English Original
There was once a great war, and when it ended, many soldiers were discharged. Among them was Brother Lustig, who received only a small loaf of bread and four kreuzers. As he departed, he encountered a poor beggar (who was St. Peter in disguise) and begged for alms. Though poor himself, Brother Lustig shared his bread and money with the beggar. St. Peter, testing his generosity, appeared twice more in different forms, and each time Brother Lustig gave away a quarter of his loaf and a kreuzer.
With his last quarter of bread and kreuzer, Brother Lustig ate at an inn. Soon after, he met St. Peter, now disguised as a fellow discharged soldier. St. Peter proposed they travel together, using his knowledge of medicine to earn a living, promising to share any earnings.
They came upon a peasant's house where the husband was deathly ill. St. Peter healed the man instantly with a salve. The grateful couple offered rewards, but St. Peter refused. Brother Lustig, nudging him, insisted they accept something. The wife finally offered a lamb, which St. Peter agreed to take only if Brother Lustig carried it.
In the woods, hungry and tired of carrying the lamb, Brother Lustig suggested they cook and eat it. St. Peter agreed but said he would not cook and that Brother Lustig must wait for him to return before eating. Brother Lustig cooked the lamb and, unable to resist, ate the heart—considered the best part. When St. Peter returned and asked for the heart, Brother Lustig claimed lambs have no hearts. St. Peter, unconvinced but letting it pass, said Brother Lustig could keep all the meat.
Later, St. Peter created a deep stream they had to cross. He went first, with water only to his knees. When Brother Lustig tried, the water rose to his throat. St. Peter offered help only if he confessed to eating the heart, which Brother Lustig denied twice. Finally, St. Peter saved him anyway.
They heard of a dying princess. Brother Lustig saw a chance for reward, but St. Peter walked slowly, and they arrived to find her dead. St. Peter claimed he could raise the dead. At the palace, he cut the princess's body apart, boiled the pieces, reassembled the bones, and resurrected her. The overjoyed king offered any reward, but St. Peter refused. Brother Lustig, exasperated, whispered for him to accept something. The king, noticing, filled Brother Lustig's knapsack with gold.
In a forest, St. Peter proposed dividing the gold into three shares: for himself, Brother Lustig, and "the one who ate the lamb's heart." Brother Lustig immediately claimed the heart and took all the gold. St. Peter questioned how that was possible if a lamb had no heart. Brother Lustig reversed his earlier claim, insisting lambs do have hearts. St. Peter, seeing through the deceit, left him.
Brother Lustig squandered his gold and soon was poor again. Hearing of another dead princess, he attempted to resurrect her for reward, mimicking St. Peter's actions but failing to arrange the bones correctly. St. Peter appeared, corrected his work, resurrected the princess, and forbade him from taking any payment. However, Brother Lustig cleverly hinted until the king filled his knapsack with gold.
Outside, St. Peter confronted him for disobeying. As a final act and to keep him from further mischief, St. Peter enchanted Brother Lustig's knapsack to contain anything he wished, then departed forever.
Brother Lustig wasted his money again. Down to his last coins, he used the magic knapsack to steal two roast geese from an inn. He ate one and gave the other to two journeymen, who were then wrongly accused of theft and beaten by the innkeeper.
He later came to a magnificent castle said to be haunted by nine devils; no one who stayed survived. Brother Lustig bravely spent the night there. The devils appeared and tormented him until he wished all nine into his knapsack, trapping them. The next day, the grateful castle owner rewarded him richly. Brother Lustig then took the knapsack to a smithy and had the devils beaten on an anvil, killing eight; one escaped back to Hell.
In his old age, seeking heaven, Brother Lustig consulted a hermit who described two paths: a narrow, rough road to heaven and a broad, pleasant one to hell. Brother Lustig chose the pleasant road to hell. At hell's gate, the doorkeeper—the very devil who had escaped his knapsack—recognized him and, terrified, refused him entry, fearing he would trap all of hell in his knapsack again.
Turned away from hell, Brother Lustig went to heaven's gate, where St. Peter was the keeper. St. Peter refused him entry. Brother Lustig then asked St. Peter to take back the enchanted knapsack. When St. Peter took it inside the gates, Brother Lustig wished himself into the knapsack, thus cleverly entering heaven, and St. Peter was forced to let him stay.
