年轻的王子看起来多么英俊啊，他握着在场所有人的手并对他们微笑，而音乐在晴朗的夜空中回荡。

and how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of all present and smiled at them, while the music resounded through the clear night air

已经很晚了；

it was very late;

然而小美人鱼无法将视线从船或者英俊的王子身上移开。

yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince

彩色的灯笼已经熄灭，不再有火箭升上天空，大炮也停止了发射；

the colored lanterns had been extinguished, no more rockets rose in the air, and the cannon had ceased firing;

但是大海变得波涛汹涌，海浪下可以听到一种低沉、轰鸣的声音：

but the sea became restless, and a moaning, grumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves:

小美人鱼仍然留在船舱的窗户旁，在水面上上下起伏，这样她就能往里面看。

still the little mermaid remained by the cabin window, rocking up and down on the water, which enabled her to look in

过了一会儿，船帆迅速展开，这艘高贵的船继续前行；

after a while, the sails were quickly unfurled, and the noble ship continued her passage;

但很快海浪就涨得更高了，乌云使天空变得阴暗，远处出现了闪电。

but soon the waves rose higher, heavy clouds darkened the sky, and lightning appeared in the distance

一场可怕的暴风雨即将来临；

a dreadful storm was approaching;

船帆又一次被收起，大船在汹涌的大海上继续疾驶。

once more the sails were reefed, and the great ship pursued her flying course over the raging sea

海浪像山一样高，仿佛要高过桅杆；

the waves rose mountains high, as if they would have overtopped the mast;

但是船像天鹅一样在海浪间穿梭，然后又在它们高耸、泡沫四溅的浪尖上重新升起。

but the ship dived like a swan between them, and then rose again on their lofty, foaming crests

对小美人鱼来说，这看起来像是有趣的游戏；

to the little mermaid this appeared pleasant sport;

但对水手们来说并非如此。

not so to the sailors

最后，船发出嘎吱嘎吱的呻吟声；

at length the ship groaned and creaked;

厚厚的木板在海浪冲击甲板时断裂了；

the thick planks gave way under the lashing of the sea as it broke over the deck;

主桅像芦苇一样折断了；

the mainmast snapped asunder like a reed;

船向一侧倾斜；

the ship lay over on her side;

海水涌了进来。

and the water rushed in

小美人鱼现在意识到船员们有危险了；

the little mermaid now perceived that the crew were in danger;

就连她自己也不得不小心避开散落在水面上的沉船残骸的横梁和木板。

even she herself was obliged to be careful to avoid the beams and planks of the wreck which lay scattered on the water

有一瞬间，天漆黑一片，她什么都看不见，但一道闪电照亮了整个场景；

at one moment it was so pitch dark that she could not see a single object, but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene;

她能看到船上所有的人，除了王子；

she could see every one who had been on board excepting the prince;

当船断裂的时候，她看到他沉入了深深的海浪之中，她很高兴，因为她以为他现在会和她在一起了；

when the ship parted, she had seen him sink into the deep waves, and she was glad, for she thought he would now be with her;

然后她想起人类不能在水中生活，所以当他沉到她父亲的宫殿时，他就已经死了。

and then she remembered that human beings could not live in the water, so that when he got down to her father’s palace he would be quite dead

但他不能死。

but he must not die

于是她在散落在海面上的横梁和木板间游来游去，忘记了它们可能会把她压成碎片。

so she swam about among the beams and planks which strewed the surface of the sea, forgetting that they could crush her to pieces

然后她潜入黑暗的深水之下，随着海浪起伏，最后她设法游到了年轻的王子身边，王子在那波涛汹涌的海里很快就失去了游泳的能力。

then she dived deeply under the dark waters, rising and falling with the waves, till at length she managed to reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea