En kold dag gled under Lars' cykel i København.

On a cold day under Lars' bike in Copenhagen.

Han var en eventyrlysten mand, altid i jagt efter det næste store eventyr.

He was an adventurous man, always in search of the next great adventure.

Men denne dag bragte mere eventyr, end han nogensinde kunne have forventet.

But this day brought more adventure than he ever could have expected.

Lars cyklede ad den velkendte rute langs Langelinie.

Lars rode along the familiar route along Langelinie.

Han bevægede sig hurtigt, men sikkert, for han kendte hver eneste klinke på denne vej.

He moved quickly but safely, for he knew every cobblestone on this road.

I det fjerne kunne han se den lille statue.

In the distance, he could see the little statue.

Dette var hans destination: statuen af Den Lille Havfrue.

This was his destination: the statue of the Little Mermaid.

Lænet mod en sten, havfruen kiggede bedrøvet ud over havet.

Leaning against a rock, the mermaid gazed sadly out over the sea.

Lars steg af cyklen, ude af stand til at ignorere det triste udtryk på statuens ansigt.

Lars got off his bike, unable to ignore the sad expression on the statue's face.

Han tog sin telefon op for at tage en selfie, en chance for at fange både hans smil og havfruens triste udtryk.

He took out his phone to take a selfie, a chance to capture both his smile and the mermaid's sad expression.

Mens Lars posedede for billedet, mistede han balancen.

As Lars posed for the picture, he lost balance.

Hans cykel gled sidelæns.

His bike slid sideways.

"Åh nej!

"Oh no!"

" råbte han, mens han og cyklen tumlede ned i kanalen.

he shouted as he and the bike tumbled into the canal.

Vandet var køligt og mørkt, og Lars flød op til overfladen, hostende og spytter vand ud.

The water was chilly and dark, and Lars floated to the surface, coughing and spitting out water.

En flok skrattende måger fløj over, som om Lars var dagens underholdning.

A flock of squawking seagulls flew overhead, as if Lars were the entertainment of the day.

Han kiggede op og så statuen af Den Lille Havfrue, der stod ensom tilbage på klippen.

He looked up and saw the statue of the Little Mermaid, standing alone on the rock.

At falde i vandet var overraskende, men ikke farligt.

Falling into the water was surprising but not dangerous.

Men Lars' telefon, den som havde fanget hans smiley selfie et øjeblik før, var nu ødelagt af det kolde kanalvand.

But Lars' phone, the one that had captured his smiling selfie a moment before, was now destroyed by the cold canal water.

I de næste dage kæmpede Lars med tabet af sin telefon.

In the following days, Lars struggled with the loss of his phone.

Det var ikke bare en telefon.

It wasn't just a phone.

Det var hans følgesvend, hans forbindelse til verden, hans underholdningscenter og hans kamera.

It was his companion, his connection to the world, his entertainment center, and his camera.

Uden det følte Lars sig tom.

Without it, Lars felt empty.

Endelig, efter en uges tid, indså Lars, at verden ikke sluttede uden en telefon.

Finally, after a week, Lars realized that the world didn't end without a phone.

Han begyndte at gå uden for mere, oplevede byen som han aldrig havde gjort det før.

He started going outside more, experiencing the city like he never had before.

Han så København, ikke gennem en skærm, men med sine egne øjne.

He saw Copenhagen, not through a screen, but with his own eyes.

Lars vendte tilbage til statuen af Den Lille Havfrue.

Lars returned to the statue of the Little Mermaid.

Denne gang uden sin telefon.

This time without his phone.

Af en eller anden grund syntes lige den triste havfrue at være mindre trist.

For some reason, the sad mermaid seemed less sad.

Måske var det fordi, hun vidste, at Lars nu så hende, virkelig så hende, uden at blive forstyrret af sin telefon.

Maybe it was because she knew that Lars now saw her, truly saw her, without being distracted by his phone.

Lars havde lavet en mislykket selfie og ødelagt hans telefon.

Lars had made a failed selfie and destroyed his phone.

Men i processen havde han genopdaget sin by og sig selv.

But in the process, he rediscovered his city and himself.

Han lærte, at nogle gange vinder du mere, når du mister noget.

He learned that sometimes you gain more when you lose something.

Og sådan endte Lars' hændelsesrige tur til Den Lille Havfrue-statuen.

And that's how Lars' eventful trip to the Little Mermaid statue ended.