arithmetic as far as fractions and that he knew the number of square miles and the number of inhabitants in the country. And she always smiled so that he thought he did not know enough yet and she looked round the vast expanse as she flew higher and higher with him upon a black cloud while the storm blew and howled as if it were singing old songs. They flew over woods and lakes, over sea and land. Below them roared the wild wind, the wolves howled and the snow crackled. Over them flew the black screaming crows and above all shown the moon, clear and bright. And so Kay passed through the long winter's night and by day he slept at the feet of the Snow Queen. End of Part 1 of The Snow Queen Part 2 of The Snow Queen. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Ellie, the Snow Queen and other stories, by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by H.B. Paul, the Snow Queen Part 2, third story, The Flower Garden of the Woman Hooker Concha. But how fair little girl that during Kay's absence what had become of him, no one knew. How could anyone give the slightest information, excepting the boys, who said that he had tied his sledge to another very large one which had driven through the street and out at the town gate. Nobody knew where it went. Many tears were shed for him and the little girl had been bitterly for a long time. She said she knew he must be dead, that he was drowned in the river which flowed close by the school. Oh indeed, those long winter days were very dreary, but that last spring came with warm sunshine. Kay is dead and gone, said the little girder. I don't believe it, said the sunshine. He is dead and gone, she said to despair us. We don't believe it, they replied, and that last little girder began to doubt it herself. I will put on my red shoes, she said one morning, those the Kay has never seen, and then I will go down to the river and ask for him. It was quite early when she kissed her old grandmother, who was still asleep, then she put on her red shoes and went quite alone out of the town gates toward the river. Is it true that you have taken my little playmate away from me? She said to the river, I will give you my red shoes if you will give him back to me. And it seemed as if the waves nodded to her in a strange manner. Then she took off her red shoes, which she liked better than anything else and threw them both into the river. But they fell near the bank and the little waves carried them back to the land, just as if the river would not take from her what she loved best, because they could not give her back little Kay. But she thought the shoes had not been thrown out fine enough. Then she kept into a boat that lay among the reeds and threw the shoes again from the far end of the boat into the water. But it was not fastened, and her movements ended climbing away from the land. When she saw this she hastened to reach the end of the boat, but before she could so it was more than a yard from the bank and drifting away faster than ever. The little girl was very much frightened and began to cry, but no one heard her except the sparrows and they could not carry her to land. But they flew along by the shore and sang as if to comfort her. Here we are, here we are. The boat floated with the stream. The little girl said quite still is only her stockings on her feet. The red shoes floated after her, but she could not reach them because the boat kept so much in advance. The banks on each side of the river were very pretty. There were beautiful flowers, old trees, sloping fields in which cows and sheep were grazing, but not the men to be seen. Steps the river will carry me to little Kay, sought Gerda, and then she became more cheerful and raised her head and looked at the beautiful green banks and so the boat sailed on for hours. At length she came to a large cherry orchard in which stood a small red house with strange red and blue windows. It also had a sedged roof and outside were two wooden soldiers that presented arms to her as she sailed past. Gerda crawled out to them before she sought the very life. But of course they did not answer and drifted nearer to the shore they saw what they really were. Then Gerda crawled still louder and there came a very old woman out of the house leaning on a crutch. She was a large head to shade her from the sun and on it were painted all sorts of pretty flowers. You poor little child, said the old woman, how did you manage to come all this distance into a wide world on such a rapid rolling stream? And then the old woman walked in the water, seized the boat with her crutch, threw it to land and lifted Gerda out. And Gerda was glad to feel herself on dry ground, although she was rather afraid of the strange old woman. Come and tell me who you are, said she, and how came you here? Then Gerda told her everything while the old woman shook her head and said, hem hem, and when she had finished Gerda asked if she had not seen little Kay and the old woman told her he had not passed by that way but he very likely would come. So she told Gerda not to be sorrowful but to taste the cherries and look at the flowers. They were better than any picture book for each of them could tell a story. Then she took Gerda by the hand and led her into the little house and the old woman closed the door. The windows were very high and as the paints were red, blue, and yellow that they let shone through them in all sorts of singular colors. On the tables were beautiful cherries and Gerda had permission to eat as many as she would. While she was eating them the old woman combed out her long flexing ringlets with a golden comb and the glossy curls of the little round, pleasant face which looked fresh and blooming as the rose. I have long wished for a dear little maiden like you, said the old woman and now you must stay with me and see how happily we shall live together. And while she went on combing little Gerda's hair she said less and less about her adopted brother Kay for the old woman could conjure although she was not a wicked witch. She conjured only a little for her own amusement and now because she wanted to keep Gerda. Therefore she went into the garden and stretched out her crutch towards all the rose trees beautiful though they were and they immediately sank into the dark earth so that no one could tell where they had once stood. The old woman was afraid that if little Gerda saw roses she would think of those at home and then remember little Kay and run away. Then she took Gerda into the flower garden. How fragrant and beautiful it was. Every flower that could be sorted for every season of the year was here in full bloom. No picture book could have more beautiful colors. Gerda jumped for joy and played till the sun went down behind the tall cherry trees. Then she slept in an elegant bed with red silk pillows embroidered with colored violets and then she dreamed as pleasantly as a queen on her wedding day. The next day and many days after Gerda played with the flowers in the warm sunshine. She knew every flower and yet although there were so many of them it seemed as if one were missing but which it was she could not tell. One day however as she said looking at the old woman's head with the painted flowers on it she saw that the prettiest of all of them was the rose. The old woman had forgotten to take it from her head when she made all the roses sink into the earth but it is difficult to keep the thoughts together in everything. One little mistake upsets all our arrangements. What are there no roses here? Gerda Gerda and she ran out into the garden and examined all the beds and searched and searched. There was not one to be found and wept and her tears fell just on the place where one of the rose trees had sunk down. The warm tears moistened the earth and the rose trees sprouted up at once as blooming as when it had sunk and Gerda embraced it and kissed the roses and sawed off the beautiful roses at home and with them off little Kay. Oh, how I've been detained said the little maiden. I wanted to seek for little Kay. Do you know where he is? She asked the roses. Do you think he is dead? The rose is answered. No, he's not dead. We have been in the count where all the dead lie but Kay is not there. Thank you, said little Gerda and then she went to the other flowers and looked into the little cups and asked Do you know where little Kay is? But each flower, as it stood in the sunshine dreamed only of its own little fairy tale of history. Not one knew anything of Kay. Gerda heard many stories from the flowers as she asked them one after another about him. And what said the tiger lily? Hark, do you hear the drum? Turn, turn. There are only two notes. Always. Turn, turn. Listen to the woman's song of mourning. Hear the cry of the priest. In her long red robe stands the Hindu widow by the funeral pile. The flames rise around her as she places herself on the dead body of her husband. But the Hindu woman is thinking of the living one in that circle of him, her son, who lied to those flames. Though shining eyes trouble her heart more painfully than the flames which will soon consume her body to ashes, can the fire of the heart be extinguished by the flames of the funeral pile? I don't understand that at all, said little Gerda. That is my story, said the tiger lily. What says the convulvulos? Near yonder narrow road stands an old night's castle, sick ivy creeps over the old ruined walls, leaf or leaf, even to the balcony, in which stands a beautiful maiden. She bends over the bellows straight and looks up the road. No rose in its stem is fresher than she. No apple blossom wafted by the wind, floats more lightly than she moves. Her rich sail crumbles as she bends over and exclaims, Will he not come? Is it Kay you mean? I ask Gerda. I am only speaking of the story of my dream, replied the flower. What says the little snow drop? Between two trees a rope is hanging, there is a piece of board upon it. It is a swing. Two pretty little girls entresses by the snow and whose long green ribbons flattering from the heads are sitting upon it swinging. The parter who is taller than they are stands in the swing. He has one arm around the rope to steady himself. In one hand he holds a little ball in the other clay pipe. He is blowing bubbles. As the swing goes on the bubbles fly upward, reflecting the most beautiful varying colors. The last still hangs from the ball of the pipe and sways in the wind. On goes the swing and then a little dog comes running up. He is almost as light as the bubble and he raises himself on his hind legs and wants to be taken into the swing. But it does not stop and the dog falls and he barks and gets angry. The children stoop towards him and the bubble bursts. A swinging blank, light-sparkling form picture that is my story. It may all be very pretty what you are telling me, said little Gerda, but you speak so mournfully and you do not mention little Kay at all. There were three beautiful sisters, fair and delicate. The dress of one was red, of the second blue, and of the third pure white. Hand in hand they danced in the bright moonlight by the calm lake, but they were human beings, not fairy elves. The sweet fragrance attracted them and they disappeared in the wood. Here the fragrance became stronger. Three coffins in which lay the three beautiful maidens glided from the sickest part of the forest across the lake. They flew lightly over them, like little floating torches. Do the dancing maidens sleep or are they dead? The scent of the flower says that they are corpses. The evening bell tolls the narrow. You make me quite sorrowful, said little Gerda. Your perfume is so strong. You make me think of dead maidens. Ah, is little Kay really dead then? The roses have been in the earth and they still know. Klingling told the hires and bells, but we do not know him. We sing our song the only one we know. Then Gerda went to the buttercups that were glittering amongst the bright green leaves. You are little bright suns, say Gerda, tell me if you know where I can find my playfellow. And the buttercups sparkled gaily and looked again at Gerda. What song could the buttercup sing? It was not about Kay. The bright warm sun shone on a little quart on the first warm day of