Prevod

Once upon a time there was a man who had three sons, Peer and Paal and Esben Askelad; but apart from his three sons he had nothing at all, for he was so poor he did not own so much as a needle. So he often told them they must go out into the world and see if they could earn their bread, for if they stayed at home with him, they would only starve to death.

Some way from the man’s home stood the king’s palace, and just outside the king’s windows an oak had grown so great and stout that it shut out the light from the palace;

the king had offered a great deal of money to anyone who could cut down the oak, but no one could manage it, for as soon as someone chopped a single chip from its trunk, two grew in its place. The king also wanted a well dug that would hold water all year round, for all his neighbours had wells, but he had none, and the king thought that a disgrace. To anyone who could dig him such a well, one that would hold water throughout the year, he had promised money and other rewards, but no one could do it, for the palace stood high, high up on a hill, and scarcely had they dug a few inches into the ground before they struck solid rock. But the king had now set his heart on having these things done, so he had it proclaimed at every church, far and wide, that whoever could cut down the great oak at the palace and provide him with a well that held water all year round should have the princess and half the kingdom. There were plenty who wanted to try, as you may imagine, but for all their chopping and hacking, all their scraping and digging, it was no use: the oak grew thicker and thicker with every stroke, and the rock grew no softer either. After a while the three brothers decided to set off and try their luck too, and their father was well pleased, for even if they did not win the king’s daughter and half the kingdom, they might find work somewhere with a good man, he thought, and he wished for nothing more. So when the brothers suggested going to the palace, their father said yes at once, and Peer and Paal and Esben Askelad set off.

When they had walked some way, they came to a spruce-covered hillside, with a steep ridge rising just above it, and they heard something chopping and chopping up on the ridge. “I wonder what it is that’s chopping up there on the ridge?” said Esben Askelad. “You and your clever wondering!” said Peer and Paal. “What is there to wonder at in a woodcutter standing up on the ridge chopping wood?” “Well, I should like to see what it is all the same,” said Esben Askelad, and off he went. “Oh yes, if you’re such a child, the walk will do you good!” his brothers called after him. But Esben took no notice; he set off up the slopes towards the sound of chopping, and when he got there, he saw an axe standing there chopping and chopping at a pine trunk. “Good day!” said Esben Askelad. “So you’re standing here chopping?” “Yes, I’ve been standing here chopping for many a long day, waiting for you,” answered the axe. “Well, well, here I am,” said Esben. He took the axe, knocked the head off its handle, and put both pieces into his knapsack. When he came down to his brothers again, they began laughing and making fun of him. “What wonderful thing did you see up on the ridge?” they asked. “Oh, it was only an axe we heard,” said Esben.

When they had walked on a little farther, they came beneath an overhanging crag, and up there they heard something picking and digging. “I wonder what it is that’s picking and digging up under that crag?” said Esben Askelad. “You and your clever wondering, as always!” said Peer and Paal again;

“have you never heard birds tapping and pecking at the trees before?” “Yes, but I should like to see what it is all the same,” said Esben. For all their laughter and mockery, he took no notice, but set off towards the crag, and when he came up beneath it, he saw a pickaxe standing there picking and digging. “Good day!” said Esben Askelad. “So you’re standing here picking and digging all by yourself?” “Yes, I am,” said the pickaxe. “I’ve been standing here picking and digging for many a long day, waiting for you.” “Well, well, here I am,” said Esben again. He took the pickaxe, knocked the head off its handle, and stowed it in his knapsack, then went down to his brothers again. “You must have seen something wonderfully strange up under that crag?” said Peer and Paal. “Oh, it was nothing much, only a pickaxe we heard,” answered Esben. Then they walked a good way farther together, until they came to a brook;

all three were thirsty now after their walk, so they lay down beside the brook to drink. “I do wonder where this water comes from,” said Esben Askelad. “I wonder whether you’re right in the head,” said Peer and Paal.

“If you aren’t mad already, you’ll surely wonder yourself mad before long. Where does the brook come from? Have you never seen water welling up from a spring in the ground?” “Yes, but I should like to see where it comes from all the same,” said Esben;

and off he went up the brook. His brothers might shout after him and laugh at him all they pleased; it was no use, he went his own way. When he had gone a long way upstream, the brook grew smaller and smaller, and when he went a little farther still, he caught sight of a large walnut, with water trickling out of it. “Good day!” said Esben again;

“so you’re lying here trickling and flowing all by yourself?” “Yes, I am,” said the walnut. “I’ve been lying here trickling and flowing for many a long day, waiting for you.” “Well, well, here I am,” said Esben. He took a tuft of moss and plugged the hole so that no water could escape, then put the walnut into his knapsack and hurried back down to his brothers. “So now you’ve seen where the water comes from? It must have been a wonderfully strange sight, I imagine,” said Peer and Paal. “Oh, it was only a hole it was running out of,” said Esben. Then the other two laughed and made fun of him again, but Esben Askelad took no notice. “Well, I enjoyed seeing it all the same,” he said.

When they had walked a little farther, they came to the palace. But since everyone in the kingdom had heard that they could win the princess and half the kingdom if they could cut down the great oak and dig the king a well, so many had come to try their luck that the oak was now twice as thick and large as it had been at first, for two chips grew in place of every one they chopped away with the axe, as you will remember.

So the king had now decreed that anyone who tried and failed to fell the oak should have both ears cut off and be put out on an island. But the two brothers were not frightened by this; they were sure they could bring the oak down, and Peer, being the eldest, was to try first. But he fared just like all the others who had chopped at the oak: for every chip he cut away, two grew in its place. So the king’s men seized him, cut off both his ears, and put him out on the island. Now Paal wanted to try, but he fared exactly the same. When he had struck two or three blows and they saw that the oak was growing, the king’s men seized him too and put him out on the island, and they cut his ears even closer, for they thought he ought to have learned from his brother to be more careful. Then Esben Askelad wanted to try. “If you’re so determined to look like an earmarked sheep, we’ll gladly cut your ears off at once and save you the trouble,” said the king, who was angry with him on his brothers’ account. “I should like to have a try first, all the same,” said Esben, and so he was allowed. He took his axe out of his knapsack and fitted the head back onto its handle. “Chop for yourself!” Esben told the axe, and it began chopping so that the chips flew, and before long the oak came down. When that was done, Esben took out his pickaxe and fitted it to its handle.

“Dig for yourself!” said Esben, and the pickaxe began picking and digging so that earth and stones flew everywhere, and you may be sure the well soon took shape. When he had made it as deep and wide as he wished, Esben Askepot took out his walnut and laid it in one corner at the bottom, then pulled out the tuft of moss. “Trickle and flow!” said Esben, and it began to flow, with water gushing out of the hole. In a little while the well was full to the brim. So Esben had cut down the oak that shaded the king’s windows and provided a well at the palace, and he received the princess and half the kingdom, just as the king had promised. But it was a good thing for Peer and Paal that they had lost their ears, for otherwise they would have had to listen every hour of the day to everyone saying that Esben Askelad’s wondering had not been so foolish after all.