English Original
Once upon a time, there was a young lad named Tom Tiver working on a farm. One warm July night, as he walked across a field, he heard a pitiful sobbing and wailing. Following the sound, he discovered it came from under a large, flat stone near a hedge. Moved by the cries, he lifted the stone.
Beneath it lay a tiny creature no bigger than a baby, with long, tangled yellow hair and a wrinkled, ancient face the color of fresh earth. It stopped crying and spoke to Tom in a soft, piping voice, calling him a good lad for freeing it. The creature introduced itself as Yallery Brown and offered Tom a reward: a wife, riches, or help with his work.
Tom, disliking work, chose help. Yallery Brown agreed but gave a stern warning: Tom must never thank him, or he would vanish. To summon him, Tom need only say, "Yallery Brown, come from the mools, I want thee!" With that, the creature blew a dandelion puff into Tom's face and disappeared.
The next day, and every day after, Tom's farm work was magically done for him. At first, this was wonderful. But soon, things turned sour. While Tom's tasks were completed, the work of the other farmhands was undone: their buckets were spilled, tools blunted, and horses dirtied. They saw strange things happening and began to shun Tom, blaming him for the mischief.
Tom found he could no longer do any work himself; tools would not stay in his hands. He grew isolated and was eventually fired. In a rage, Tom summoned Yallery Brown and shouted, "I'll thank thee to leave me alone!"
Upon hearing the forbidden word "thank," Yallery Brown let out a screeching laugh. He declared that since Tom had thanked him, he would never help him again nor would Tom see him. However, Yallery Brown explained he was now free because of Tom and would never leave him alone. He cursed Tom with a lifetime of misfortune, singing:
Work as thou will
Thou 'lt never do well;
Work as thou mayst
Thou 'lt never gain grist;
For harm and mischance and Yallery Brown
Thou 'st let out thyself from under the stone.
With a final sneering laugh, the creature floated away like a dandelion seed. The curse held true. For the rest of his life, nothing Tom did prospered; his children died, his crops failed, and his luck was always ill. He was forever haunted by the consequences of freeing Yallery Brown.
中文翻译
从前，有个名叫汤姆·提弗的年轻小伙在农场干活。一个温暖的七月夜晚，他穿过田野时，听到一阵凄厉的呜咽和哀嚎。循声而去，他发现声音来自树篱旁一块扁平的大石头底下。恻隐之心驱使下，他掀开了石头。
石头下躺着一个不比婴儿大的小生物，长着纠缠打结的黄色长发，一张如新翻泥土般褐色的、布满皱纹的苍老面孔。它停止了哭泣，用尖细轻柔的声音对汤姆说话，称赞他是个好小伙，救了它。这个小生物自称“黄褐精灵”，并要报答汤姆：给他一个妻子、财富，或者帮他干活。
汤姆讨厌干活，于是选择了帮忙。黄褐精灵答应了，但严厉警告：汤姆绝不能感谢他，否则他就会消失。若要召唤他，汤姆只需说：“黄褐精灵，从泥土中来，我需要你！”说完，它朝汤姆脸上吹了一朵蒲公英绒球，便消失了。
第二天起，汤姆的农活每天都神奇地自动完成。起初，这妙不可言。但很快，情况急转直下。汤姆的活被干完了，其他雇工的活却被捣乱：他们的水桶被打翻，工具被弄钝，马匹被弄脏。他们目睹怪事连连，开始疏远汤姆，将这一切麻烦归咎于他。
汤姆发现自己再也无法亲手干活，工具根本拿不住。他变得孤立无援，最终被解雇。盛怒之下，汤姆召唤出黄褐精灵，吼道：“我谢谢你离我远点！”
一听到这个禁忌的“谢”字，黄褐精灵发出一阵刺耳的尖笑。它宣称，既然汤姆感谢了它，它就再也不会帮助他，汤姆也再见不到它了。然而，黄褐精灵解释说，正是汤姆放它自由，它永远不会放过汤姆。它诅咒汤姆一生厄运缠身，并唱道：
任你如何劳作
也永无善果；
任你怎样努力
也颗粒无收；
因灾祸与不幸，及黄褐精灵
皆是你亲手从石下放出。
伴随着最后一声讥笑，这小生物像蒲公英种子般飘走了。诅咒应验了。汤姆余生诸事不顺：孩子夭折，庄稼歉收，厄运连连。他永远被释放黄褐精灵的后果所困扰。