spring. His bright beams rested on the white walls of the neighboring house. A close by loomed the first yellow flower of the season, glittering like golden the sun's warm ray. An old woman sat in her armchair at the house door and her granddaughter, a poor and pretty servant maid came to see her for a short visit. When she kissed her grandmother, there was gold everywhere. The gold of the heart is that holy kiss. It was a golden morning. There was gold in the beaming sunlight, gold in the leaves of the lowly flower that is my story, said the buttercup. My poor grandmother, said Gerda, she is longing to see me and grieving for me as she did for little Kay. But I shall soon go home now and take little Kay with me. It is no use asking the flowers. They know only their own songs and can give no information. And then she tucked up her little dress that she might run faster, but then a scissors caught her by the leg as she was jumping over it. So she stopped and looked at the tall flower and saw something. And then she stooped down quite close to the flower and listened. And what did he say? I can see myself. I can see myself, said the scissors. Oh, how sweet is my perfume! Up in a little home with the bow window stands a little dancing girl, half undressed. She stands sometimes on one leg, sometimes on both, and looks as if she would tread the whole world under her feet. She is nothing but delusion. It is her hand. It is her body's. Cleanliness is a good thing, she sells. Her white dress hangs on a peg. It has also been washed in the teapot and dried on the roof. She puts it on and ties a saffron-colored handkerchief around her neck, which makes the dress look wider. See how she stretches out her legs as if she were showing off on a stem. I can see myself. I can see myself. What do I care for all that, said Görder? You need not tell me such stuff. And then she ran to the other end of the garden. The door was fastened, but she pressed against the rusty latch and it gave way. The door sprang open and little Görder ran out with bare feet into the wide world. She looked back three times, but no one seemed to be following her. At last she could run no longer, so she sat down to rest on a great stone, and when she looked round, she saw that summer was over and autumn very far advanced. She had known nothing of this in the beautiful garden where the sun shone and the flowers so how I've wasted my time, said little Görder. It is autumn. I must rest no longer, and she rose up to go on, but her feet were wounded and sore and everything around her looked so cold and bleak. The long willow leaves were quite yellow. The dew drops fell like water. Leaf after leaf dropped from the trees. The slow sun alone still bore fruit but the slows were sour and set the teas on edge. Oh, how dark and rare the whole world appeared. End of Part 2 of The Snow Queen Recording by Ellie December 2009 Part 3 of The Snow Queen This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org The Snow Queen and Other Stories by Hans Christian Anderson Translated by H. B. Paul The Snow Queen Fourth Story The Prince and Princess Görder was obliged to rest again and just opposite the place where she sat, she saw a great crow come hopping across the snow toward her. He stood looking at her for some time and then he wagged his head and said, Caw, caw, good day, good day. He pronounced the words as plainly as he could because he meant to be kind to the little girl. He said, he meant to be kind to the little girl and then he asked her where she was going all alone in the wide world. The word alone Görder understood very well and knew how much it expressed. So then she told the crow the whole story of her life and adventures and asked him if he had seen little Kate. The crow nodded his head very gravely and said, Perhaps I have. It may be. Now, do you think you have? cried little Görder and she kissed the crow and hugged him almost to death with joy. Gently, gently said the crow. I believe I know. I think it may be little Kate but he has certainly forgotten you by this time for the princess. Does he live with the princess? asked Görder. Yes, listen replied the crow but it is so difficult to speak your language. If you understand the crow's language then I can explain it better. Do you? No, I have never learnt it said Görder. But my grandmother understands it and used to speak it to me. I wish I had learnt it. It does not matter answered the crow. I will explain as well as I can although it will be very badly done. And he told her what he had heard. In this kingdom where we now are said he there lives a princess who is so wonderfully clever that she has read all the newspapers in the world and forgotten them too although she is so clever. A short time ago as she was sitting on her throne which people say is not such an agreeable seat as is often supposed she began to sing a song which commences in these words. Why should I not be married? Why not indeed? said she and so she determined to marry if she could find a husband who knew what to say when he was spoken to and not one who could only look grand for that was so tiresome. Then she assembled all her court ladies together at the beat of the drum and when they heard of her intentions they were very much pleased. We are so glad to hear it. Said they. You may believe that every word I tell you is true. Said the crow for I have a tame sweetheart who goes freely about the palace and she told me all this. Of course his sweetheart was a crow for birds of a feather flock together and one crow always chooses another crow. Newspapers were published immediately with a border of huts and the initials of the princess among them they noticed that every young man who was handsome was free to visit the castle and speak with the princess and those who could reply loud enough to be heard when spoken to were to make themselves quiet at home at the palace but the one who spoke best would be chosen as a husband for the princess. Yes, yes you may believe me it is all as true as I sit here. Said the crow the people came in crowds there was a great deal of crushing and running about no one succeeded either on the first or second day they could all speak very well while they were outside in the streets but when they entered the palace gates and saw the guards in silver uniforms and the footmen in their golden livery on the staircase and the great halls lighted up they became quite confused and when they stood before the throne on which the princess sat they could do nothing but repeat the last word she had said and wished to hear her own words ever again it was just as if they had all taken something to make them sleepy while they were in the palace for they did not recover themselves nor speak till they got back again into the street there was quite a long line of them reaching from the town gate to the palace I went myself to see them said the crow they were hungry and thirsty for in the palace they did not even get a glass of water some of the wisest they could make in a few slices of bread and butter with them but they did not share it with their neighbours they thought if they went in to the princess looking hungry there would be a better chance for themselves but Kay tell me about little Kay said Gerda was he amongst the crowd stop a bit we are just coming to him it was not the third day there came marching cheerfully along to the palace his eyes sparkling like yours he had beautiful long hair but his clothes were very poor that was Kay said Gerda joyfully oh then I have found him said she and she clapped her hands he had a little knapsack on his back I did the crow no it must have been a sledge said Gerda for he went away with it it may have been so said the crow I did not look at it very closely but I know from my tame sweetheart that he passed through the palace gates saw the guards in their silver uniform and the servants in their liveries of gold on the stairs but he was not in the least embarrassed it must be very tiresome to stand on the stairs he said I prefer to go in the rooms were blazing with light counsellors and ambassadors walked about with bare feet carrying golden vessels it was enough to make anyone feel serious his boots creaked loudly as he walked and yet he was not at all uneasy it must be Kay said Gerda I know he had no boots on I have heard them creak in grandmother's room they really did creak said the crow yet he went boldly up to the princess herself who was sitting on a pearl as large as a spinning wheel and all the ladies of the court were present with their maids and all the cavaliers with their servants and each of the maids had another maid to wait upon her and the cavaliers servants had their own servants as well as a page each they all stood in circles around the princess and the nearer they stood to the door the prouder they looked the servants' pages who always were slippers could hardly be looked at they held themselves up so proudly by the door they must be quite awful said little Gerda but did Kay win the princess? if I had not been a crow said he I would have married her myself though I am engaged he spoke just as well as I do when I speak the crow's language so I heard from my tame sweetheart he was quite free and agreeable and said he had not come to woo the princess but to hear her wisdom and he was as pleased with her with him oh certainly that was Kay said Gerda he was so clever he could work mental arithmetic and fractions oh will you take me to the palace it is very easy to ask that replied the crow but how are we to manage it however I will speak about it to my tame sweetheart and ask her advice for I must tell you it will be very difficult to gain permission for a little girl like you in the palace oh yes but I shall gain permission easily said Gerda for when Kay hears that I am here he will come out and fetch me and immediately wait for me here by the palings said the crow wagging his head as he flew away it was late in the evening before the crow returned car, car he said she sends you greeting and here is a little roll which he took from the kitchen there is plenty of bread there and she thinks you must be hungry it is not possible for you to enter the palace by the front entrance the guards in silver uniform and the servants in gold livery would not allow it but do not cry we will manage to get you in my sweetheart knows a little back entrance that leads to the sleeping apartments and she knows where to find the key then they went into the garden through the great avenue where the leaves were falling one after another and they could see the light in the palace being put out in the same manner and the crow led little Gerda to the back door which stood ajar oh how little Gerda's heart beat with anxiety and longing it was just as if she were going to do something wrong and yet she only wanted to know where little Kay was it must be he she thought with those clear eyes and that long hair she could fancy she saw him smiling at her as he used to at home when they sat among the roses he would certainly be glad to see her and to hear what a long distance she had come for his sake and to know how sorry they had been at home because he did not come back oh what joy and yet fear she felt they were now on the stairs and in a small closet at the top a lamp was burning in the middle of the floor stood the tamed crow turning her head from side to side and gazing at Gerda who could see it as her grandmother had taught her to do my betrothed has spoken so very highly of you my little lady said the tamed crow your life history vita as it may be called is very touching if you will take the lamp I will walk before you we will go straight along this way then we shall meet no one it seems to me as if somebody were behind us said Gerda as something rushed by her like a shadow on the wall and then horses with flying mains and thin legs hunters ladies and gentlemen on horseback glided by her like shadows on the wall they are only dreams said the crow they are coming to fetch the thoughts of the great people out hunting all the better for we shall be able to look at them in their beds more safely I hope that when you rise to honour and favour show a grateful heart you may be quite sure of that said the