English Original
Hans wished to put his son to learn a trade, so he went into the church and prayed to know which would be most advantageous. A voice from behind the altar said, "Thieving, thieving." Believing it was God's will, Hans told his son to learn thieving and set out to find a teacher.
They journeyed into a great forest and found a cottage where an old woman lived. She directed them to her son, a master thief. The master agreed to teach the boy for a year under a strange condition: if Hans could recognize his son at year's end, the lesson would be free; if not, he must pay two hundred thalers.
The father left, and the son learned witchcraft and thieving thoroughly. When the year was nearly over, Hans grew anxious about how to contrive to recognize his transformed son. A little dwarf he met advised him to take a basket of bread and stand beneath the chimney, where a little bird peeping from a basket would be his son.
Hans did as told. He threw bread before the basket, the bird emerged, and he recognized his son. The master thief, astonished, cried, "The devil must have prompted you!" The son urged, "Father, let us go," and they departed.
On the journey home, the son transformed into a greyhound so his father could sell him for thirty thalers. Once sold, the dog leaped from the carriage and returned to his human form.
The next day, at a fair, the son became a beautiful horse for his father to sell for a hundred thalers, warning him to remove the bridle after the sale. The father forgot, and the master thief bought the horse. Trapped in the stable, the horse pleaded with a maid to remove the bridle. She did, and he turned into a sparrow and flew away.
The master thief, now a wizard, gave chase as another sparrow. They battled through transformations: casting lots, becoming fish, and finally, the master turned into a cock, and the youth became a fox. The fox bit off the cock's head, and the master died, remaining dead to this day.
中文翻译
汉斯希望让儿子学一门手艺，于是他走进教堂祈祷，想知道什么对儿子最有利。圣坛后传来一个声音：“偷窃，偷窃。”汉斯相信这是上帝的旨意，便告诉儿子要去学偷窃，并出发去寻找老师。
他们走进一片大森林，找到一间住着老妇人的小屋。老妇人将他们引荐给自己的儿子——一个偷窃大师。大师同意教导男孩一年，但提出了一个奇怪的条件：如果一年后汉斯能认出自己的儿子，则分文不取；如果认不出，则必须支付两百泰勒。
父亲离开了，儿子则彻底地学习了巫术和偷窃。当年限将近时，汉斯焦虑不已，不知该如何设计认出已改头换面的儿子。他遇到的一个小矮人建议他带一篮面包，站到烟囱下，那里有一只从篮子里探出头的小鸟，那就是他的儿子。
汉斯照做了。他把面包扔到篮子前，小鸟出来了，他认出了儿子。大师小偷大吃一惊，喊道：“一定是魔鬼指点你的！”儿子催促道：“父亲，我们走吧。”他们便离开了。
在回家的路上，儿子变成一只大灰狗，让父亲以三十泰勒的价格把他卖掉。交易完成后，狗从马车窗户跳了出去，恢复了人形。
第二天，在集市上，儿子又变成一匹漂亮的马，让父亲以一百泰勒卖掉，并警告他交易后必须取下缰绳。父亲忘记了，大师小偷买下了这匹马。被困在马厩里的马向一个女仆哀求取下缰绳。女仆照做了，马变成一只麻雀飞走了。
大师小偷，现在是一个巫师，变成另一只麻雀紧追不舍。他们展开了一系列变形对决：抓阄、变成鱼，最后，大师变成一只公鸡，年轻人变成一只狐狸。狐狸咬掉了公鸡的头，大师死了，直到今天也还是死的。