The Little Mermaid

海底住着一位小美人鱼,她最爱听祖母讲人类的故事。At the sea bottom lived a little mermaid who loved hearing her grandmother’s human stories.十五岁那年,她终于游到海面,At fifteen, she finally swam to the surface,看见一艘大船上的王子—他那么英俊,小美人鱼一眼就喜欢上了他!saw a prince on a big ship—so handsome, she fell in love at first sight!
突然,暴风雨来了!Suddenly, a storm struck!船沉了,王子掉进海里。The ship sank, and the prince fell into the sea.小美人鱼拼命把他拖到岸边,The little mermaid desperately dragged him to the shore,悄悄躲在礁石后,直到有人发现王子才离开。quietly hid behind rocks until someone found the prince, then left.
为了再见王子,她去找海巫婆。To see the prince again, she sought the sea witch.巫婆说:「用你的声音换双腿吧!The witch said, “Trade your voice for legs!但每走一步都像踩在刀尖上。But each step will feel like walking on knife tips.如果王子不娶你,你会变成泡沫!」If the prince doesn’t marry you, you’ll turn into foam!”小美人鱼颤抖着喝下药水,The little mermaid tremblingly drank the potion,尾巴变成了腿,却再也说不出话。her tail became legs, but she could no longer speak.王子发现她,带她回宫殿。The prince found her and took her to the palace.虽然小美人鱼跳舞时脚疼得流泪,Though her feet hurt so much she cried while dancing,可她总是笑着。she always smiled.王子说:「你很像救过我的那个女孩!」The prince said, “You resemble the girl who saved me!”但他却要和邻国公主结婚了。But he was to marry a neighboring princess.
婚礼那晚,姐姐们用长发换了一把刀:On the wedding night, her sisters traded their hair for a knife:「杀了王子,让血滴回你的腿,就能活!」“Kill the prince, let his blood drip on your legs, and you’ll live!”小美人鱼拿起刀…却转身扔进大海,She picked up the knife… but turned and threw it into the sea,自己跳入浪花中。then leapt into the waves herself.阳光升起时,她的身体化作泡沫,As the sun rose, her body turned to foam,
Want to read along with audio? Every story in the Literate Chinese app is narrated by a native speaker — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin — so you can listen while you read, and tap any word to save it as a flashcard. See what's in the app.