中文翻译
从前，一场大战结束，许多士兵被遣散。其中就有快乐兄弟，他只得到一小条面包和四枚十字币。离开时，他遇到一个可怜的乞丐（实为圣彼得所扮）向他乞讨。尽管自己也很穷，快乐兄弟还是与乞丐分享了他的面包和钱。圣彼得为了考验他的慷慨，又两次以不同形象出现，每次快乐兄弟都分出了四分之一的面包和一枚十字币。
用最后四分之一的面包和十字币，快乐兄弟在客栈吃了饭。之后，他遇到了圣彼得，此时圣彼得扮作同样被遣散的士兵。圣彼得提议一起旅行，用他的医术谋生，并承诺平分所得。
他们来到一户农家，男主人病危。圣彼得用药膏瞬间治好了他。感激的夫妇要酬谢，但圣彼得拒绝了。快乐兄弟推搡着他，坚持要收点东西。农妇最后给了他们一只羊羔，圣彼得同意收下，但条件是快乐兄弟必须自己扛着。
在森林里，快乐兄弟又饿又累，不想再扛羊羔，便建议煮了吃。圣彼得同意了，但说自己不参与烹饪，而且快乐兄弟必须等他回来才能吃。快乐兄弟煮好了羊羔，忍不住把最好吃的羊心吃了。圣彼得回来索要羊心时，快乐兄弟声称羊羔没有心脏。圣彼得虽不相信，但没追究，说快乐兄弟可以吃掉所有的肉。
后来，圣彼得变出一条他们必须渡过的深溪。他先过，水只到膝盖。当快乐兄弟尝试时，水却涨到了喉咙。圣彼得表示，只有承认吃了羊心才救他，快乐兄弟两次否认。最后，圣彼得还是救了他。
他们听说一位公主病危。快乐兄弟看到了获取报酬的机会，但圣彼得走得很慢，他们到达时公主已死。圣彼得声称能让死人复活。在宫殿里，他分解了公主的遗体，煮沸，重新拼好骨头，使她复活了。狂喜的国王许以任何报酬，但圣彼得拒绝了。快乐兄弟急了，低声让他收点东西。国王察觉后，命人将快乐兄弟的背包装满了金子。
在森林里，圣彼得提议把金子分成三份：一份给自己，一份给快乐兄弟，一份给“吃了羊心的人”。快乐兄弟立刻声称自己吃了心，并拿走了所有金子。圣彼得质问，如果羊没有心，这怎么可能。快乐兄弟推翻了自己先前的说法，坚称羊是有心的。圣彼得看穿了他的把戏，离开了他。
快乐兄弟挥霍了金子，很快又变得一贫如洗。听说又有一位公主去世，他试图模仿圣彼得让她复活以获取报酬，但却没能正确排列骨头。圣彼得出现，纠正了他的工作，复活了公主，并禁止他收取任何报酬。然而，快乐兄弟巧妙暗示，最终让国王将他的背包再次装满了金子。
在外面，圣彼得因他不听话而质问他。作为最后的安排，为了防止他再惹麻烦，圣彼得给快乐兄弟的背包施了魔法，让他能装进任何想要的东西，然后永远离开了。
快乐兄弟再次挥霍了钱财。当只剩下最后几个硬币时，他用魔法背包从客栈偷了两只烤鹅。他吃了一只，把另一只给了两个工匠，结果工匠被店主误认为是贼而遭殴打。
后来，他来到一座宏伟的城堡，据说里面有九个魔鬼作祟；住过的人无一幸存。快乐兄弟勇敢地在那里过夜。魔鬼们出现并折磨他，直到他把九个魔鬼都“希望”进了自己的背包，困住了它们。第二天，感激的城堡主人重赏了他。快乐兄弟随后把背包带到铁匠铺，让铁匠们在铁砧上捶打魔鬼，打死了八个；一个逃回了地狱。
年老时，为了进天堂，快乐兄弟请教了一位隐士。隐士描述了两条路：一条狭窄崎岖通往天堂，一条宽阔平坦通往地狱。快乐兄弟选择了通往地狱的平坦之路。在地狱门口，守门人——正是从他背包里逃掉的那个魔鬼——认出了他，惊恐万分，拒绝让他进入，害怕他再次把整个地狱装进背包。
被地狱拒之门外，快乐兄弟来到天堂门口，圣彼得是守门人。圣彼得不让他进。快乐兄弟于是请圣彼得收回那个魔法背包。当圣彼得把背包拿进门内后，快乐兄弟“希望”自己进入背包，从而巧妙地进入了天堂，圣彼得不得不让他留下。