大拇哥游記Thumbling as Journeyman

　　大拇哥游記Thumbling as Journeyman

　　A certain tailor had a son, who happened to be small, and no bigger than a thumb, and on this account he was always called thumbling.  He had, however, some courage in him, and said to his father, father, I must and will go out into the world. That's right, my son, said the old man, and took a long darning-needle and made a knob of sealing-wax on it at the handle, and there is a sword for you to take with you on the way. Then the little tailor wanted to have one more meal with them, and hopped into the kitchen to see what his mother had cooked for the last time.  But it was already served, and the dish stood on the hearth.  Then he said, mother, what is there to eat to-day. See for yourself, said his mother.  So thumbling jumped on to the hearth, and peeped into the dish, but as he stretched his neck in too far the steam from the food caught hold of him, and carried him up the chimney. He rode about in the air on the steam for a while, until at length he sank down to the ground again.  Now the little tailor was outside in the wide world, and he traveled about, and went to a master in his craft, but the food was not good enough for him.  Mistress, if you give us no better food, said thumbling, I will go away, and early to-morrow morning I will write with chalk on the door of your house - too many potatoes, too little meat.Farewell, Mr. Potato-king.

　　What would you have forsooth, grasshopper, said the mistress, and grew angry, and seized a dishcloth, and was just going to strike him, but my little tailor crept nimbly under a thimble, peeped out from beneath it, and put his tongue out at the mistress.  She took up the thimble, and wanted to get hold of him, but little thumbling hopped into the cloth, and while the mistress was opening it out and looking for him, he got into a crevice in the table.  Ho, ho, lady mistress, cried he, and thrust his head out, and when she began to strike him he leapt down into the drawer.  At last, however, she caught him and drove him out of the house.

　　The little tailor journeyed on and came to a great forest, and there he fell in with a band of robbers who had a design to steal the king's treasure.  When they saw the little tailor, they thought, a little fellow like that can creep through a

　　key-hole and serve as picklock to us.  HI, there, cried one of them, you giant goliath, will you go to the treasure-chamber with us.  You can slip yourself in and throw out the money. Thumbling reflected a while, and at length he said, yes, and went with them to the treasure-chamber.  Then he looked at the doors above and below, to see if there was any crack in them.  It was not long before he espied one which was broad enough to let him in.  He was therefore about to get in at once, but one of the two sentries who stood before the door, observed him, and said to the other, what an ugly spider is creeping there, I will kill it.  Let the poor creature alone, said the other, it has done you no harm.  Then thumbling got safely through the crevice into the treasure-chamber, opened the window beneath which the robbers were standing, and threw out to them one taler after another.  When the little tailor was in the full swing of his work, he heard the king coming to inspect his treasure-chamber, and crept hastily into a hiding-place.  The king noticed that several solid talers were missing, but could not conceive who could have stolen them, for locks and bolts were in good condition, and all seemed well guarded.  Then he went away again, and said to the sentries, be on the watch, someone is after the money.  When therefore thumbling recommenced his labors, they heard the money moving, and a sound of klink, klink, klink.  They ran swiftly in to seize the thief, but the little tailor, who heard them coming, was still swifter, and leapt into a corner and covered himself with a taler, so that nothing could be seen of him, and at the same time he mocked the sentries and cried, here am I.

　　The sentries ran thither, but as they got there, he had already hopped into another corner under a taler, and was crying, ho, ho, here am I.  And thus he made fools of them, and drove them so long round about the treasure-chamber that they were weary and went away.  Then by degrees he threw all the talers out, dispatching the last with all his might, then hopped nimbly upon it, and flew down with it through the window.  The robbers paid him great compliments.  You are a valiant hero, said they, will you be our captain.

　　Thumbling, however, declined, and said he wanted to see the world first.  They now divided the booty, but the little tailor only asked for a kreuzer because he could not carry more. Then he once more buckled on his sword, bade the robbers goodbye,

　　and took to the road.  First, he went to work with some masters, but he had no liking for that, and at last he hired himself as manservant in an inn.  The maids, however, could not endure him, for he saw all they did secretly, without their

　　seeing him, and he told their employers what they had taken off the plates, and carried away out of the cellar, for themselves. Then said they, wait, and we will pay you out, and arranged with each other to play him a trick.  Soon afterwards when one of the maids was mowing in the garden, and saw thumbling jumping about

　　and creeping up and down the plants, she mowed him up quickly with the grass, tied all in a great cloth, and secretly threw it to the cows.  Now amongst them there was a great black one, who swallowed him down without hurting him.  Down below, however, it did not suit him, for it was quite dark, neither was any candle burning.  When the cow was being milked he cried,

　　strip, strap, strull,

　　when will the pail be full.

　　But the noise of the milking prevented his being understood. After this the master of the house came into the stall and said, that cow shall be killed to-morrow.  Then thumbling was so alarmed that he cried out in a clear voice, let me out first,

　　I am sitting inside her.  The master heard that quite well, but did not know from whence the voice came.  Where are you, asked he.  In the black one, answered thumbling, but the master did not understand what that meant, and went out.