crow from the forest they now came into the first hall the walls of which were hung with rose coloured satin embroidered with artificial flowers here the dreams again flitted by them but so quickly that Gerda could not distinguish the royal persons each hall appeared more splendid than the last it was enough to bewilder anyone at the length they reached a bedroom the ceiling was like a great palm tree with glass leaves of the most costly crystal and over the centre of the floor two beds each resembling a lily hung from a stem of gold one in which the princess lay was white the other was red and in this Gerda had to seek for little K she pushed one of the red leaves aside and saw a little brown neck oh that must be K she called his name out quite loud and held the lamp over him the dreams rushed back into the room on horseback he woke and turned his head round it was not little K the prince was only like him in the neck still he was young and pretty then the princess peeped out of her white lily bed and asked what was the matter then little Gerda wept and told her story and all that the crows had done to help her you poor child said the prince and princess then they praised the crows and said they were not angry for what they had done but that it must not happen again and this time they should be rewarded would you like to have your freedom asked the princess or would you prefer to be raised to the position of court crows with all that is left in the kitchen for yourselves then both the crows bowed and begged to have a fixed appointment for they thought of their old age and said it would be so comfortable to feel that they had provision for their old days as they called it and then the prince got out of his bed and gave it up to Gerda he could do no more and she lay down she folded her little hands and thought how could everyone is to me men and animals too then she closed her eyes and fell into a sweet sleep all the dreams came flying back again to her like angels and one of them drew a little sledge on which sat Kay and nodded to her but all this was only a dream and vanished as soon as she awoke the following day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and velvet and they invited her to stay at the palace for a few days and enjoy herself but she only begged for a pair of boots and a little carriage and a horse to draw it so that she might go into the wide world and seek for Kay and she obtained not only boots but also a muff and she was neatly dressed and when she was ready to go there at the door she found a coach made of pure gold with the coat of arms of the prince and princess shining upon it like a star and the coachmen, footmen and outriders all wearing golden crowns on their heads the prince and princess themselves helped her into the coach and wished her success the coachman who was now married accompanied her for the first three miles he sat by Gerda's side as he could not bear riding backwards the tame crow stood in the doorway flapping her wings she could not go with them because she had been suffering from headache ever since the new appointment no doubt from eating too much the coach was well stored with sweetcakes and under the seat were fruit and gingerbread knots farewell, farewell cried the prince and princess and little Gerda wept and the crow wept and then, after a few miles the crow also said farewell and this was the saddest parting however, he flew to a tree and stood flapping his black wings as long as he could see the coach which glittered in the bright sunshine End of part three of the Snow Queen Part four of the Snow Queen this is the provox recording all the provox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit theprovox.org recording by Ellie the Snow Queen and other stories by Hans Christian Andersen translated by H.B. Paul the Snow Queen the little robber girl the coach drove on through a sick forest where it lighted up the way like a torch and dazzled the eyes of some robbers who could not let it pass them amuleted it is cold, it is cold cry day rushing forward and seizing the horses then they struck the little chockies the coachman and the footman dead and pulled little Gerda out of the carriage she is fat and pretty and has been fed with the kernels of nuts said the old robber woman who had a long beard and eyebrows that hung over her eyes she is as good as a little lamp how nice she will taste and as she said this she drew for us a shining knife oh! screamed the old woman at the same moment for her own daughter had held her back and bitten her in the ear she was a wild and naughty girl and her mother called her an ugly thing and had no time to kill Gerda she shall play with me said the little robber girl she shall give me her muff and her pretty dress and sleep with me in my bed and then she bit her mother again and made her spring in the air and jump about and all the robbers laughed and said see how she is dancing with her young cup I will ride in the coach said the little robber girl and she would have her own way for she was self-willed and obstinate she and Gerda seated themselves in the coach and drove her way over stamps and stones into the depths of the forest the little robber girl was about the same size as Gerda but stronger she had broad shoulders and a darker skin her eyes were quite black and she had a mournful look she clashed little Gerda around the waist and said the little robber girl looked earnestly at her not at her head slightly and said they shan't kill you even if I do get angry with you for I will do it myself then she wiped Gerda's eyes and stuck her own hands in the beautiful muff which was so soft and warm the coach stopped in the courtyard of a robber's castle the walls of which were cracked from top to bottom they even stuck her own hands in the beautiful muff which was so soft and warm and cracked from top to bottom ravens and crows flew in and out of the holes and crevices a great bulldox, either of which looked as if could swallow a man we're jumping about but they were not allowed to bark in the large smoky hall a bright fire was burning on the stone floor there was no chimney so the smoke went up to the ceiling and found a way out for itself soup was boiling in a large coal drum and hairs and rabbits were roasting on the spit you shall sleep with me and all my little animals tonight set the robber girl after the head had something to eat and drink so she took Gerda to a corner of the hall where some straw and carpets were laid down above them on lace and purges were more than a hundred pigeons who all seemed to be asleep although they moved slightly and the two girls came near them these all belonged to me set the robber girl and she seized the nearest to her and held it by the feet and shocky till it flipped its wings kiss it crigy flipping it in Gerda's face they set the wood pigeons continued sheep pointing to a number of less than the cage which had been fixed into the walls near one of the openings both rice girls would fly away directly if they were not closely locked up and here is my old sweetheart Ba and she dragged out the reindeer by the horn he wore a bright copper ring around his neck and was tied up we are obliged to hold him tight too or else he would run away from us also I tickled his neck every evening with my sharp knife which frightens him very much and then the robber girl threw a long knife from a chink in the wall and let it slide gently over the reindeer's neck the poor animal began to kick and the little robber girl laughed and pulled Gerda down into bed with her will you have that knife with you while you are asleep as Gerda looking at her in great fright I always sleep with the knife by me said the robber girl no one knows what may happen but Gerda was okay and why you went out into the world then Gerda repeated her story over again while there were pigeons in the cage over her coat and the other pigeons slept the little robber girl put one arm across Gerda's neck and held the knife in Gerda and was soon fast asleep and snoring but Gerda could not close her eyes at all she knew not whether she was to live or die the robber sat around the fire singing and drinking and the old woman stumbled about a terrible sight for a little girl to witness then the wood pigeons said coo coo we have seen little Kay a white fall carried his latch and he sat in the carriage of the snow queen which drove through the wood while we were lying in our nest she blew upon us and all the young ones died accepting two of us coo coo what are you saying up there Gerda where was the snow queen going do you know anything about it she was almost likely travelling to Leblende where there is always ice and snow asked the reindeer that is fastened up there is a rope yes there is always snow and ice said the reindeer and it is a glorious place you can leap and run about freely on the sparkling ice plains the snow queen has a summer tent there but her strong castle is at the north pole on an island called Spitzbergen okay little Kay said the girl lies still said the robber girl I shall run my knife into your body in the morning Gerda told her all that the wood pigeon said and the little robber girl looked quite serious and nodded her head and said that is old talk that is old talk do you know where Leblende is she asked the reindeer who should know better than I do said the animal while his eyes sparkled I was born and brought up there and used to run about the snow covered plains now listen said the robber girl in a way only mother is here and here she will stay but at noon she always drinks out of a great bottle and afterwards sleeps for a little while and then I'll do something for you then she jumped out of bed and clasped her mother around the neck and pulled her by the beard crying well only little nanny coat good morning then her mother flipped her nose till it was quiet red yet she did it all for love when the mother had drunk out of the bottle and was gone to sleep she came to the reindeer and said I should like very much to tickle your neck a few times more with my knife for it makes you look so funny but never mind I will untie your cord and set you free so that you may run away to Leblende but you must make good use of your legs and carry this little maiden to the castle of the snow queen where her play fellow is you have heard what she told me for she spoke out loud enough and you were listening then the reindeer jumped for joy and had to force her to tie her on and even give her own little cushion to sit on here are your fur boots for you she said for it will be very cold but they must keep their mouth, it is so pretty however you shall look be frozen for the want of it here my mother's large farm mittens they will reach up to your elbows let me put them on there now your hands look just like my mother's but girl they wept for joy I don't like to see your fret said the little hobo girl you ought to look quite happy now and here are two loaves in the hem so that you need not starve these were fastened on the reindeer and then the little robber maiden opened the door cooks in all the great dogs and then cut the string with which the reindeer was fastened with her sharp knife and said Naran, but mind you take good care of the little girl and then goddess stretched out her hand with the great mitten on it towards the little robber girl and said farewell and the way flew the reindeer so the great forest over marshes and plains as quickly as it could the wolves howled and the ravens creamed while up in the sky we were dried lights like flames of fire the army old modern lights said the reindeer, she had a flash and they ran on day and night still faster and faster but the loaves in the hem were all eaten by the tiny ridge lepland end of part four of the snow queen recording by Ellie, February 2010 part five of the snow queen this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the snow queen and other stories by Hans Christian Andersen translated by H.B. Paul the snow queen sixth story the Lapland woman and the Finland woman they stopped at a little hut it was very mean looking the roof sloped nearly down to the ground and the door was so low that the family had to creep in on their hands and knees when they went