一個小錢包

There was once an old man and an old woman. The old woman had a hen and the old man had a rooster； the old woman’s hen laid two eggs a day and she ate a great many， but she would not give the old man a single one. One day the old man lost patience and said： “Listen， old crony， you live as if you were in 1）clover， give me a couple of eggs so that I can at least have a taste of them.”

“No indeed！” replied the old woman， who was very 2）avaricious. “If you want eggs， beat your rooster so that he may lay eggs for you， and then eat them； I flogged my hen， and just see how she lays now.”

The old man， being stingy and greedy， listened to the old woman’s talk， angrily seized his rooster， gave him a sound thrashing and said： “There， now， lay some eggs for me or else go out of the house， I won’t feed you for nothing any longer.” As soon as the rooster escaped from the old man’s hands it ran off down the high-road. While thus pursuing its way， 3）lo and behold！ It found a little purse with two half-pennies. Taking it in its beak， the bird turned and went back toward the old man’s house. On the road it met a carriage containing a gentleman and several ladies. The gentleman looked at the rooster， saw a purse in its bill， and said to the driver： “Get down and see what this rooster has in its beak.”

The driver hastily jumped from his box， took the little purse from the rooster’s bill， and gave it to his master. The gentleman put it in his pocket and drove on. The rooster was very angry and ran after the carriage， repeating continually： “Kikeriki， sir， Kikerikak， to me the little purse give back.”

The enraged gentleman said to the coachman as they passed a well： “Take that impudent rooster and throw it into the well.”The coachman seized the rooster， and flung it down the well. The rooster began to swallow the water， and drank and drank till it had swallowed all the water in the well. Then it flew out and again ran after the carriage， calling： “Kikeriki， sir， Kikerikak， to me the little purse give back.” When the gentleman saw this， he was perfectly amazed. When he reached home he told the cook to take the rooster， throw it on the coals burning upon the hearth， and push a big stone in front of the opening in the chimney. When the rooster saw this new injustice， it began to spit out the water it had swallowed till it had poured all the water from the well upon the burning coals. Then the rooster gave the stone a push， came out safe and sound， ran to the gentleman’s window， screaming： “Kikeriki， sir， Kikerikak， to me the little purse give back.”

“Heaven knows that I’ve got a torment in this monster of a rooster，” said the gentleman. “Driver， rid me of it， toss it into the middle of the herds of cows and oxen； perhaps some bull will stick its horns through it and relieve us.” You ought to have seen the rooster’s delight. It swallowed bulls， oxen， cows， and calves， till it had 4）devoured the whole herd and its stomach had grown as big as a mountain. Then it went to the window again， spread out its wings before the sun so that it darkened the gentleman’s room， and once more began：“Kikeriki， sir， Kikerikak， to me the little purse give back.”

When the gentleman saw this he was ready to burst with rage and did not know what to do to get rid of the rooster. At last an idea entered his head： “I’ll lock it up in the treasurechamber. Perhaps if it tries to swallow the 5）ducats one will stick in its throat， and I shall get rid of the bird.” The rooster swallowed all the money and left the chests empty. Then it escaped from the room， went to the gentleman’s window， and again began： “Kikeriki， sir， Kikerikak， to me the little purse give back.”

As the gentleman saw that there was nothing else to be done he tossed the purse out. The rooster picked it up， went about its own business， and left the gentleman in peace. All the poultry ran after the rooster so that it really looked like a wedding.

When the old man heard the rooster’s voice he ran out joyfully to meet the bird. His rooster had become a terrible object. An elephant beside it would have seemed like a flea； and following behind came countless flocks of birds， each one more beautiful and brilliant than the other. “Master，” said the bird， “spread a sheet here in the middle of the yard.”

The rooster took its stand upon it， spread its wings， and instantly the whole yard was filled with birds and herds of cattle， but it shook out on the sheet a pile of ducats that flashed in the sun till they dazzled the eyes. When the old man beheld this vast treasure， he did not know what to do in his delight. He hugged and kissed the rooster.

But all at once the old woman saw this marvelous spectacle her eyes glittered in her head， and she was ready to burst with wrath.“Dear old friend，” she said， “give me a few ducats.”

“Pine away with longing for them， old woman； when I begged you for some eggs， you know what you answered. Now flog your hen that it may bring you ducats. I beat my rooster， and you see what it has fetched me.”

The old woman went to the hen-coop， shook the hen， took it by the tail， and gave it such a drubbing that it was enough to make one weep for pity. When the poor hen escaped from the old woman’s hands it fled to the highway. While walking along it found a bead， swallowed it， hurried back home as fast as possible， and began to cackle at the gate. The old woman welcomed it joyfully. The old woman hastened to see what the hen had laid. A little glass bead！ When the old woman saw that the hen had fooled her， she began to beat it， and beat till she flogged it to death. So the stupid old soul remained as poor as a 6）church-mouse.

But the old man was very rich； he built great houses， laid out beautiful gardens， and lived luxuriously. He made the old woman his poultry-maid， the rooster he took about with him everywhere， dressed in a gold collar， yellow boots， and spurs on its heels， so that one might have thought it was one of the Three Kings from the Christmas play instead of a mere ordinary rooster.

從前有一位老爺爺和一位老奶奶。老奶奶有一只母雞，老爺爺有一只公雞；老奶奶的母雞每天下兩個雞蛋，她吃了很多雞蛋，但她從沒給過老爺爺一個雞蛋。一天，老爺爺不再耐心，向她說道：“聽著，老友，你看上去衣食無憂的，給我幾個雞蛋吧，讓我至少嘗嘗那味道?！?/p>

“不行！”這位異常貪婪的老奶奶回答道?！澳阆胍u蛋就打你的公雞，也許它就會給你下蛋，然后你就可以吃了，我就是這樣鞭打母雞的，看看它現在多會下蛋。”

老爺爺出于貧窮和貪心，聽信了老奶奶的話，他憤怒地抓住公雞，暴打了一頓，說道：“好了，現在給我下幾個蛋，要不你就滾出去，我不會再白養你了?！惫u從老爺爺那兒逃離出去，跑到了公路上。在路上走著走著，瞧！它發現了一個裝有兩個半便士的小錢包。公雞用嘴叼著錢包往回走去老爺爺家。在路上，它碰到了一輛載著一位紳士和幾位女士的馬車。那位紳士看著公雞，看見它銜著錢包，便對車夫說：“下去看看這只公雞嘴里銜著的是什么?！?/p>

車夫急忙跳下座位，從公雞嘴里拿走小錢包，遞給他的主人。紳士把錢包放進口袋后繼續上路。公雞很生氣并邊追著馬車邊不停地說：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，還我錢包?！?/p>

經過一口井時，惱火的紳士對車夫說：“把這只放肆的公雞扔進井里?！避嚪蜃プ」u并把它扔下井里。公雞開始喝井水，直到把井水都喝光。然后它飛出井，繼續追馬車，叫著：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，還我錢包。”紳士看到后非常吃驚。他回家后對廚師說，把公雞放在爐灶里燒著的煤上，并在煙囪的出口處放一塊大石頭。……