“Pride must suffer pain,”replied the old lady.Oh,how gladly she would have shaken off all this grandeur,and laid aside the heavy wreath!The red flowers in her own garden would have suited her much better,but she could not help herself:so she said,“Farewell,”and rose as lightly as a bubble 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 and gold,and through the glimmering twilight beamed the evening star in all its beauty.The sea was calm,and the air mild and fresh.A large ship,with three masts,lay becalmed on the water,with only one sail set;for not a breeze stiffed,and the sailors sat idle on deck or amongst the rigging.There was music and song on board;and,as darkness came on,a hundred 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 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 with much rejoicing.The sailors were dancing on deck,but when the prince came out of the cabin,more than a hundred rockets rose in the air,making it as bright as 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 suns 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,and even the smallest rope,could be distinctly and 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 a moaning,grumbling 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 her flying course over the raging sea.The waves rose mountains high,as if they would have overtopped the mast;but the ship dived like a swan between them,and then rose again on their lofty,foaming crests.To the little mermaid this appeared pleasant sport;not so to the sailors.At length the ship groaned and creaked;the thick planks gave way under the lashing of the sea as it broke over the deck;the mainmast snapped asunder like a reed;the ship lay 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 planks 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 a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene;she could see every one who had been on board excepting 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 that human beings could not live in the water,so that when he got down to her father's palace he would be quite dead.But he must not die.So she swam about among the beams and planks which strewed the surface of the sea,forgetting that they could crush her to pieces.Then she dived deeply under the dark waters,rising and 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.