in and out there was no one at home but an old Lapland woman who was cooking fish by the light of a train oil lamp the reindeer told her all about Gerda's story after having first told his own which seemed to him the most important but Gerda was so pinched with the cold that she could not speak oh you poor things said the Lapland woman you have a long way to go yet you must travel more than a hundred miles farther to Finland the snow queen lives there now and she burns bengal lights every evening I would write a few words on a dried stock fish for I have no paper and you can take it from me to the Finland woman who lives there she can give you better information than I can so when Gerda was warmed and had taken something to eat and drink the woman wrote a few words on the dried fish and told Gerda to take great care of it then she tied her again on the reindeer and he set off at full speed flash flash went the beautiful blue northern lights in the air the whole night long and at length they reached Finland and knocked at the chimney in Finland woman's hut for it had no door above the ground they crept in but it was so terribly hot inside that that woman wore scarcely any clothes she was small and very dirty looking she loosened little Gerda's dress and took off the fur boots and the mittens or Gerda would have been unable to bear the heat and then she placed a piece of ice on the reindeer's head and read what was written on the dried fish after she had read it three times she knew it by heart so she popped the fish into the soup saucepan as she knew it was good to eat and she never wasted anything the reindeer told his own story first and then little Gerda's and the Finlander twinkled with her clever eyes but she said nothing you are so clever said the reindeer I know you can tie all the winds of the world with a piece of twine if a sailor unties one knot he has a fair wind if he unties a second it blows hard but if the third and fourth are loosened then comes a storm which will root up whole forests cannot you give this little maiden something which will make her as strong as twelve men to overcome the snow queen the power of twelve men said the Finland woman that would be of very little use but she went to a shelf and took down an undrolled large skin on which were inscribed wonderful characters and she read till the perspiration ran down from her forehead but the reindeer begged so hard for little Gerda and Gerda looked at the Finland woman with such besieging, cheerful eyes that her own eyes began to twinkle again so she drew the reindeer into a corner and whispered to him while she laid a fresh piece of eyes on his head little Kay is really with the snow queen but he finds everything there so much to his taste and his liking that he believes it is the finest place in the world but this is because he has a piece of broken glass in his heart and a little piece of glass in his eye these must be taken out or he will never be a human being again and the snow queen will retain her power over him but can you not give little Gerda something to help her to conquer this power I can give her no greater power than she has already said the woman don't you see how strong that is to serve her and how well she has got through the world barefooted as she is she cannot receive any power from me greater than she now has which consists in her own purity and innocence of heart if she cannot herself obtain access to the snow queen and remove the glass fragments from little Kay we can do nothing to help her two miles from here the snow queen's garden begins you can carry the little girl so far and set her down by the large bush in the snow covered with red berries do not stay gossiping but come back here as quickly as you can then the Finland woman lifted little Gerda upon the reindeer and he ran away with her as quickly as he could oh I have forgotten my boots and my mittens cried little Gerda as soon as she felt the cutting cold but the reindeer did not stop so he ran on till he reached the bush with the red berries here he set Gerda down and he kissed her and the great bright tears trickled over the animal's cheeks then he left her and ran back as fast as he could there stood poor Gerda without shoes without gloves in the midst of cold dreary icebound Finland she ran forwards as quickly as she could when a whole regiment of snowflakes came round her they did not however fall from the sky which was quite clear and glittering with the northern lights the snowflakes ran along the ground and the nearer they came to her the larger they appeared Gerda remembered how large and beautiful they looked through the burning glass but these were really larger and much more terrible for they were alive and were the guards of the Snow Queen and had the strangest shapes some were like great porcupines others like twisted serpents with their heads stretching out and some few were like little fat bears with their heads bristled but all were dazzlingly white and all were living snowflakes then little Gerda repeated the Lord's prayer and the cold was so great that she could see her own breath come out of her mouth like steam as she uttered the words the steam appeared to increase as she continued her prayer till it took the shape of little angels who grew larger the moment they touched the earth they all wore helmets on their heads and carried spears and shields their number continued to increase more and more and by the time Gerda had finished her prayers a whole legion stood round her they thrust their spears into the terrible snowflakes so that they shivered into a hundred pieces and little Gerda could go forward with courage and safety the angels stroked her hands and feet so that she felt the cold less and she hazened on to the Snow Queen's causal but now we must see what Kay is doing in truth he thought not of little Gerda and never supposed she could be standing in the front of the palace End of part 5 of the Snow Queen each be Paul the Snow Queen of the palace of the Snow Queen and what happened there at last the walls of the palace were formed of drifted snow and the windows and doors of the cutting winds there were more than a hundred rooms in it all as if they had been formed with snow blown together the largest of them extended for several miles they were all lighted up by the vivid light of the aura and they were so large and empty cold and glittering there were no amusements here not even a little bear's ball when the storm might have been the music and the bears could have danced on the hind legs and shown the group manners there were no pleasant games of snap-dragging or touch or even a gossip over the tea table for the young lady foxes empty vast and cold were the halls of the Snow Queen the flickering flame of the northern lights could be plainly seen whether they rose high or low in the heavens from every part of the castle in the midst of this empty endless hall of snow was a frozen lake broken on its surface into a thousand forms each piece resembled another from being in itself perfect as a work of art and in the center of this lake set the Snow Queen when she was at home she called the lake the mirror of reason and said it was the best and indeed the only one in the world little Kay was quite blue is cold indeed almost black but he did not feel it the Snow Queen had kissed away the icy shiverings and she said it was already a lump of ice he dragged some sharp flat pieces of ice to and fro and placed them together in all kinds of possessions as if he wished to make something out of them just as he tried to form various figures with little tablets of wood which we call a Chinese puzzle Kay's fingers were very artistic it was the icy game of reason at which he played and in his eyes the figures were very remarkable and of the highest importance this opinion was owning to the piece of glass still sticking in his eye he composed many complete figures forming different words but there was one word he could never manage to form although he wished it very much it was the word eternity the Snow Queen had said to him when you can find out this you shall be your own master I will give you the whole world the new pair of skates but he could not accomplish it now I must hasten away to warmer countries set the Snow Queen I will go and look into the black craters of the tops of the burning mountains at Nenvi-Suvias as they are cold I shall make them look white which will be good for them and for their laments and crepes in the very flute of the Snow Queen leaving little cake white alone in the great hall which was many miles in length so he set and looked at his pieces of ice and was sinking so deeply and said so still that anyone might have supposed he was frozen but what happened the little girder came through the great Dorfdek Castle cutting winds were raging around her but she offered up a prayer and the wind sank down as if they were going to sleep and she went until she came to the large empty hall and caught sight of Kay she knew him directly she flew to him and threw her arms around his neck and held him fast while she exclaimed Kay, dear little Kay I found you at last but he said quite still, stiff and cold then little girder wept hot tears which fell on his breast and penetrated into his heart and sawn the lamp of ice and washed away the little pieces of glass which had stuck there and he looked at her and she sang Rose is blooming seas to be but we shall the Christ shall see then Kay burst into tears and he webbed so that the splinter of glass swam out of his eye then he recognized Girder and said joyfully Girder, dear little Girder we have you been all this time and he looked all around him and said how cold it is and how very large and empty it looks and he clung to Girder and she laughed and wept for joy it was so pleasing to see them that the pieces of ice even danced about and when they were tired when to lie down they found themselves into the letters of the word which the snow queen had said he must find out before he could be his own master and have the whole world and a pair of new skates then Girder kissed his cheeks and they became blooming and she kissed his eyes and they shone like her own she kissed his hands and feet and then he became quite healthy and cheerful the snow queen might come home now when she pleased for there stood a certainty of freedom in the words she wanted written in shining letters of ice then they took each other by the hand and went forth from the great palace of ice they spoke of the grandmother and of the roses on the roof and as they went on the winds were addressed and the sun burst forth and the bush with the red berries there stood the reindeer waiting for them and he brought another young reindeer with him whose others were full and the children drank her warm milk and kissed her on the mouse then the carrot king Girder first to the Finland woman where they warmed themselves sorely in her hot room and she gave them directions about the home journey next they went to the Lepland woman who had made some new clothes for them and put their sleighs in order both the reindeer ran by their side and followed them as far as the boundaries of the country where the first green leaves were budding here they took leaf of the two reindeer and the Lepland woman and all said farewell then the birds began to twitter and the forest too was full of young green leaves and out of it came a beautiful horse which Girder remembered for it was one which had drawn the golden coach a young girl was riding upon it with a shining red cap on her head and pistols in her belt it was the little robber maiden who had got tired of staying at home she was going first to the north and if that didn't suit her she meant to try some other part of the world she knew Girder directly and Girder remembered her it was a joyful meeting you're a fine fellow to go getting about in this way she said to little K I should like to know whether you deserved it anyone should go to the end of the world to find you but Girder petted her cheeks and asked after the prince and princess they are gone to foreign countries said the robber girl the girl asked Girder oh the girl is dead she replied his tame sweetheart is Naivedo and there's a bit of plague wasted around her leg she mourns very pitifully but it is all stuff but now tell me how you managed to get him back then Girder and K told her all about it a snip snip snare it is all right at last said the robber girl then she took both the hands and promised if she ever should pass through the town she would call and pay them a visit then she rode away into the wide world but Girder and K went hand in hand towards home and as they advanced spring appeared more lovely with its beautiful flowers very soon they recognized the large town where they lived and the tall stables of the churches in which the three bears were ringing in merry appeal as they entered it and found the way to the grandmother's door they went upstairs into the little home where all looked just as it used to do the old clock was going tick tick and the hands pointing to the time of the day but as they passed through the door into the room they perceived that they were both grown up and become a man and woman the rose is out on the roof and full bloom and peeped in at the window and there stood the little chairs on which they had set their children and Girder and K seated themselves each on their own chair and held each other by the hand where the cold empty kind of the snow-greens palace vanished from their memories like a painful dream the Grandmother sat in God's bright sunshine and cried aloud from the Bible except he became as little children his shell in no wise enter into the kingdom of God and K and Girder looked into each other's eyes and all at once understood the words of the old song roses bloom in seas to be but we shelled a Christ child's sea and they both said there, grown up yet children at heart and it was summer, warm beautiful summer End of part 6 of the Snow Queen recording by Ellie February 2010 Part 1 of The Little Mermaid This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Snow Queen and other stories by Hans Christian Anderson translated by H. B. Ball The Little Mermaid Part 1 Far out in the ocean where the water is as blue as a prettiest cornflower and as clear as crystal it is very, very deep so deep indeed that no cable could fathom it Many church steeples piled one upon another would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above there dwell the sea king and his subjects We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand So indeed the most singular flowers and plants grow there The leaves and stems of which are so pliant that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life Fishes both large and small glide between the branches as birds fly among the trees here upon land The deepest spot of all stands the castle of the sea king Its walls are built of coral and the long gothic windows are of the clearest amber The roof is formed of shells that open and close as the water flows over them Their appearance is very beautiful for in each lies a glittering pearl which would be fit for the diadem of a queen The sea king had been a widower for many years and his aged mother kept house for him She was a very wise woman and exceedingly proud of her high birth On that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail while others also of high rank were only allowed to wear six She was however deserving of very great praise especially for her care of the little sea princesses her granddaughters There were six beautiful children but the youngest was the prettiest of them all Her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose leaf and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea But like all the others she had no feet and her body ended in a fishes tail All day long they played in the great halls of the castle or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls The large amber windows were open and the fish swam in just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the window except that the fishes swam up to the princesses ate out of their hands and allowed themselves to be stroked Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers and blossoms like flames of fire The fruit glittered like gold and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually The earth itself was the finest sand but blue as a flame of burning sulfur Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance as if it were surrounded by the air from above the blue sky shone instead of the dark depths of the sea In calm weather the sun could be seen looking like a purple flower with the light streaming from the calyx Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden where she might dig and plant as she pleased One arranged her flower bed in the form of a whale Another thought it better to make hers like the figure of a little mermaid but that of the youngest was frowned like the sun and contained flowers as red as its rays at sunset She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful and while her sisters would be delighted with the wonderful things which they obtained from the wrecks of vessels she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers like the sun accepting a beautiful marble statue It was the representation of a handsome boy carved out of pure white stone which had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck She planted by the statue a rose-coloured weeping willow It grew splendidly and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue almost down to the blue sands The statue had a violet tint and waved to and fro like the branches It seemed as if the crown of the tree and the root were at play and trying to kiss each other Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea Lateral grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance and not those below the sea that the trees of the forest should be green and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly that it was quite a pleasure to hear them Her grandmother called the little birds fishes or she would not have understood her because she had never seen birds When you have reached your 15th year said the grandmother you will have permission to rise up out of the sea to sit on the rocks in the moonlight while the great ships are sailing by and then you will see both forests and towns In the following year one of the sisters would be 15 but as each was a year younger than the other the youngest would have to wait five years before her turn came to rise up from the bottom of the ocean and see the earth as reader However each promised to tell the others what she saw on her first visit and what she thought the most beautiful for their grandmother could not tell them enough There were so many things on which they wanted information but none of them longed so much for her turn to come as the youngest she who had the longest time to wait and who was so quiet and thoughtful Many nights she stood by the open window looking up through the dark blue water and watching the fish as they splashed about with their fins and tails She could see the moon and stars shining faintly but through the water they looked larger than they do to our eyes When something like a black cloud passed between her and them she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head or a ship full of human beings who never imagined that a pretty little mermaid was standing beneath them holding out her white hands towards the keel of their ship As soon as the eldest was fifteen she was allowed to rise to the surface of the ocean When she came back she had hundreds of things to talk about but the most beautiful she said was to lie in the moonlight on a sand bank in the quiet sea near the coast and to gaze on a large town nearby where the lights were twinkling like hundreds of stars to listen to the sounds of the music the noise of carriages and the voices of human beings had to hear the merry bells peal out from the church steeples and because she could not go near to all those wonderful things she longed for them more than ever Oh did not the youngest sister listen eagerly to all these descriptions and afterwards when she stood at the open window looking up through the dark blue water she thought of the great city with all its buzzle and noise and even fancy she could hear the sound of the church bells down in the depths of the sea in another year the second sister received permission to rise to the surface of the water and to swim about where she pleased she rose just as the sun was setting and this she said was the most beautiful sight of all the whole sky looked like gold while violet and rose colored clouds which she could not describe floated over her and still more rapidly than the clouds flew a large flock of wild swans towards the setting sun looking like a long white veil across the sea she also swam towards the sun but it sunk into the waves and the rosy tints faded from the clouds and from the sea the third sister's turn followed she was the boldest of them all and she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea on the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines palaces and casals peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest she heard the birds singing and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face in a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children quite naked and sporting about in the water and she wanted to play with them but they fled in a great fright and then a little black animal came to the water it was a dog but she did not know that for she had never before seen one the animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened and rushed back to the open sea but she said she should never forget the beautiful forest, the green hills and the pretty little children who could swim in the water although they had not fish's tails the fourth sister was more timid she remained in the midst of the sea but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land she could see for so many miles around her and her love looked like a bell of glass she had seen the ships but at such a great distance that they looked like seagulls the dolphins sported in the waves and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction the fifth sister's birthday occurred in the winter so when her turn came she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up the icebergs were floating about each like a pearl she said but larger and loftier than the churches built by men they were of the most singular shapes and glittered like diamonds she had seated herself upon one of the largest and let the wind play with her long hair and she remarked that all the ships sailed by rapidly and steered as far away as they could from the iceberg as if they were afraid of it towards evening as the sun went down dark clouds covered the sky the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed and the red light glowed on the iceberg as they rocked and tossed on the heaving sea on all the ships the sails were reefed with fear and trembling while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg watching the blue lightning as it dodged its forked flashes into the sea when first the sisters had permission to rise to the surface they were each delighted with the new they saw but now as grown up girls they could go when they pleased and they had become indifferent about it they wished themselves back again in the water and after a month had passed they said it was much more beautiful down below and pleasanter to be at home yet often in the evening hours the five sisters would twine their arms round each other and rise to the surface in a row they had more beautiful voices than any human being could have and before the approach of a storm and when they expected a ship would be lost they swam before the vessel and sang sweetly of the delights to be found in the depths of the sea and begging the sailors not to fear if they sank to the bottom but the sailors could not understand the song they took it for the howling of the storm and these things were never to be beautiful for them for if the ship sank the men were drowned and their dead bodies alone reached the palace of the sea king End Earth Part 1 of The Little Mermaid Part 2 of The Little Mermaid This is a Librovox recording Only Provox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit