English Original
There was once a King who had a daughter who was always ill. A prophecy said she would be cured by eating an apple. The King proclaimed that whoever brought such an apple would marry the princess and become king.
A peasant with three sons heard this. He sent his eldest, Uele, with a basket of apples. On the way, a little iron man asked what was in the basket. Uele rudely said, "Frogs' legs." The iron man said, "So it shall be." At the palace, Uele's basket indeed held frogs' legs, and he was driven away.
The second son, Seame, met the same fate. He told the iron man he carried "Hogs' bristles," and that's what his basket contained at the palace. He was whipped out.
The youngest son, called Stupid Hans, insisted on going. His father reluctantly agreed. Hans met the iron man and honestly said he carried apples to cure the princess. The iron man said, "So they shall be." At court, Hans was initially turned away but persisted. His basket revealed beautiful golden apples. The princess ate one and was instantly cured.
The King, not wanting Hans to marry his daughter, set impossible tasks. First, Hans must build a boat that travels faster on land than on water. His brothers failed, making only wooden bowls. Hans succeeded by telling the iron man the truth about his task.
Next, the King ordered Hans to herd a hundred hares without losing one. The iron man gave Hans a magic whistle to recall any hare that ran. When the princess tried to take one, Hans whistled, and it returned.
Finally, the King demanded a feather from the Griffin's tail. On his journey, Hans promised to ask the Griffin three questions for others: where a lost key was, how to cure a sick girl, and why a ferryman was forced to carry everyone across a lake.
At the Griffin's house, the wife hid Hans under the bed. At night, Hans plucked a feather. The wife cleverly got the Griffin to reveal the answers: the key was under a log; a toad's nest made of the girl's hair under the cellar steps made her ill; the ferryman could free himself by leaving one person in the middle of the lake.
Hans returned, solved everyone's problems, and received rich rewards. He told the King the Griffin granted wishes. Greedy, the King went to the Griffin himself. The ferryman, now free, left the King in the middle of the lake, where he drowned. Hans married the princess and became King.
中文翻译
从前，有一位国王，他的女儿一直生病。预言说她吃一个苹果就能痊愈。国王宣告，谁能带来这样的苹果，谁就能娶公主并成为国王。
一个有三个儿子的农夫听说了此事。他派大儿子乌勒带了一篮子苹果前去。路上，一个小铁人问篮子里是什么。乌勒粗鲁地说：“青蛙腿。”铁人说：“那就如你所言。”在宫殿里，乌勒的篮子果然装的是青蛙腿，他被赶走了。
二儿子西姆遭遇了同样的命运。他告诉铁人他带的是“猪鬃”，而他的篮子在宫殿里装的正是猪鬃。他被鞭打赶出。
小儿子，被称为傻瓜汉斯，坚持要去。他父亲勉强同意了。汉斯遇到了铁人，诚实地说他带了能治愈公主的苹果。铁人说：“那就如你所愿。”在宫廷，汉斯起初被拒之门外，但他坚持己见。他的篮子露出了美丽的金苹果。公主吃了一个，立刻痊愈了。
国王不想让汉斯娶他女儿，于是设下不可能的任务。首先，汉斯必须造一艘在陆地上比在水上跑得还快的船。他的哥哥们失败了，只做出了木碗。汉斯通过向铁人如实说明任务而成功了。
接着，国王命令汉斯放牧一百只野兔，一只也不能丢。铁人给了汉斯一个魔法哨子，可以召回跑掉的野兔。当公主试图抓走一只时，汉斯吹响哨子，野兔就回来了。
最后，国王要求一根狮鹫尾巴上的羽毛。在旅途中，汉斯答应替别人向狮鹫问三个问题：一把丢失的钥匙在哪里，如何治愈一个生病的女孩，以及为什么一个摆渡人被迫载每个人过湖。
在狮鹫家，狮鹫的妻子把汉斯藏在床下。夜里，汉斯拔了一根羽毛。妻子巧妙地让狮鹫说出了答案：钥匙在木屋门后的木头下面；一只蟾蜍在地窖台阶下用女孩的头发做了巢，这让她生病；摆渡人只要把一个人留在湖中央，就能获得自由。
汉斯返回，解决了所有人的问题，并获得了丰厚的报酬。他告诉国王狮鹫能实现愿望。贪婪的国王亲自去找狮鹫。已经获得自由的摆渡人把国王留在了湖中央，国王淹死了。汉斯娶了公主，成为了国王。