Prevod
Once upon a time there was a little child whose mother gave it a small bowl of milk and pieces of bread every afternoon, and the child would take it out into the courtyard. Whenever it began to eat, the house snake would come creeping out of a crack in the wall, dip its little head into the milk, and share the meal. The child delighted in this, and if it sat there with its little bowl and the snake did not come at once, it would call, 'Little snake, little snake, hurry along, come here, you little thing; you shall have your bit of bread, and milk to drink your fill.'
Then the snake would come hurrying over and enjoy its meal. It showed its gratitude, too, bringing the child all sorts of lovely things from its secret treasure: gleaming stones, pearls, and golden toys. But the snake drank only the milk and left the pieces of bread untouched. One day the child took its little spoon, tapped the snake gently on the head, and said, 'Little thing, eat some bread too.' The mother, who was standing in the kitchen, heard the child talking to someone, and when she saw it tapping a snake with its little spoon, she ran out with a log and killed the good creature.
From that time on, a change came over the child. As long as the snake had shared its meals, it had grown big and strong, but now it lost its lovely rosy cheeks and grew thin. Before long, the death-bird began to cry in the night, and the robin gathered little twigs and leaves for a funeral wreath, and soon afterward the child lay on its bier.
II An orphan girl was sitting by the town wall, spinning, when she saw a snake come out of an opening at the foot of the wall. Quickly she spread her blue silk kerchief beside her, for snakes are exceedingly fond of such cloth and will go onto nothing else. As soon as the snake caught sight of it, it turned back, then returned carrying a little golden crown, laid it on the kerchief, and went away again. The girl picked up the crown; it glittered and was made of delicate spun gold. Before long the snake returned a second time, but when it no longer saw the crown, it crept up to the wall and, in its grief, struck its little head against it as long as it had any strength left, until at last it lay dead. If the girl had left the crown where it was, the snake would surely have brought still more of its treasures out of the cave.
III The snake calls, 'Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo,' and the child says, 'Come on out.' The snake comes out, and the child asks after its little sister: 'Have you seen Little Red-Stockings?' The snake says, 'No, I haven't either. Have you, then? Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo.'