一个小钱包

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 womans 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 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 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 womans 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 wont feed you for nothing any longer.” As soon as the rooster escaped from the old mans hands it ran off down the high-road. While thus pursuing its way， 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 mans 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 roosters 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 gentlemans window， screaming： “Kikeriki， sir， Kikerikak， to me the little purse give back.”

“Heaven knows that Ive 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 roosters delight. It swallowed bulls， oxen， cows， and calves， till it had 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 gentlemans 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： “Ill lock it up in the treasurechamber. Perhaps if it tries to swallow the 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 gentlemans 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 roosters 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 womans 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 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.

从前有一位老爷爷和一位老奶奶。老奶奶有一只母鸡，老爷爷有一只公鸡;老奶奶的母鸡每天下两个鸡蛋，她吃了很多鸡蛋，但她从没给过老爷爷一个鸡蛋。一天，老爷爷不再耐心，向她说道：“听着，老友，你看上去衣食无忧的，给我几个鸡蛋吧，让我至少尝尝那味道。”

“不行！”这位异常贪婪的老奶奶回答道。“你想要鸡蛋就打你的公鸡，也许它就会给你下蛋，然后你就可以吃了，我就是这样鞭打母鸡的，看看它现在多会下蛋。”

老爷爷出于贫穷和贪心，听信了老奶奶的话，他愤怒地抓住公鸡，暴打了一顿，说道：“好了，现在给我下几个蛋，要不你就滚出去，我不会再白养你了。”公鸡从老爷爷那儿逃离出去，跑到了公路上。在路上走着走着，瞧！它发现了一个装有两个半便士的小钱包。公鸡用嘴叼着钱包往回走去老爷爷家。在路上，它碰到了一辆载着一位绅士和几位女士的马车。那位绅士看着公鸡，看见它衔着钱包，便对车夫说：“下去看看这只公鸡嘴里衔着的是什么。”

车夫急忙跳下座位，从公鸡嘴里拿走小钱包，递给他的主人。绅士把钱包放进口袋后继续上路。公鸡很生气并边追着马车边不停地说：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，还我钱包。”

经过一口井时，恼火的绅士对车夫说：“把这只放肆的公鸡扔进井里。”车夫抓住公鸡并把它扔下井里。公鸡开始喝井水，直到把井水都喝光。然后它飞出井，继续追马车，叫着：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，还我钱包。”绅士看到后非常吃惊。他回家后对厨师说，把公鸡放在炉灶里烧着的煤上，并在烟囱的出口处放一块大石头。公鸡看到这新恶行后，它开始把吞下的井水吐在燃烧的煤上。然后公鸡推开石头，安全地逃出来，跑到绅士的窗口外喊道：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，还我钱包。”

“天知道我竟被这只魔鬼公鸡折磨，”绅士说。“车夫，给我弄走它，把它扔到奶牛和公牛群里去;要是公牛用角去刺它，我们就解脱了。”你真该看看公鸡有多高兴。它吞下了公牛、阉牛、奶牛和小牛犊，把整个牛群都吞光了，它的胃撑得像一座山一样大。然后，它又跑到窗边，展开翅膀把阳光挡住，使绅士的房间漆黑一片，再次喊道：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，还我钱包。”

绅士看到后差点气疯了，不知道该如何摆脱公鸡。最终，他想到了一个办法：“我要把它锁在宝库。也许它吞下达卡金币时会噎着，我就可以摆脱它了。”公鸡吞下了所有的金币，箱子全空了。然后它逃出房间，走到绅士的窗边，又喊：“咯咯咯，先生，咯咯咯，还我钱包。”

绅士无计可施，唯有把钱包扔出去。公鸡捡起钱包就走了，绅士也得以安宁了。所有家禽都跟着公鸡，看起来像婚礼一样隆重。

老人听到公鸡的声音后高兴地跑出去见它。他的公鸡变得异常巨大——一头大象在它旁边就像一只跳蚤，公鸡身后跟着无数的小鸟，一只比一只漂亮。“主人，”公鸡说，“在院子中间铺一张毯子。”

公鸡站在上面，张开翅膀，院子里顿时出现了很多小鸟和牛，它把一堆金币抖落在毯子中，金币在阳光下闪闪发光。老人看到如此大量的财富高兴得不知如何是好，不停地拥抱、亲吻公鸡。

但老奶奶一看到这个壮观的场景就眼冒金光，恼火冲天。

“亲爱的老朋友，”她说，“给我些金币吧。”

“老太婆，你只能苦苦盼望着得到金币，我请求你给我些鸡蛋时，你知道你是怎样回答我的。現在去鞭打你的母鸡，也许它会给你金币。我打了公鸡，你看看它都给我带了什么回来。”

老奶奶走到鸡窝，摇晃着母鸡，抓着它的尾巴，使劲地打了它一顿，母鸡可怜地哭泣。母鸡从老奶奶手中逃跑后走到公路上。走着走着，它发现了一颗珠子，吞下并赶快回家，对着门咯咯地叫，老奶奶高兴地迎接它。她着急地想看看母鸡下了什么。一颗小玻璃珠子！老奶奶看到母鸡作弄她就开始打它，直到把它打死了。因此这个愚蠢的老太太变得教堂老鼠般一贫如洗。

老爷爷则变得十分富有，他盖起了大房子，建了美丽的花园，生活奢华。他让老奶奶给他饲养牲畜，自己则带着公鸡到处游玩，公鸡戴着一个金领子，穿着一双黄色的靴子，双脚直立行走，别人都认为它不只是一只普通的公鸡，而是圣诞剧里三位博士中的一位。