Beautiful slaves clad in silks and gold came forward and sang to the prince and his royal parents;

穿着丝绸和金色衣服的美丽仆人出来，向王子和他的皇室父母献唱。

one of them sang better than all the others, and the prince clapped his hands and smiled at her;

其中一个歌唱得比其他所有人都好，王子拍了拍手，对她微笑。

that made the little mermaid very sad, for she knew that she used to sing far better herself.

这让小美人鱼非常难过，因为她知道自己以前唱的更好。

She thought, ''Oh! if he only knew that for the sake of being with him I had given up my voice for ever!''

她想，“哦！他怎么知道为了和他在一起我永远放弃了我的声音！

Now the slaves began to dance, graceful undulating dances to enchanting music;

仆人们开始跳舞，优美的随着迷人的音乐起伏。

thereupon the little mermaid, lifting her beautiful white arms and raising herself on tiptoe,

于是，小美人鱼举起她美丽洁白的手臂，踮起脚尖，

glided on the floor with a grace which none of the other dancers had yet attained.

以一种其他舞者所没有的，优雅的姿态走到地板上。

With every motion her grace and beauty became more apparent, and her eyes appealed more deeply to the heart than the songs of the slaves.

每一个动作都尽显优雅和美丽，与仆人的歌声相比，她的眼睛更深地吸引了王子的心。

Every one was delighted with it, especially the prince, who called her his little foundling;

每个人都对此感到高兴，特别是王子，王子称她为拾来的珍宝。

and she danced on and on, notwithstanding that every time her foot touched the ground it was like treading on sharp knives.

尽管每次脚触地都像踩着锋利的刀尖，她仍不停地跳舞。

The prince said that she should always be near him, and she was allowed to sleep outside his door on a velvet cushion.

王子说她应该待在他身边，并被允许睡在他的门外的天鹅绒靠垫上。