Dutch · 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 Dutch, with English alongside.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Ver weg in de oceaan is het water zo blauw als een korenbloem en zo helder als kristal. Het is er zo diep dat zelfs een stapel kerktorens niet van de bodem tot aan het oppervlak zou komen. Daar wonen de zeekoning en zijn onderdanen.
Far away in the ocean, the water is as blue as a cornflower and as clear as crystal. It is so deep that even a stack of church towers would not reach from the bottom to the surface. The sea king and his subjects live there.
Op de zeebodem ligt niet alleen kaal zand. Er groeien wonderlijke bloemen en planten, waarvan de buigzame bladeren bij iedere beweging van het water heen en weer gaan. Vissen glijden tussen de takken door, zoals vogels op het land tussen de bomen vliegen.
The seabed is not just bare sand. Wonderful flowers and plants grow there, their flexible leaves swaying with every movement of the water. Fish glide between the branches, just as birds fly between trees on land.
Op de diepste plek staat het kasteel van de zeekoning. Het heeft muren van koraal en hoge, spitse ramen van helder barnsteen. Op het dak liggen schelpen die door de stroming open- en dichtgaan. In elke schelp glinstert een parel die mooi genoeg zou zijn voor de kroon van een koningin.
The sea king’s castle stands in the deepest place. Its walls are made of coral, and its tall, pointed windows are made of clear amber. Shells on the roof open and close with the current. Each shell holds a pearl that would be beautiful enough for a queen’s crown.
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