In the end, I took an English version of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales and read them while leaning on the sofa in the reception area.
Opening the title page, the names on the catalog are basically familiar. I chose the little mermaid that everyone knows, that is, the daughter of the sea.
A short fairy tale, I know the general plot, and I read it very quickly. It's just that this time many plots are different.
For example, the mermaid princess became mute and could not speak. It is described in the story that she exchanged two human legs with her beautiful voice, but I think it is more likely that her transformation is not complete. Like Wu Julan, in some cases, the vocal organs still stay in the form of a mermaid, so naturally there is no way to make a human voice.
Also, the story said that because the mermaid princess lost her voice and could not speak, she had no way to tell the real situation to the prince. The prince didn't know it was her who saved him, and mistakenly thought it was the human princess who saved him, and fell in love with the human princess. But I think humans and mermaids are both advanced intelligent creatures. How could it be impossible to communicate with gestures, words, and paintings because they cannot speak
Moreover, even if the mermaid princess can't speak, as long as she wants, she can find a middleman to convey it. Her sister, and the witch, without losing their voice, could go and tell the prince the truth. Rather than saying that the mermaid princess lost her voice and was unable to tell the prince everything, it is better to say that she chose not to tell the prince everything.
What I least understand, though, is the second half of the story. The witch gave the mermaid princess a sharp dagger and asked the mermaid princess to kill the prince. Only the blood and life of the prince can make the mermaid princess return to the sea and continue to live.
Why did the story turn into a situation of "either you die or I die"? Is it true that if a girl can't get a man's love, she must kill him in order to save herself
I was thinking about this fairy tale, suddenly, the doorbell rang.
I immediately took the book and rushed downstairs. When I was almost at the door, I realized that it couldn't be Wu Julan. He knew the password to open the door. However, it is impossible for him to be a stranger, otherwise the receptionist in the lobby and David, who drives the elevator, would not let him up.
I turned on the monitor, and it was Let standing outside the door.
I thought about it and opened the door.
Let smiled and asked: "Can I go in and sit for a while and chat with you?"
"Please come in"
I went into the kitchen and asked: "Coffee or tea"
"Tea, there is no need to prepare milk and sugar. Like the Chinese, I have fallen in love with the bitterness of tea."
"In that case, then I'll treat you to Gongfu tea."
I brought out the whole tea set and brewed a pot of Chinese Dahongpao for her.
Let was drinking tea while picking up the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales that I left casually on the sofa.
Let smiled and asked, "Do you feel lucky to have met a mermaid in a fairy tale?"
I said: "I am very lucky, but not because I met the mermaid in a fairy tale, but because I met Wu Julan."
Let said: "Please don't think that I came today with bad intentions, I am absolutely loyal to Regu."
I drank my tea and didn't comment. She deliberately picked a time when Wu Julan was not around to see me, and it was definitely not just to have tea and chat with me.
Let pondered for a moment, and said, "Regu should have told you that something very unpleasant happened when he came to New York last time."
"I said so."
"Regu has a noble character, and he certainly didn't tell you who betrayed and hurt him."
"No. He just said that a good friend asked him to protect her lover on the battlefield. In order to save that man, he accidentally exposed his identity. He didn't expect that just after the war ended, that man designed to frame him."
"A good friend still considers him a good friend" Let murmured several times, and said to me: "The person who betrayed Regu, drugged him, and joined forces with outsiders to arrest him is my great-grandfather."
I put down my teacup and looked at Let in surprise.
"The lover who asked Regu to protect her, and then led someone to set fire to the beu courtyard, and the person who risked his life to rescue Regu was my grandma. The fire not only burned down a large theater, but also burned more than a dozen people to death. Individuals, one of whom is my great-grandfather."
Let smiled bitterly, "From a certain point of view, my great-grandmother killed my great-grandfather with her own hands. After the fire, my grandma said that my great-grandmother never laughed again in her life. Of course, it's not just because of my great-grandfather, It's more because she feels ashamed of Regu. If grandma can hear with her own ears that Regu still considers her a friend and doesn't mind the thing that seriously hurt him, she will be very happy."
Let put Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales in front of me, "Now that you have seen the real mermaid, please allow me to introduce you to the witches who serve mermaids. My great-grandmother and grandma are all witches who follow and serve regu, and so do I" let said to me Bow down gracefully.
"What witch?" No matter how strong my nerves were, I was taken aback.
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bsp;let said with a smile: "Is it strange that we witches exist in every mermaid story, although we often play evil roles?"
I said dully, "I just didn't think that witches are real."
