All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. They were six beautiful children but the youngest was the prettiest of them all her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. She was a very wise woman, and exceedingly proud of her high birth on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail while others, also of high rank, were only allowed to wear six. The Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.
The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. No, indeed the most singular flowers and plants grow there the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life. We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. Here is the original story, including some of Collection of paintings as illustrations.įar out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above.
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