The Little Mermaid / Litla Hafmeyjan

When it grew dark, a number of colored lamps were lighted

egar dimmt var var kveikt nokkrum litu um l mpum

the sailors and royal family danced merrily on the deck

sj mennirnir og konungsfj lskyldan d nsu u k tir dekkinu

The little mermaid could not help thinking of her birthday

Litla hafmeyjan gat ekki varist v a hugsa um afm li sitt

the day that she rose out of the sea for the first time

daginn sem h n reis upp r sj num fyrsta sinn

similar joyful festivities were celebrated on that day

svipu gle ih t var haldin ann dag

she thought about the wonder and hope she felt that day

h n hugsa i um undrunina og vonina sem h n fann ann dag

with those pleasant memories, she too joined in the dance

me essum skemmtilegu minningum t k h n l ka tt dansinum

on her paining feet, she poised herself in the air

s rsaukafullum f tum s num stillti h n s r upp lofti

the way a swallow poises itself when in pursued of prey

hvernig svala stillir sig upp egar h n er elt af br

the sailors and the servants cheered her wonderingly

sj mennirnir og j narnir f gnu u henni undrandi

She had never danced so gracefully before

H n haf i aldrei dansa jafn tignarlega ur

Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives

Aumir f tur hennar voru eins og skornir me beittum hn fum

but she cared little for the pain of her feet

en henni var l ti um s rsauka f tanna