在河岸上，她看到绿色的山丘上长满了美丽的葡萄藤；

on the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines;

宫殿和城堡从森林中高耸的树木间隐隐露出；

palaces and castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest;

她听到鸟儿在歌唱，阳光非常强烈，她常常不得不潜入水下以冷却她发烫的脸。

she heard the birds singing, and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face

在一条狭窄的小溪里，她发现了一群小人类孩子，全身赤裸，正在水里嬉戏；

in a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children, quite naked, and sporting about in the water;

她想和他们一起玩，但是他们非常惊恐地逃走了。

she wanted to play with them, but they fled in a great fright;

然后一只黑色的小动物来到水边；

and then a little black animal came to the water;

那是一只狗，但她不知道，因为她以前从未见过狗。

it was a dog, but she did not know that, for she had never before seen one

这只动物对着她狂吠，非常可怕，她被吓坏了，赶忙冲回大海。

this animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, and rushed back to the open sea

但她说她永远不会忘记那美丽的森林、绿色的山丘和那些能在水中游泳的可爱小孩子，尽管他们没有鱼尾。

but she said she should never forget the beautiful forest, the green hills, and the pretty little children who could swim in the water, although they had not fish’s tails

四姐比较胆小；

the fourth sister was more timid;

她待在大海中央，但她说那里和靠近陆地的地方一样美丽。

she remained in the midst of the sea, but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land

她能看到周围许多英里远的地方，头顶的天空看起来像一个玻璃钟。

she could see for so many miles around her, and the sky above looked like a bell of glass

她看到过船只，但距离非常远，看起来就像海鸥。

she had seen the ships, but at such a great distance that they looked like sea - gulls

海豚在海浪中嬉戏，大鲸鱼从鼻孔里喷水，直到看起来好像有上百个喷泉在四处喷水。

the dolphins sported in the waves, and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction

五姐的生日在冬天；

the fifth sister’s birthday occurred in the winter;

所以当轮到她的时候，她看到了其他人第一次上去时没有看到的东西。

so when her turn came, she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up

大海看起来非常绿，巨大的冰山四处漂浮着，她说每一座都像一颗珍珠，但比人类建造的教堂更大更高。

the sea looked quite green, and large icebergs were floating about, each like a pearl, she said, but larger and loftier than the churches built by men

它们有着最奇特的形状，并且像钻石一样闪闪发光。

they were of the most singular shapes, and glittered like diamonds

她坐在最大的一座冰山上，让风轻拂她的长发，她注意到所有的船只都快速驶过，并且尽可能地远离冰山，好像它们害怕冰山似的。

she had seated herself upon one of the largest, and let the wind play with her long hair, and she remarked that all the ships sailed by rapidly, and steered as far away as they could from the iceberg, as if they were afraid of it

傍晚时分，太阳西沉，乌云布满天空，雷声隆隆，闪电交加，红色的光芒映照在冰山上，冰山在汹涌的海面上摇晃颠簸。

towards evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered the sky, the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, and the red light glowed on the icebergs as they rocked and tossed on the heaving sea

所有船上的帆都因恐惧和颤抖而收起，而她却平静地坐在漂浮的冰山上，看着蓝色的闪电，看着它的叉状闪光射向大海。

on all the ships the sails were reefed with fear and trembling, while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg, watching the blue lightning, as it darted its forked flashes into the sea

当姐妹们最初被允许升到海面时，她们每个人都为看到的新奇而美丽的景象感到高兴；

when first the sisters had permission to rise to the surface, they were each delighted with the new and beautiful sights they saw;

但现在，作为成年女孩，她们可以随时去，并且已经对此变得漠不关心了。

but now, as grown - up girls, they could go when they pleased, and they had bee indifferent about it

她们希望自己能再次回到水里，一个月过去了，她们说海底下面美丽得多，待在家里更惬意。

they wished themselves back again in the water, and after a month had passed they said it was much more beautiful down below, and pleasanter to be at home

然而，常常在傍晚时分，五个姐妹会互相挽着手臂，一排排地升到海面。

yet often, in the evening hours, the five sisters would twine their arms round each other, and rise to the surface, in a row

她们的嗓音比任何人的都更动听；

they had more beautiful voices than any human being could have;

在暴风雨来临之前，当她们预料到一艘船将会沉没时，她们会游到船前，甜美地歌唱在海底能找到的快乐，并且请求水手们如果沉到海底不要害怕。

and before the approach of a storm, and when they expected a ship would be lost, they swam before the vessel, and sang sweetly of the delights to be found in the depths of the sea, and begging the sailors not to fear if they sank to the bottom

但是水手们听不懂这首歌，他们把它当作暴风雨的呼啸声。

but the sailors could not understand the song, they took it for the howling of the storm