Let said: "In the history of Europe, witches are an indispensable and important chapter. Of course we are real. What do you know about witches?"
I said embarrassedly: "I don't know much about European history. I just saw witches in Hollywood movies. They wear black clothes, pointy hats, and ride a big broom, flying around in the sky."
Let smiled and said: "This world is full of endless possibilities, but neither my family nor the witches I know can fly in the sky on a broomstick. Although this is indeed environmentally friendly, it is worth promoting."
I couldn't help but smile.
Let said: "Our family's affiliation with mermaids dates back to the 15th century when the Holy See hunted witches. The earliest cause of witch hunting was not because of the special ability you mentioned, but because there were such a group of women at that time. They are literate, study the human body, animals and plants, prepare medicines to help people heal and save lives, and make a living. However, their existence endangers the promotion of the Holy See’s beliefs. In 1484, two priests, Heinrich and Jacob, wrote Witches With the support of Pope Innes VIII, the witch trial was launched to hunt down and kill witches. Hundreds of thousands of women, some research data say millions, died of hunting Under the torture of killing witches. My ancestors were very lucky, they met mermaids, and with the help of mermaids, they passed through those dark and terrifying days safely."
Let said: "Now that witch hunting is mentioned, people who listen to it don't feel much, they just think it is a very distant term, but only those who live in it will understand how far-reaching and profound the influence of this bill is with the support of the Holy See. How horrible. Guess when the last witch trial took place."
I thought about it for a while and said, "A few years ago in 1880s."
Let shook his head, "In 1944, the witch Helen Duncan was arrested by the British government."
I was surprised and said: "1944"
Let smiled and said: "You see, the persecution of witches is not as far away as you think. Britain passed the Witchcraft Act in 1735, and it was not abolished by Churchill until 1951. You can imagine that from 1484 to the end of the 19th century, my How difficult is the life of our ancestors. Since we signed a covenant with mermaids in the fifteenth century, we have followed and served mermaids, not only because they saved us, but also because witches and mermaids are regarded as alien by humans , also because mermen have helped us continue to do what we love to do and study our wicked witchcraft, the secrets of the human body, the secrets of every plant and every animal. Witches, past and present, have longed to know what lies hidden in this flesh Wanting a healthier body, a younger appearance, and a longer life was previously regarded as heresy, and only mermaids recognized our obsession, but now we are called scientists."
Let smiled self-deprecatingly, and said: "Nowadays, every woman pursues young and beautiful young and beautiful women more crazily than witches in the past Reasonable existence, even those witches who study psychics are only studying supernatural phenomena. My ancestors have always fantasized about the arrival of this day, and without the help and funding of the mermaid, we would not be able to make it today."
Let stared at me, and said very sincerely: "We owe a lot to the mermaid, and as followers of the Regu clan, our family owes him a lot. Please believe that my love and loyalty to Regu will never compare to You are less."
I have no doubts about her loyalty to Wu Julan, but, just like a mother-in-law who loves her son deeply, I said to my daughter-in-law: "What is the purpose of your visit today?"
Let picked up a cup of tea, drank it quietly, and said: "Andersen told the story of the Little Mermaid from his point of view, do you want to listen to the story of the Little Mermaid from the point of view of the witch?"
I have always known the truth that curiosity killed the cat, so I said cautiously: "I would only want to know if it was related to Wu Julan."
Let said: "The evolution direction of mermaids is different from that of us humans. Human beings rely more on external forces such as technology, but the evolution of mermaids has always revolved around themselves. Every mermaid has a precious soul orb in its body. The mermaid's spirit orb and their Mental strength is closely related."
I asked: "What is spiritual power?"
Let said: "It's hard to use our human terms to define it precisely. Simply put, it is not like strong fists, sharp teeth, and other physical powers that can be directly seen by the eyes. For example, the singing of mermaids is a kind of their spiritual power. External forms of expression. Also, the mysterious way of communication between mermaids and sea creatures, the echolocation of mermaids like dolphins, these invisible and intangible forces are all considered as the spiritual power of mermaids.”
I nodded, indicating that I probably understood.
Let said: "A long time ago, there was a human prince who traveled in the sea. A little mermaid who had never been to land and had never seen a human curiously followed the prince's boat and kept peeping at them. Unfortunately, the prince's The boat was caught in a storm and fell into the sea. The little mermaid wanted to save him, but unfortunately she was not strong enough, and the storm was too strong, so the prince was still drowned. The little mermaid was very guilty and could not bear the prince to die like this. He gave his soul orb to the human prince. With the power of the mermaid spirit orb, the prince came back from the dead."