English Original
There was once a poor woman who gave birth to a son with a caul on his head. It was prophesied that in his fourteenth year, he would marry the King's daughter. When the King heard this, he was angry. Disguising himself, he went to the parents and, pretending kindness, offered them gold for the child. Thinking their 'luck-child' would be safe, they agreed.
The King put the baby in a box and threw it into a deep river. However, the box floated like a boat and drifted to a mill-dam, where a miller's boy found it. The childless miller and his wife raised the boy as their own, naming him the 'luck-child'.
Years later, during a storm, the King took shelter at the mill and recognized the youth. Feigning goodwill, he asked the boy to deliver a letter to the Queen, promising a reward. The letter secretly ordered the Queen to kill the bearer immediately.
On his journey, the boy got lost in a forest and found shelter in a cottage inhabited by an old woman and a band of robbers. The robbers discovered the deadly letter. Taking pity, their leader destroyed it and wrote a new one, commanding that the boy be married to the Princess at once.
The Queen, upon receiving the forged letter, arranged a splendid wedding. When the King returned and found his daughter married to the luck-child, he was furious. Confronted with the changed letter, the King set an impossible task: "Whoever marries my daughter must bring me three golden hairs from the head of the Devil."
Undeterred, the luck-child set off for Hell. On the way, he encountered three puzzles:
1. A town where a fountain that once flowed with wine had run dry.
2. A town where a tree that once bore golden apples no longer had leaves.
3. A ferryman cursed to row forever, never gaining his freedom.
The luck-child promised answers upon his return.
In Hell, he found only the Devil's grandmother. She transformed him into an ant to hide him. When the Devil returned and fell asleep, she plucked three golden hairs from his head. Each time he woke, she claimed to have had a bad dream and asked about one of the three puzzles. In his annoyed replies, the Devil revealed the solutions:
1. A toad under a stone in the well was blocking the wine.
2. A mouse was gnawing at the tree's roots.
3. The ferryman could be freed by handing his oar to the next passenger.
With the three golden hairs and the answers, the luck-child returned. He solved each town's problem and was rewarded with gold. He also freed the ferryman by giving him the Devil's advice.
Finally, he presented the three golden hairs to the King. Seeing the great wealth the boy had acquired, the greedy King demanded to know its source. The luck-child told him of a river with shores of gold. Eagerly, the King rushed to the river. The ferryman, now free, rowed him across and then handed him the oar, transferring the curse. The King was doomed to ferry forever as punishment for his sins.
中文翻译
从前，一个穷妇人生了一个头上还带着胎膜的儿子。预言说，在他十四岁那年，他将娶国王的女儿为妻。国王听说后非常生气。他伪装起来，找到孩子的父母，假装善意，用金子换走了孩子。父母想着他们的"幸运儿"总会逢凶化吉，便同意了。
国王将婴儿放进一个盒子，扔进了深河。然而，盒子像船一样漂浮着，漂到了一个磨坊的水坝边，被一个磨坊小伙计发现。没有孩子的磨坊主夫妇将他抚养长大，称他为"幸运儿"。
多年后，在一次暴风雨中，国王到磨坊避雨，认出了这个青年。他假装好意，请男孩给王后送一封信，并承诺给予报酬。信里却秘密命令王后立即处死送信人。
途中，男孩在森林里迷了路，找到一间小屋借宿，屋里住着一位老妇人和一伙强盗。强盗们发现了那封致命的信。出于怜悯，他们的首领毁了信，重写了一封，命令立即将男孩与公主完婚。
王后收到伪造的信后，安排了一场盛大的婚礼。国王回来发现女儿嫁给了幸运儿，勃然大怒。面对被调换的信，国王提出了一个不可能的任务："谁要娶我女儿，必须从魔鬼头上给我取来三根金发。"
幸运儿毫不畏惧，动身前往地狱。路上，他遇到了三个难题：
1. 一个镇上的喷泉曾流出美酒，如今却干涸了。
2. 一个镇上有棵树曾结金苹果，如今却叶子都不长。
3. 一个船夫被诅咒要永远摆渡，无法获得自由。
幸运儿承诺回来时给出答案。
在地狱，他只遇到了魔鬼的祖母。她把他变成一只蚂蚁藏起来。魔鬼回来后睡着了，祖母从他头上拔下了三根金发。每次魔鬼醒来，她都声称做了噩梦，并询问了那三个难题中的一个。魔鬼在恼火的回答中揭示了解决方法：
1. 井里石头下有只蟾蜍堵住了酒。
2. 有只老鼠在啃树根。
3. 船夫可以把桨交给下一个乘客，从而获得自由。
带着三根金发和答案，幸运儿踏上归途。他解决了每个镇子的难题，并获得了黄金作为报酬。他也通过转告魔鬼的建议，解救了船夫。
最后，他将三根金发呈给国王。贪婪的国王看到男孩获得的巨大财富，追问来源。幸运儿告诉他有一条岸边是金子的河。国王急切地冲向河边。已经自由的船夫将他渡到对岸，然后把桨交到他手中，转移了诅咒。国王因自己的罪过被罚永远摆渡。