　　Next morning the cow was killed.  Happily thumbling did not meet with one blow at the cutting up and chopping, he got among the sausage-meat.  And when the butcher came in and began his work, he cried out with all his might, don't chop too deep,don't chop too deep, I am amongst it.  No one heard this because of the noise of the chopping-knife.  Now poor thumbling was in trouble, but trouble sharpens the wits, and he sprang out so adroitly between the blows that none of them touched him, and he escaped with a whole skin.  But still he could not get away, there was nothing for it but to let himself be thrust into a black-pudding with the bits of bacon.  His quarters there were rather confined, and besides that he was hung up in the chimney to be smoked, and there time did hang terribly heavy on his hands. At length in winter he was taken down again, as the black-pudding had to be set before a guest.  When the hostess was cutting it in slices, he took care not to stretch out his head too far lest a bit of it should be cut off, at last he saw his

　　opportunity, cleared a passage for himself, and jumped out.

　　The little tailor, however, would not stay any longer in a house where he fared so ill, so at once set out on his journey again. But his liberty did not last long.  In the open country he met with a fox who snapped him up without thinking.  HI, there, Mr. Fox, cried the little tailor, it is I who am sticking in your throat, set me at liberty again.  You are right, answered the fox.  You are next to nothing for me, but if you will promise me the fowls in your father's yard I will let you go.  With all my heart, replied thumbling.  You shall have all the cocks and hens,that I promise you.  Then the fox let him go again, and himself carried him home.  When the father once more saw his dear son, he willingly gave the fox all the fowls which he had.  For this I likewise bring you a handsome bit of money, said thumbling, and gave his father the kreuzer which he earned on his travels. But why did the fox get the poor chickens to eat.  Oh, you silly, your father would surely love his child far more than the fowls in the yard.

　　從前有個裁縫，他兒子個子矮小得只有大拇指那么大，因此人們叫他“大拇哥”。盡管大拇哥個頭小，可他挺勇敢。有一天，他對父親說：“父親，我要去周游世界。”“好哇，我的兒子，”老裁縫一邊說一邊拿來一根編織用的長針，在尾端用蠟做了個圓柄，“帶上這把劍備用吧。”小裁縫打算和家人一起再吃頓飯就出發(fā)，于是他蹦蹦跳跳來到廚房，想看看媽媽為這最后一頓飯做了些什么。“媽媽，今天吃什么飯菜？”“自己看吧。”媽媽說。飯菜已經(jīng)做好了，放在灶臺上。于是大拇哥跳上灶臺朝盤子里看�？墒撬�把脖子伸得太長了，盤子里冒出的熱氣一下子把他帶進(jìn)了煙囪，又在空中轉(zhuǎn)悠了一陣才落到地面上來。小裁縫一看自己已經(jīng)在外面了，便開始四處游歷。他來到本行一位大師傅家，但那里的伙食不是很好。“女主人，假如你不改善伙食，”大拇哥說，“我就不住在這里，而且明早還要在你家門上用粉筆寫上：'土豆太多肉太少，土豆先生再見了！'”

　　“那你想吃點(diǎn)啥呢，螞蚱？”女主人一邊生氣地說，一邊抓起一塊擦碗布去打他。可是小裁縫敏捷地藏到了頂針下面，探出腦袋，朝女主人直吐舌頭。女主人一把抓起頂針想抓住大拇哥，可他又跳進(jìn)了布堆里；等女主人抖開布來找他時，他又鉆進(jìn)了桌上的一道裂縫。“喂，女主人！”他探出頭來喊道。等女主人一巴掌打過來，他一下就縮到抽屜里去了。當(dāng)然，女主人最后還是抓住了他，把他趕了出去。

　　小裁縫繼續(xù)旅行。他來到一片大森林里，碰到一伙強(qiáng)盜正在謀劃怎樣盜竊國王的財寶。他們一見小裁縫就想：“這么小的人可以從鎖眼里鉆進(jìn)寶庫，我們就用不著撬門了。”于是，其中一人沖他喊：“喂！勇敢的哥利亞，敢跟我們?nèi)�寶庫嗎？你可以溜進(jìn)去，然后把錢扔出來給我們。”大拇哥想了想說了聲“行。”就跟著他們來到寶庫。他把門從上到下地檢查了一遍，看有沒有裂縫。很快他就找到一條足以讓他鉆進(jìn)去的縫�？删驮谒�打算爬進(jìn)去時，門口的兩個衛(wèi)兵看到了他，其中一個說：“那只蜘蛛爬在那兒多難看呀，我來打死它。”“讓它去吧，”另一個說，“又不礙你的事。”就這樣，大拇哥安全爬進(jìn)了寶庫，打開了一扇窗子。強(qiáng)盜們正在下面等他，他把一袋又一袋金子扔出窗外。他干得正起勁時，聽到國王來檢查寶庫了，趕緊藏了起來。國王發(fā)現(xiàn)有幾袋金子不見了，可不明白是怎樣丟的，因?yàn)殚T上的鎖和銷子似乎都沒人動過，戒備也挺森嚴(yán)的。他臨走時對衛(wèi)兵說：“小心點(diǎn)，有人盯上這里的錢財了。”所以，當(dāng)大拇哥又開始干時，衛(wèi)兵聽到了錢被挪動的聲音和金子“叮叮當(dāng)當(dāng)”的碰撞聲，于是立刻跑進(jìn)來想抓住盜賊。但小裁縫聽到了衛(wèi)兵的跑步聲，早在他們到來之前就跳到一個角落里，用一袋金子把自己擋住了。衛(wèi)兵沒見到一個人影，只聽到有人在嘲笑地說：“我在這兒呢！”

