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Illustration for The Little Mermaid

Russian · Intermediate

Русалочка

Adapted from The Little Mermaid

By Hans Christian Andersen

A young mermaid longs to visit the human world and makes a costly bargain for a chance to live on land.

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Intermediate sample in Russian

Scene 1

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Illustration for the scene “The Sea King's castle”

Scene 1 · Intermediate

Замок морского царя

The Sea King's castle

Russian

Далеко в океане вода синяя, как василёк, и прозрачная, как хрусталь. В тех местах так глубоко, что до дна не достать никаким прибором для измерения глубины. Даже если поставить множество церковных колоколен одну на другую, они не поднимутся со дна до поверхности. Именно там живут морской царь и его подданные.

English translation

Far out in the ocean, the water is as blue as a cornflower and as clear as crystal. It is so deep there that no instrument can measure the distance to the bottom. Even if many church towers were stacked on top of one another, they would not reach from the seabed to the surface. That is where the Sea King and his subjects live.

Russian

Однако морское дно совсем не похоже на пустыню из жёлтого песка. На нём растут удивительные цветы и растения. Их гибкие листья и стебли колышутся от малейшего движения воды, а между ветвями скользят рыбы, словно птицы среди деревьев на суше.

English translation

The seabed, however, is nothing like a desert of yellow sand. Wonderful flowers and plants grow there. Their supple leaves and stems sway at the slightest movement of the water, and fish glide among their branches like birds among trees on land.

Russian

В самой глубокой части океана стоит замок морского царя. Его стены сделаны из кораллов, а высокие окна — из прозрачного янтаря. Крыша покрыта раковинами, которые открываются и закрываются под струями воды. В каждой сверкает жемчужина, достаточно прекрасная, чтобы украсить королевскую корону.

English translation

In the deepest part of the ocean stands the Sea King's palace. Its walls are made of coral, and its tall windows of clear amber. The roof is covered with shells that open and close in the currents. In each one gleams a pearl beautiful enough to adorn a royal crown.

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