無所不知醫生

Once upon a time there was a poor farmer named Crab who drove a cord of wood into town with his two oxen and sold the wood to a doctor for two talers. When the farmer went inside to get his money， the doctor was just about to sit down to dinner， and the farmer admired the fine food and drink at the doctor’s table. His heart yearned for something like that， and he thought how nice it would be if he were a doctor. He lingered there awhile and finally asked if it was possible for someone like him to become a doctor.

“Of course，” said the doctor. “In no time at all.”

“What do I have to do？” asked the farmer.

“First， you must buy yourself an ABC book， the kind with the picture of a rooster in it. Second， sell your wagon and your two oxen， and buy some clothes and other things that doctors tend to need. Third， you must have a sign painted with the words ‘I am Doctor Know-All’ and nail it above your front door.”

The farmer did everything he was told， and when he had doctored for some time but not very long， a rich and mighty nobleman was robbed of some money， and had heard about Doctor Know-All， who was living in such and such a village and would probably know where the money had gone. So the nobleman had his carriage hitched up， drove out to the village， and inquired at the farmer’s house whether he was Doctor Know-All.

Yes， that was he， the farmer answered. Then the nobleman asked Doctor Know-All to come with him and help him get back his stolen money. The farmer agreed， but added that Greta， his wife， had to come along too. The nobleman agreed. He offered them both a seat in his carriage， and they drove off together. When they came to the nobleman’s house， the table was already set， and Doctor Know-All was to eat with the lord， but he wanted his wife Greta to eat with them too. So they all sat down together at the table.

Now， when the first servant arrived with a dish of delicious food， the farmer nudged his wife and said， “Greta， that was the first，” and he meant that that was the man with the first course. But the servant thought he meant “that’s the first thief，” and since he really was the thief， he got scared and went out to tell his accomplices，“The doctor knows everything. There’s trouble ahead. He said I was the first.”

The second servant did not even want to go in， but he had no choice. When he entered with his dish， the farmer nudged his wife and said， “Greta， that’s the second.” This servant too got scared and hurried out. The third fared no better. Again the farmer said， “Greta， that’s the third.” The fourth had to carry in a covered dish， and the nobleman asked the doctor to demonstrate his skill and guess what lay under the cover. Crabs were being served. When the farmer looked at the dish， he had no idea what to say. “Poor Crab！” he finally cried.

When the nobleman heard that， he exclaimed， “There， he knows！ I’m sure he must also know who has the money.”

The servant was frightened to death and winked at the doctor to step outside for a moment. When he got outside， all four servants confessed to him that they had stolen the money. They proposed that he take charge of it and offered a large sum in addition if he would not expose them. Otherwise， they would all be hanged. Then they led him to the place where they had hidden the money. The doctor was satisfied， went back inside， sat down at the table， and said， “Sir， now I want to look in my book to see where the money’s been hidden.”

In the meantime， the fifth servant had crawled into the stove to see if he could hear what else the doctor knew. As the doctor sat there at the table， he opened his ABC book and turned the pages back and forth looking for the rooster. Since he could not find it right away， he said， “I know you’re there. I’m bound to find you.”

The servant in the stove thought that the doctor was talking about him， and he jumped out of the stove in fright and said， “That man knows everything！”

Then Doctor Know-All showed the nobleman where the money was， but he did not reveal who had stolen it. As a reward， he received money from both sides and became a famous man.

從前有一個名叫克拉布的貧苦農民。他用自己的兩頭牛運了一捆木材進城，并把木材以兩泰勒元的價錢賣給了一位醫生。當農民進去拿錢的時候，醫生正要坐下來吃晚餐，農民很羨慕醫生餐桌上的美味佳肴。他的內心十分向往這樣的東西，他想要是自己也是一名醫生，那該多好啊。在那里徘徊了一會兒后，他終于開口問：像他這樣的人，有沒有可能成為醫生。

“當然可以，”醫生說。“馬上就可以。”

“我需要做些什么呢？”農民問道。

“首先，你必須給自己買一本入門書，就是有一幅公雞圖畫在上面的那種。第二，賣掉你的四輪馬車和兩頭牛，然后去買些醫生需要的衣服和其它東西。第三，你必須有一個寫著‘我是無所不知醫生’這幾個字的牌子，而且還要把它釘在你的前門上。”

于是農民把所有事情都做了。他行醫了一段不太長的時間之后，一個有權有勢的貴族的錢被偷了。貴族聽說有個無所不知醫生住在某某村子里，可能會知道錢到底到哪里去了。于是這位貴族就給馬車套上繩子，出發前往那個村子。到了農民房子前，貴族問他是不是無所不知醫生。

是的，他就是，農民回答道。貴族叫無所不知醫生跟他走，幫他找回被偷的錢。農民答應了，但他補充說他的妻子格里塔也必須一起去。貴族同意了。他讓兩人都坐上了馬車，一起坐車回去。當他們來到貴族家的時候，餐桌已經擺好，無所不知醫生馬上要和貴族一起用餐，但他想讓妻子格里塔和他們一起用餐。……