Danish · Intermediate
Adapted from The Little Mermaid
A young mermaid longs to visit the human world and makes a costly bargain for a chance to live on land.
Read and listen in Danish, with English alongside.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Langt ude på havet er vandet blåt som kornblomster og klart som krystal. Der er så dybt, at selv en stak kirketårne aldrig ville nå fra bunden til overfladen. Det er dér, havkongen og hans folk bor.
Far out at sea, the water is as blue as cornflowers and as clear as crystal. It is so deep that even a stack of church towers would never reach from the bottom to the surface. That is where the Sea King and his people live.
Havbunden er fuld af mærkelige planter. Selv den mindste bevægelse i vandet får dem til at svaje, og fiskene glider mellem grenene som fugle mellem træerne på land. Allernederst ligger havkongens slot med mure af koral og høje vinduer af rav. På taget åbner og lukker muslingeskallerne sig i strømmen.
The seabed is full of strange plants. Even the slightest movement in the water makes them sway, and fish glide between the branches like birds between the trees on land. At the very bottom stands the Sea King’s palace, with walls of coral and tall amber windows. On the roof, the shells open and close in the current.
I hver skal ligger en perle, der er så smuk, at den kunne sidde i en dronnings krone.
Inside each shell lies a pearl so beautiful it could grace a queen’s crown.
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