Where the water is as blue as the cornflowers and as clear as crystal
Mer-people live
Deeper than any anchor can reach
Mer-King had long been widowed
His wise and aged mother
Devoted care to six beautiful granddaughters
The youngest was the loveliest
Skin as soft as a rose
Eyes as blue as the sea
The sweetest voice
A strange child, quiet and thoughtful
When you are fifteen
You may rise and sit by moonlight
Above the surface
To watch the ships
At the age of fifteen
The eldest ventured above the water,
To lie on a sandbank and watch a great city
Was her greatest pleasure
The second rose,
Crimson and violet clouds sailed above
As the sun was setting
Swimming wherever she pleased
The most daring
She swan up a broad river
In a small cove children splashing naked in the water
The third and most daring
The fourth, was more timid
Remained far out
The sky appeared as a glass dome,
The distant ships looked like seagulls
She saw different things
The sea was green, with huge icebergs
Clouds darkened the sky
The fifth sister's birthday fell in winter
At last the youngest birthday came
The sun had just set as she lifted her head out of the water
Before her lay a three-massed ship
The little mermaid swam close
The handsomest was a prince
With large, dark eyes
It was his birthday also
Music drifted through the quiet night.