Librovox.org Recording by Ellie The Snow Queen and other stories by Hans Christian Andersen Translated by H.B. Paul The Little Mermaid When the sisters rose through the water in this way the youngest sister would stand quite alone looking after them, ready to cry Only the Mermaids have no tears and therefore they suffer more Oh, we're about 15 years old said she, I know that she loved the world up there and all the people who live in it At last she reached her 15th year Well, now you're grown up set the old daughter and show her grandmother so you must let me dawn you like your other sisters and she placed the rest of white lilies in her hair and every flower leaf was half a pearl then the old lady ordered eight kind oysters to attach themselves to the tail of the princess to show her high rank But you heard me so, said the Little Mermaid Bright must suffer pain, replied the old lady Oh, how gladly she would have shaken off all this grinder and laid aside the heavy rays The red flowers in her own garden would have suited her much better but she could not help herself so she set for well and rose a slightly bubbly to the surface of the water The sun had just set as she raised her head above the waves but the clouds were tinted with crimson gold and through the glimmering twilight beamed the evening star in all its beauty The sea was calm and air mild and fresh A large ship with three masts lay beckoned on the water with only one sail set for not a breeze stiffed and the sailor set idle on deck amongst the rigging There was music and song on board and the darkness came on and the red-colored lanterns were lighted as if the flags of all nations waved in the air The Little Mermaid swam close to the cabin windows and now and then as the waves lifted her up she could look in through the clear glass window panes and see a number of well-dressed people within Among them was a young prince the most beautiful of all with large black eyes He was sixteen years of age and his birthday was being kept to much rejoicing The sailors were dancing on deck but when the prince came out of the cabin there were a hundred rockets rose in the air making it the brightest day The Little Mermaid was so startled that she dived under water and when she again stretched out her head it appeared as if all the stars of heaven were falling around her She had never seen such fireworks before Great Sun spurted fire about Splendid fireflies flew into the blue air and everything was reflected in the clear calm sea beneath The ship itself was so brightly illuminated that all the people could be distinctly in plainly seen and how handsome the young prince looked as he pressed the hands of all present and smiled at them while the music resounded through the clear night air It was very late yet the Little Mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship or from the beautiful prince The colored lanterns had been extinguished no more rockets rose in the air and the cannon had ceased firing but the sea became restless and the morning crumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves Still the Little Mermaid remained by the cabin window rocking up and down on the water which enabled her to look in After a while the sails were quickly unfurled and the noble ship continued her passage but soon the waves rose higher heavy clouds darkened the sky and lightning appeared in the distance A dreadful storm was approaching once more the sails were reefed and the great ship pursued the flying course over the raging sea The waves rose mountains high as if they would have overtopped the mast there was a warm between them and then under the lashing of the sea as it broke over the deck the main mast snapped the sander like a red The ship flew over on her side and the water rushed in The Little Mermaid now perceived that the crew were in danger even she herself was obliged to be careful to avoid the beams and blanks of the wreck which lay scattered on the water At one moment it was so pitch dark that she could not see a single object but the flash of lightning revealed the whole scene She could see everyone who had been on board accepting the prince When the ship parted she had seen him sink into the deep waves and she was glad for she thought he would now be with her and then she remembered the human beings could not live in the water so that when he got down to her father's palace he would be quiet dead but he must not die so she swam about among the beams and blanks which stood to the surface of the sea forgetting that they could crush her to pieces then she dived deeply under the dark waters falling with the waves till at length she managed to reach the young prince who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea his limbs were failing him his beautiful eyes were closed and he would have died had not the Little Mermaid come to his assistance she held his head above the water and let the waves drift them where they would In the morning the storm had ceased but of the ship not a single fragment could be seen the sun rose up red and glowing from the water and its beams brought back the UFOs to the prince's cheeks but his eyes remained closed the mermaid kissed his high smooth forehead and stroked back his wet hair he seemed to hear like the marble stature in her little garden and she kissed him again and wished that he might live presently they came inside the land she saw love the blue mountains and which the white snow rested as if a flock of swans were lying upon them near the coast the beautiful green forests enclosed by the large building whether a church or a convent she could not tell orange and citron trees grow in the garden and before the doors to love the palms the sea here formed a little bay in which the water was quite still but very deep so she swam with the handsome prince to the beach which was covered with fine white sand and there she laid him in the warm sunshine taking care to raise his head higher than his body the bells sounded and the large white building and the number of young girls came into the garden and the mermaid swam her father from the shore and placed herself between some high rocks that rose out of the water then she covered her head and neck with the form of the sea so that her little face might not be seen and watched to see what would become of the poor prince she did not wait long before she saw a young girl approach the spot where he lay she seemed frightened at first but only for a moment then she fetched the number of people and the mermaid saw that the prince came to life again and smiled upon those who stood around him but to her he sent no smile he knew not that she had saved him this made her very unhappy and when he was led away into the great building she dived down sorrowfully into the water and returned to her father's castle she had always been silent and thoughtful and now she was more so than ever her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to the surface of the water but she would tell them nothing many an evening and morning did she rise to the place where she had left the prince she saw the fruits in the garden ripen till they were gathered the snow and the tops of the mountains melt away but she never saw the prince and therefore she returned home always more sorrowful than before it was her only comfort to sit in her little garden and fling her arm around the beautiful marble stature which was like the prince but she gave up tending her flowers in the green wild confusion over the pass twining the long leaves and stems around the branches of the trees the whole place became dark and gloomy at length she could be at no longer and told one of her sisters all about it then the others heard the secret and very soon it became known to two mermaids whose intimate friend happened to know who the prince was she had also seen the festival and bought the ship and she told them where the prince came from and where his palace stood come on little sister said the other princesses then they entwined their arms and rose up in a long row to the surface of the water close by the spot where they knew the princess palace stood it was built of bright yellow shining stone with long flights of marble steps one of which reached quite down to the sea splendid gilded cupola rose over the roof in between the pillars that surrounded the whole building stood life like statues of marble so the clear crystal of the lofty windows could be seen noble homes with costly silk curtains and hangings of tapestry while the walls were covered with beautiful paintings which were a pleasure to look at on the largest saloon fountain through its sparkling jets high into the glass cupola of the ceiling through which the sun shone down upon the water and upon the beautiful plants growing around the basin of the fountain now that she knew of her lift she spent many a morning and many a night on the water near the palace she would swim much nearer to the shore than any of the others venture to do indeed once she went quite up the narrow channel under the marble balcony which threw a broad shadow on the water and watched the young prince who sawed himself quite alone in the bright moonlight she saw in many times of an evening ceiling in a pleasant boat with music playing and flex-waving she peeped out from among the green rushes and if the wind caught her long silvery white wail those who saw her believed it to be as one spreading out its wings on many a night too when the fisherman with the torches were out at sea she heard them relate so many good things about the doings of the young prince that she was glad she had saved his life when he had been tossed about half dead on the waves then she remembered that his head had rested on her bosom and how heartily she kissed him but he, no nothing of all this and could not even dream of her she grew more and more fond of human beings and wished more and more to be able to wander about with those whose worlds to be so much larger than her own they could fly over the sea in ships and mount high hills which are far above the clouds and the lens the possessed the woods and fields stretched far away beyond the reach of her sight there was so much that she wished to know and her sisters were unable to answer all her questions then she applied to her old grandmother who knew all about the upper world which she very rightly called the lens above the sea if human beings are not drowned ask the little mermaid can they live forever so they never die as we do here in the sea yes, replied the old lady they must also die and their time of life is even shorter than ours we sometimes live to 300 years but when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water and we have not even a grave down here of those we love we have not immortal souls we shall never live again but like the green seaweed when once it has been cut off we can never flourish more human beings on the contrary have a soul which lives forever lives after the body that has been turned to dust it rises up through the clear pure air beyond the glittering stars they rise out of the water and behold all the land of the earth so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see why have not we and immortal soul asked the little mermaid mournfully and would give clearly all the hundreds of years that they have to live to be a human being only for one day and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of the glorious world above the stars you must not think of that said the old woman we feel ourselves to be much happier of the human beings so I shall die said the little mermaid and as the form of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves I see the pretty flowers not the red sun is there anything I can do to win an immortal soul no said the old woman unless a man that will love you so much that you will mourn to him than his father or mother and if all his thoughts and all his love are fixed upon you and the priest placed his right hand in yours he would go to you here and hereafter than his soul would glide into your body and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind you would give a soul to you and retain his own as well but this can never happen your