Prevod

A sheepdog had a master who was not kind to him, but left him to go hungry. When he could bear to stay with him no longer, he went away, full of sorrow. On the road he met a sparrow, who said, “Brother Dog, why are you so sad?” The dog answered, “I am hungry and have nothing to eat.” Then the sparrow said, “Dear brother, come with me into town, and I will see that you have your fill.” So they went into town together, and when they came to a butcher’s shop, the sparrow said to the dog, “Wait here, and I will peck down a piece of meat for you.” He perched on the counter, looked about to make sure no one was watching, and pecked and pulled and tugged at a piece lying near the edge until it slipped off. The dog caught it, ran into a corner, and ate it up. Then the sparrow said, “Now come with me to another shop, and I will get you another piece, so that you have enough.” When the dog had eaten the second piece as well, the sparrow asked, “Brother Dog, have you had your fill now?” “Yes, I have had enough meat,” he answered, “but I have had no bread yet.” The sparrow said, “You shall have that too. Just come with me.” He led him to a baker’s shop and pecked at a couple of rolls until they tumbled down, and when the dog wanted more, he led him to another shop and brought down some more bread for him. When that was eaten, the sparrow said, “Brother Dog, have you had your fill now?” “Yes,” he answered, “now let us go a little way out of town.”

So they both went out onto the country road. The weather was warm, and when they had gone a little way, the dog said, “I am tired and would like to sleep.” “Yes, go to sleep,” answered the sparrow. “I will sit on a branch meanwhile.” So the dog lay down in the road and fell fast asleep. While he lay there sleeping, a carter came driving along with a wagon drawn by three horses and loaded with two casks of wine. The sparrow saw that he had no intention of turning aside, but was keeping to the rut where the dog lay. So he cried, “Carter, do not do it, or I will make you poor!” But the carter muttered to himself, “You will not make me poor,” cracked his whip, and drove the wagon over the dog, so that the wheels killed him. Then the sparrow cried, “You have run over my brother Dog and killed him, and it shall cost you your cart and horses.” “Yes, my cart and horses!” said the carter. “What harm could you do me?” And he drove on. The sparrow crept beneath the wagon’s canvas cover and pecked at the bung of one of the casks until he loosened it, and all the wine ran out without the carter noticing. When at last he looked behind him, he saw that the wagon was dripping, examined the casks, and found that one was empty. “Oh, poor me!” he cried. “Not poor enough yet,” said the sparrow, and flew onto the head of one of the horses and pecked out its eyes. When the carter saw this, he pulled out his hatchet and tried to strike the sparrow, but the sparrow flew up, and the carter struck his horse on the head, so that it fell down dead. “Oh, poor me!” he cried. “Not poor enough yet,” said the sparrow, and as the carter drove on with the two horses, the sparrow crept beneath the cover again and pecked loose the bung of the second cask, so that all the wine sloshed out. When the carter discovered this, he cried again, “Oh, poor me!” But the sparrow answered, “Not poor enough yet,” perched on the second horse’s head, and pecked out its eyes. The carter ran up and swung his hatchet, but the sparrow flew up, and the blow struck the horse, so that it fell down. “Oh, poor me!” “Not poor enough yet,” said the sparrow, and perched on the third horse’s head as well, pecking at its eyes. In his rage, the carter struck wildly at the sparrow without looking, but missed him and killed his third horse too. “Oh, poor me!” he cried. “Not poor enough yet,” answered the sparrow. “Now I will make you poor at home,” and flew away.

The carter had to leave his wagon where it stood and went home full of anger and vexation. “Oh,” he said to his wife, “what bad luck I have had! The wine has all run out, and all three horses are dead.” “Oh, husband,” she answered, “what a wicked bird has come into the house! He has gathered together all the birds in the world, and they have fallen upon our wheat upstairs and are eating it up.” He went upstairs, and there were thousands upon thousands of birds sitting in the loft, and they had eaten up the wheat, with the sparrow sitting in their midst. Then the carter cried, “Oh, poor me!” “Not poor enough yet,” answered the sparrow. “Carter, it will cost you your life yet,” and he flew out.

Now the carter had lost everything he owned. He went downstairs into the sitting room and sat behind the stove, seething with spite and rage. But the sparrow sat outside the window and cried, “Carter, it will cost you your life!” Then the carter seized his hatchet and threw it at the sparrow, but only shattered the windowpanes and missed the bird. The sparrow hopped inside, perched on the stove, and cried, “Carter, it will cost you your life!” Quite mad and blind with fury, the carter smashed the stove to pieces, and then, as the sparrow flew from place to place, he smashed all his household things—the little mirror, the benches, the table, and at last even the walls of his house—yet still he could not hit him. At last, however, he managed to catch him in his hand. Then his wife said, “Shall I kill him?” “No,” he cried, “that would be too merciful. He shall die a far more dreadful death. I will swallow him.” And he took the sparrow and swallowed him whole. But the sparrow began to flutter inside him and fluttered back up into the man’s mouth. Then he poked out his head and cried, “Carter, it will cost you your life after all!” The carter handed his wife the hatchet and said, “Wife, strike the bird dead in my mouth!” His wife struck, but missed the bird and hit the carter squarely on the head, so that he fell down dead. And the sparrow flew up and away.