　　衛(wèi)兵跟著聲音追過去時，小裁縫早就跑到另一袋金子下面，沖他們喊：“唉呀，我在這兒呢！”就這樣，大拇哥把衛(wèi)兵捉弄得精疲力盡，最后只好離開了。他接著將所有金子都扔到了窗外。他使出全身力氣把最后一袋拋起來，然后敏捷地跳上袋子跟著彈了出來。強(qiáng)盜們對他十分欽佩，“你真是個勇敢的英雄。”他們說，“愿意當(dāng)我們的隊(duì)長嗎？”

　　大拇哥謝絕了，說自己想先周游世界。他們分贓時，小裁縫只要了一個金幣，因?yàn)樗麤]法拿更多了。他收好那把劍，告別了強(qiáng)盜，繼續(xù)上路。起先他去給大師傅當(dāng)學(xué)徒，可他不喜歡，最后在一家酒店當(dāng)起了男侍。那些女傭可受不了啦，因?yàn)樗�把她們偷偷從菜盤里拿了些什么、從地窖里偷走了什么統(tǒng)統(tǒng)告發(fā)到她們老板那里，而她們卻看不到他。他們說：“你等著瞧吧，我們會找你算這筆賬的！”然后竄通一氣捉弄他。不久后的一天，一個女傭正在花園里割草，她看到大拇哥在草地上蹦來跳去，就趕緊割，一把將他卷進(jìn)了草垛，然后用布捆好，悄悄拿去喂牛了。牛群里有頭大黑牛，一口把大拇哥吞了下去，倒也沒傷著他什么。牛肚子里黑乎乎的，沒有一點(diǎn)光亮，大拇哥不習(xí)慣，于是在有人擠奶時大叫起來：“擠呀使勁擠，奶桶何時溢？”

　　可擠奶的聲音太大了，沒人聽得懂他在說什么。主人走過來說：“明天把那頭牛給殺了。”大拇哥急得在牛肚里大喊大叫：“先讓我出來！我在它肚子里呢！”主人聽得真切，可就是不知道聲音是從哪里來的。“你在哪兒呢？”主人問。“在黑暗中。”可是主人沒明白就走了。

　　第二天，黑牛被殺了。幸運(yùn)的是大拇哥沒挨刀割就被扔到做香腸的那堆肉里去了。當(dāng)屠夫過來打算處理這些肉時，大拇哥又開始大嚷：“別切得太狠！我在肉堆里呢！”可刀切的聲音蓋過了他的叫嚷，誰都沒理睬他。這下他可麻煩了。不過麻煩激發(fā)人的智慧，他在刀的起落之間上竄下跳，竟然毫發(fā)未損�？伤麜簳r還逃不開，只好和那些咸肉丁一起被塞進(jìn)黑香腸里去了。他在里面被擠得要死，而且還被掛到煙囪里讓煙熏，日子真難過啊！冬天里的某一天，主人想用黑香腸款待客人，于是把它從煙囪里取了出來。女主人在切香腸時，大拇哥小心翼翼，不敢把頭伸出去看，唯恐被切掉一塊。他終于找到機(jī)會，給自己清出一條路逃了出來。

　　小裁縫在這家受盡了苦，所以不愿意再呆下去，立刻啟程上路了，然而他自由了沒多久。他來到野外，一只狐貍不假思索地把他抓起來塞進(jìn)了嘴里。“嗨，狐貍先生，”小裁縫喊道，“我粘在你喉嚨里了，讓我出去。”“可以，你都不夠填我的牙齒縫。不過你要是答應(yīng)把你父親院子里的家禽給我吃，我就放了你。”“非常愿意。”大拇哥回答。于是狐貍放了他，還把他背回了家。父親和兒子團(tuán)聚了，心甘情愿地將家里養(yǎng)的雞鴨全部給了狐貍。“我給你帶回來一塊錢作為補(bǔ)償。”大拇哥說著將他在旅行中掙的金幣交給了父親。“可你為什么要讓狐貍把那些可憐的小雞吃了呢？”“哦，你這傻孩子！你父親愛你當(dāng)然勝過愛院子里的那些雞鴨了！”