fish's tail which amongst us is considered so beautiful is sort on earth to be quite ugly you do not know any better and they think it necessary to have two star props which they call legs in order to be handsome then the little mermaid sighed and looked sorrowfully at the fish's tail let us be happy said the old lady and dad and spring about during the 300 years that we have to live which is really quite long enough after that we can rest ourselves all the better this evening we are going to have a court ball end of part 2 of the little mermaid recording by ellie march 2010 part 3 of the little mermaid this is a lipovox recording all lipovox recordings in the public domain for more information if you are not a volunteer please visit lipovox.org the snook women and other stories by Hans Christian Andersen translated by H.B. Paul the little mermaid part 3 it is one of those splendid sites which we can never see on earth the walls and the ceiling of the large ballroom were of sick but transparent crystal many hundreds of colossal shells some of the deep red others of the grass green each side in rows one of them which lighted up the holes alone and shone through the walls so that the sea was also illuminated innumerable fish is great and small so passed the crystal walls and some of them that carries glowed with the purple brilliancy and on others they shone like silver and gold through the holes flowed a broad stream and in it danced the mermen and the mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing now one on earth is such a lovely voice as theirs the little mermaids sing more sweetly than them all the whole choir to blow the turvus hens and tails and for a moment her heart will quite gay for she knew she had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea but soon she saw it again of the world above her for she could not forget the charming prince nor her sorrow that she had not in a mortal soul like his therefore she kept the way silently out of her father's palace and while everything was in versicleteness and song she said in her own little garden sorrowful in the lawn then she heard the bugle sounding through the water and thought he is certainly sailing above he on whom my wishes depend and in whose hands I should like to place the happiness of my life I will venture all for him and to win in a mortal soul when my sister is dancing in my father's palace I will go to the sewage of whom I've always been so much afraid but she can give me counsel and help and then the little mermaid went out from her garden and took the road to the foaming whirlpools behind which the sorceress lived she had never been that way before neither flowers nor grass grow there nothing but bare grey sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool where the water like foaming millwells rolled around everything that it seized and cast it into the fantamless deep through the midst of the crashing whirlpools the little mermaid was obliged to pass to reach the dominions of the sewage and also for a long distance the only road led right across the quantity of a warm bubbling maya called by the Witcher Turfmoor beyond this to the house in the centre of a strange forest in which all the trees and flowers were polypied half animals and half plants they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground the branches were long slimy arms with fingers like flexible worms moving limb after limb from the root to the top all they could be reached in the sea they seized the pond and held fast so that it never could escape from their clutches the little mermaid was so elanted what she saw that she stood still and her heart beat with fear and she was very nearly turning back but she sawed of the prince and of the human soul for which she longed and her carriage returned she fastened her long flowing hair around her head so that the polypie might not see the hold of it she laid her hands together across her bosom and then she darted forward as the fish should throw the water between the subtle arms and fingers of the ugly polypie which was stretched out on each side of her she sawed it each held in its grasp something it had seized with its numerous little arms as if they were iron bands the white skeletons of human beings who had perished the sea and had sunk into deep waters skeletons of land animals or as rares and chests of ships relying tightly grasped by the clinging arms even a little mermaid who had cordon strangled and this seemed the most shocking of all she now came to the space of Mashi Count in the wood where large fed water snakes were hauling in the Maya and showing their ugly tripe-colored bodies in the midst of this spot stood a house built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings there set the sewage allowing a toe to eat from her mouth just as people sometimes feed the canary with a piece of sugar she called the ugly water snakes a little chickens and allowed them to crawl all over her bosom I know what you want set the sewage it is very stupid of you but you shall have your way and it will bring you to sorrow my pretty princess you want to get rid of your fish's tail and to have two supports instead of it like human beings on earth so that the young prince may fall in love with you and that you may have an immortal soul and then the witch laughed so loud and disgustingly that they told that the snakes fell to the ground and lay there wriggling about you are but just in time set the witch on the sunrise tomorrow I should not be able to help you till the end of another year I will prepare a draft for you with which you must swim to land tomorrow before sunrise and sit down on the shore and drink it your tail will then disappear and shrink up into what mankind course likes and you will feel great pain as if we saw the passing through you but also see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw you will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement and no dancer will ever try too lightly but at every step you take it will feel as if you are trading upon sharp knives and that the blood must flow if you will be able to do this I will help you yes I will set the little princess in a trembling voice as she sought of the prince and they immortal soul but think again set the witch for when once your shape has become like a human being you can no more be a mermaid you will never return through the water to your sisters or to your father's palace again and if you do not win the love of the prince so that he is willing to forget his father and mother for your sake and to love you with his whole soul and to allow the prince to join your hands so that you may be man and wife then you will never have any mortal soul the first morning after you marry another your heart will break and you will become form on the crest of the waves I will do it set the little mermaid and she became as pale as death but I must be paid also set the witch and it is not a trifle that I ask you have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also but this voice you must give to me the best single process I will have for the price of my draft my own blood must be mixed with it that it may be as sharp as a two edged sword but if you take away my voice set the little mermaid what is left for me is the form, your graceful walk and your expressive eyes surely with these you can enchant a man's heart well have you lost your courage put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment then you should have your powerful draft it shall be set the little mermaid then the witch plays to call on the fire to prepare the magic draft cleanliness is a good thing said she scouring the vessel with snakes which had tied together in a large knot then she break the self in the breast and let the black blood drop into it the steam that rose found itself into such horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear every moment the witch saw something into the vessel and when it began to pull the sound was like the weeping of a crocodile when at last the magic draft was ready it looked like the nearest water there it is for you said the witch and then she cut off the mermaid's tongue so that she became dumb again speak your thing if the polypies should see the hold of you as your turn through the wood said the witch throw over them a few drops of the potion and their fingers will be torn into a thousand pieces but the little mermaid had no occasion to do this for the polypies run back in terror and the court side of the glittering draft were torn in a hand like a twinkling star so she passed quickly through the wood and the marsh in between the rushing whirlpools she saw that in her father's palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished and always in their sleep but she did not venture to go into them for now she was dumb and going to leave them forever she felt as if her heart would break she stole the garden and took a flower from the flower beds of each of her sisters kissed her hand a thousand times throughout the palace and then rose through the dark blue waters the sun had not risen when she came inside of the princess palace and approached the beautiful marble steps but the moon shone clear and bright then the little mermaid drank her magic draft and it seemed as if it twitched so it went through her delicate body she fell into a swoon and lay like one dead and the sun rose and shone over the sea she recovered and felt a sharp pain but just before her stood the handsome young prince he fixed his cool black eyes upon her so earnestly that she cast down her own and then became aware that the fish's tail was gone and that she had a spreadier pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little maiden could have but she had no glasses so she wrapped herself in her long sick hair the prince asked who she was and where she came from and she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes but she could not speak every step she took was as the witch had said it would be she felt as if trading upon the points of needles or sharp knives but she bowed willingly and stepped slightly by the princess side as a soap bubble but here and all who saw her wondered at her graceful swaying movements she was very sunny red in costly robes of silk and muslin and was the most beautiful creature in the palace but she was dumb and could neither speak nor sing beautiful female slaves dressed in silk and gold stepped forward and sang before the prince and his royal parents one sang better than all the others and the prince clapped his hands and smiled at her this was great sorrow to the little mermaid she knew how much more sweetly she herself could sing once and she sawed or if he could only know that I have given away my voice forever to be with him the slaves next performed some pretty fairy-like dances to the sound of the beautiful music then the little mermaid raised her lovely white arms stood on the tips of her toes and glided over the floor and danced as no one yet had been able to dance at each moment her beauty became more revealed and her expressive eyes appeared more directly to the heart than the songs of the slaves everyone was enchanted, especially the prince who called her his little fondling and she danced again quite readily to please him though each time her foot touched the floor it seemed as if she trod on sharp knives the prince said she should remain with him always and she received permission to sleep at his door in a velvet cushion he had a peach dress made for her that she might accompany him on horseback they rode together through the sweet scented woods where the cream balls touched her shoulders and the little birds sang among the fresh leaves she climbed with the prince to the tops of high mountains and although her hind feet bled so that even her steps were marked she only laughed and followed him till he could see the clouds beneath them looking like a flock of birds travelling to distant lands while at the princess palace and with all the householdware asleep she would go and sit on the broad marble steps for it is her burning feet to base them in the cold sea water and then she sought of all those below in the deep once during the night her sisters