第3章 小美人鱼 The Little Mermaid 续【4 / 11】

you will never return through the water to your sisters, or to your father’s palace again;

而且如果你没有赢得王子的爱，以至于他不愿意为了你而忘记他的父亲和母亲，全心全意地爱你，并且让牧师将你们的手结合在一起，使你们成为夫妻，那么你将永远不会拥有不朽的灵魂。

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 allow the priest to join your hands that you may be man and wife, then you will never have an immortal soul

在他与别人结婚后的第一个早晨，你的心就会破碎，你就会变成浪尖上的泡沫。”

the first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will bee foam on the crest of the waves”

“我愿意这么做。” 小美人鱼说，她变得像死人一样苍白。

“i will do it,” said the little mermaid, and she became pale as death

“但我也必须得到报酬，” 巫婆说，“我索要的可不是小数目。

“but i must be paid also,” said the witch, “and it is not a trifle that i ask

在这海底深处居住的所有人当中，你的声音是最甜美的，而且你相信你也能用它来迷住王子，但你必须把这个声音给我；

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;

我要用你所拥有的最好的东西来换取我的药。

the best thing you possess will i have for the price of my draught

我必须把我自己的血混进去，这样它就会像双刃剑一样锋利。”

my own blood must be mixed with it, that it may be as sharp as a two - edged sword”

“但是如果你拿走我的声音，” 小美人鱼说，“我还剩下什么呢？”

“but if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me”

“你美丽的外形、优雅的步态和富有表现力的眼睛；

“your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes;

当然凭借这些你就能俘获一个男人的心。

surely with these you can enchain a man’s heart

怎么，你失去勇气了吗？

well, have you lost your courage

伸出你的小舌头，这样我就能把它割下来作为报酬；然后你就能得到这强效的药了。”

put out your little tongue that i may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught”

“就这样吧。” 小美人鱼说。

“it shall be,” said the little mermaid

然后巫婆把她的大锅放在火上，准备熬制魔药。

then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, to prepare the magic draught

“干净是件好事，” 她说着，用蛇擦洗锅子，她把蛇系成一个大结；

“cleanliness is a good thing,” said she, scouring the vessel with snakes, which she had tied together in a large knot;

然后她刺向自己的胸部，让黑血滴进锅里。

then she pricked herself in the breast, and let the black blood drop into it

升起的蒸汽形成了非常恐怖的形状，没有人看到它们不害怕的。

the steam that rose formed itself into such horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear

巫婆每时每刻都往锅里扔些别的东西，当它开始沸腾的时候，声音就像鳄鱼的哭泣声。

every moment the witch threw something else into the vessel, and when it began to boil, the sound was like the weeping of a crocodile

最后，魔药准备好了，它看起来就像最清澈的水。

when at last the magic draught was ready, it looked like the clearest water

“这是给你的。” 巫婆说。

“there it is for you,” said the witch

然后她割掉了小美人鱼的舌头，这样小美人鱼就变成哑巴了，再也不能说话或者唱歌。

then she cut off the mermaid’s tongue, so that she became dumb, and would never again speak or sing

“当你穿过树林返回的时候，如果珊瑚虫抓住你，” 巫婆说，“朝它们洒几滴药水，它们的手指就会被撕成碎片。”

“if the polypi should seize hold of you as you return 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”

但是小美人鱼没有机会这么做，因为当珊瑚虫看到她手里闪闪发光像闪烁星星一样的药水时，它们惊恐地缩了回去。

but the little mermaid had no occasion to do this, for the polypi sprang back in terror when they caught sight of the glittering draught, which shone in her hand like a twinkling star

于是她快速穿过树林和沼泽，越过湍急的漩涡。

so she passed quickly through the wood and the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools

她看到在她父亲的宫殿里，舞厅里的火把都熄灭了，里面所有人都睡着了；

she saw that in her father’s palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished, and all within asleep;