came up arm in arm singing sorrowfully as they floated on the water she back into them and then they recognized her and told her how she had grieved them after that they came to the same place every night and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother who had not been to the surface of the sea for many years and told seeking her father with his crown on his head they stretched out their hands towards her but they did not venture so near to the land as it is the state End of Part 3 of The Little Mermaid Recording by Ellie in July 2012 Part 4 of The Little Mermaid This is a lipovox recording Only provox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit lipovox.org Recording by Ellie The Snow Queen and other stories by Hans Christian Andersen Translated by H. B. Paul The Little Mermaid Part 4 As the days passed she laughed the prince more fondly and he laughed her as he would laugh a little child but it never came into his head to make her his wife yet unless he married her she could not receive any mortal soul and on the morning after his marriage with an other she would dissolve into the form of the sea Do you not laugh me best of them all the eyes of the Little Mermaid seem to say when he took her in his arms and kissed her fair forehead Yes, you are dear to me, said the prince for you have the best heart and you are the most devoted to me you are like the young maiden whom I once saw but whom I shall never meet again I was in a ship that was wrecked and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple where several young maidens befumped the service the youngest of them found me on the shore and saved my life I saw her about twice and she was the only one in the world whom I could laugh but you are like her and you have almost driven her image out of my mind my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her and we will never part Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life I saw the Little Mermaid I carried him over the sea to the wood where the temple stands I sat beneath the foam and watched till the human beings came to help him I saw the pretty maiden that he laughs better than he laughs me and the Little Mermaid sighed deeply but she could not shed tears he says the maiden belongs to the holy temple therefore she will never return to the world they will meet no more while I am by his side and see him every day I will take care of him and laugh him and give up my life for his sake very soon it was said that the prince must marry and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife for a fine ship was being fitted out although the prince gave out that he merely intended to pay a visit to the king it was generally supposed to be relevant to see his daughter the great company where to go with him the Little Mermaid smiled and shook her head she knew the prince's thoughts better than any of the others I must travel he said to her I must see this beautiful princess my parents desire it but they will not obliged me to bring her home as my bride I cannot laugh her she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple whom you resemble if I were forced to choose a bride I would rather choose you my dumbfoundling with those expressive eyes and then he kissed her rosy mouth played with her long waving hair while she dreamed of human happiness and then immortal soul you are not afraid of the sea my dumbed child said he as they stood on the deck of the noble ship which was to carry them to the country of the neighboring king and then he told her of the storm and of calm of strange fishes in the deep beneath them and what the divers had seen there and she smiled at this description for she knew better than anyone what wonders were at the bottom of the sea in the moonlight when all on board were asleep excepting the man at the helm who was steering she sat on the deck gazing down through the clear water she saw she could distinguish her father's castle and upon it her aged grandmother with the silver crown on her head looking through the rushing tide at the kill of the vessel then her sisters came up on the waves and gazed at her mournful ringing the white hens she pecking to them and smiled and wanted to tell them how happy and well off she was but the cabin boy approached and when the sisters dived down he saw it was only the form of the sea which she saw next morning the ship sailed into the harbour of a beautiful town belonging to the king whom the prince was going to visit the church bells were ringing and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets and soldiers with flying colours and glittering bayonets lined the rocks so which they passed every day was a festival balls and entertainments followed one another but the princess had not yet appeared people said that she was being brought up and educated in a religious house where she was learning every royal virtue at last she came then the little mermaid who was very anxious to see whether she was really beautiful was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect version of beauty her skin was delicately fair and beneath her long dark eyelashes her loving blue eyes shown with true impurity it was you said the prince who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach and he folded his blushing pride in his arms oh I'm too happy said he to the little mermaid my fondest hopes are fulfilled you will rejoice at my happiness for your devotion to me is great and sincere the little mermaid kissed his hand and felt as if her heart were already broken his sweating mourning would bring death to her and she would change into the form of the sea all the church bells rang and the heralds rose above the town proclaiming the bedroser perfumed all was burning in costly silver lamps on every altar the little mermaid touched the censors while the bride and bridegroom joined the hands and received the blessing of the bishop the little mermaid dressed in silk and gold held up the bride's train but her ears had nothing of the festive music and her eyes saw not the holy ceremony she sought of the night of death just coming to her and of all she had lost in the world on the same evening the bride and bridegroom went on board the ship cannons were roaring, flecks waving and in the scent of the ship the couple and gold had been erected it contained elegant couches for the reception of the bridal pair during the night the ship with swelling sails and favorable wind glided away smoothly and lightly over the calm sea when it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit and the sailor stands merrily on deck the little mermaid could not help thinking of a first rising out of sea when she had seen similar festivities and joys and she joined in the dance poised herself in the air as a swallow and all present she had heard his wonder she had never danced so elegantly before her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives but she had not felt a sharper pain had pierced through her heart she knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince for whom she had forsaken her kindred in her home she had given up a beautiful voice and suffered unheard of pain daily for him while he knew nothing of it this was the last evening that she should breathe the same air with him or gaze on the starry sky in the deep sea an eternal night without the sordor a dream awaited her she had no soul and now she could never win one all was chewing candy on board the ship too long after midnight she laughed and danced with the rest while the sorts of deaths were in her heart the prince kissed this beautiful bride while she played with this raven hair till the vent arm in arm to rest in this splendid tent then all became still on board the ship the helmsman alone awaked stood at the helm the little mermaid leaned her white arms on the edge of the vessel and looked towards the east for the first blush of morning for the first ray of dawn that would bring her death she saw her sisters rising out of the flood they were as pale as herself for the long beautiful hair waved no more in the wind and had been cut off we have given our hair to the witch said they took their in help for you that you may not die tonight she has given us a knife see, it is very sharp before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again and form into a fish's tail and you will be once more a mermaid and return to us to live out your 300 years before you die and change into the salt sea form hasten here you must die before sunrise our old grandmother Montso for you that her white hair is falling off from sorrow as yours fell under the witch's scissors kill the prince and come back hasten do you not see the first ray of streaks in the sky in a few minutes the sun will rise and you must die and then decide deeply and mournfully and sink down beneath the waves the little mermaid threw back the crimson curtain of the tent and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince's breast she bent down and kissed his fair pro then looked at the sky and watched the rose dawn grow brighter and brighter then she glanced at the sharp knife and again fixed her eyes on the prince who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams she was in his thoughts and the knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid then she flung it far from her into the waves the water turned red where it fell and the drops that spurted up looked like blood she cast one more lingering half fainting glance at the prince and then threw herself from the ship into the sea and thought her body was dissolving into foam the sun rose above the waves and his warm rays fell on the prince and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid who did not feel as if she were dying she saw the bright sun and all around her floated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings she could see through them the white sails of the ship and the red clouds in the sky their speech was melodious but too is serial to be heard by mortal ears as they were also unseen by mortal eyes the little mermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam where M.I. asked G. and her voice sounded as serial as the voice of those who were with her no earthly music could imitate it among the daughters of the air answered one of them a mermaid has not an immortal soul nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being and the power of an other hangs the eternal destiny but the daughters of the air although they do not possess an immortal soul can, but their good deeds procure one for themselves we fly to warm countries and cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence we carry the perfume of flowers to spread health and restoration after we have striven for 300 years to all the good in our power we receive an immortal soul and take part of the happiness of mankind you, poor little mermaid have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing you have suffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit world by your good deeds and now bestriving for 300 years in the same way you may obtain an immortal soul the little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun and felt them for the first time filling with tears on the ship in which she had left the prince there were life and noise she saw him in this beautiful bride searching for her sorrowfully the gaze of the pearly foam as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves unseen she kissed the forehead of the bride and fed the prince and it was the other children of the air to a rosy cloud that floated through the ether after 300 years Tarshel will float into the kingdom of heaven Selchi and we may even get there sooner with but one of her companions unseen we can enter the houses of men where there are children and for every day on which we find a good child who is the joy of his parents and deserves their love our time of probation is shortened the child does not know when he flies through the room this malvish joy is conduct for we can count one year less of our 300 years but when we see a naughty or wicked child shed tears of sorrow and for every tear a day is added to our time of trial End of The Little Mermaid Part 4 Recording by Ellie