English Original
There was once a man skilled in many arts. After serving bravely in war, he was dismissed with only three farthings. Angry, he vowed to find the right companions and make the King give up all his treasure.
He went into the forest and met a man who had uprooted six trees as if they were blades of corn. The man agreed to be his servant after taking the "bundle of sticks" to his mother.
Soon, they met a huntsman aiming to shoot a fly's left eye out from two miles away. Impressed, the master invited him to join.
They then saw seven windmills turning with no wind. Walking two miles further, they found a man sitting in a tree, blowing through one nostril to power the mills. He too joined them.
Next, they met a runner who had taken off one leg to slow himself down, as he ran faster than birds could fly. He became the fifth companion.
Finally, they met a man with his cap tilted on one ear. He explained that wearing it straight would cause a terrible frost, freezing all birds. He became the sixth.
"With us six together," said the master, "we can conquer the world."
They arrived at a kingdom where the King proclaimed that whoever won a footrace against his daughter would marry her; the loser would lose his head. The master entered but let the runner compete on his behalf.
The race was to fetch water from a distant well. The runner sped off like the wind, filled his pitcher, but fell asleep on the return journey, using a horse's skull as an uncomfortable pillow. The princess passed him, emptied his pitcher, and ran ahead.
Luckily, the sharp-eyed huntsman saw this from a castle tower. He shot the skull from under the runner's head, waking him without injury. The runner dashed back to the well, refilled his pitcher, and won the race with ten minutes to spare.
The King and princess were dismayed. To get rid of the six, the King lured them into an iron room under the pretense of a feast, locked them in, and ordered a fire lit beneath to suffocate them. The man with the cap set it straight, summoning a frost so intense it extinguished the heat and froze the food.
When the King opened the door, expecting them dead, he found them complaining of the cold. Furious, he tried another plan: he offered the master as much gold as he wanted in exchange for renouncing the princess.
The master asked for as much as his servant could carry. In fourteen days, the strong man arrived with a giant sack sewn by all the kingdom's tailors. He proceeded to put all the King's treasure into it—first a ton of gold, then all the royal wealth, and finally seven thousand carts of gold along with the oxen. The sack still wasn't full.
Enraged at losing his entire fortune, the King sent two regiments of horsemen after them. The blower simply blew through one nostril, scattering the soldiers into the sky. One sergeant begged for mercy and was spared to deliver a warning to the King.
Defeated, the King let them go. The six companions took the riches home, divided them, and lived in contentment for the rest of their lives.
中文翻译
从前有个精通各种技艺的人。战争结束后，他英勇服役却只得到三个法寻的遣散费。他愤愤不平，发誓要找到合适的伙伴，让国王交出所有财宝。
他走进森林，遇见一个像拔麦秆一样连根拔起六棵树的人。那人答应做他的仆人，但要先把这“一小捆柴火”送回家给母亲。
不久，他们遇到一个猎人，正打算从两英里外射中一只苍蝇的左眼。主人很佩服，邀请他加入。
接着，他们看到七座风车在没有风的情况下飞速转动。又走了两英里，他们发现一个人坐在树上，用一个鼻孔吹气来驱动风车。他也加入了队伍。
然后，他们遇见一个赛跑者，他卸下一条腿以减慢速度，因为他跑得比鸟飞还快。他成了第五个同伴。
最后，他们遇到一个帽子歪戴在一只耳朵上的人。他解释说，如果把帽子戴正，就会引发严酷的霜冻，冻死所有飞鸟。他成了第六个成员。
“我们六人在一起，”主人说，“就能闯荡世界了。”
他们来到一个王国，国王宣布：谁能在赛跑中赢过公主，就能娶她为妻；输家则要掉脑袋。主人报名参赛，但让赛跑者替他跑。
比赛内容是从遥远的井里取水。赛跑者如风般出发，装满了水罐，但在回程途中睡着了，他用一个马头骨当枕头，以求睡得不舒服而早点醒来。公主超过了他，倒空他的水罐，继续向前跑。
幸运的是，眼尖的猎人从城堡塔楼上看到了这一切。他一枪打飞了赛跑者头下的马头骨，惊醒了他且未伤分毫。赛跑者冲回井边，重新装水，最终比公主早十分钟到达，赢得了比赛。
国王和公主非常懊恼。为了除掉这六人，国王假意设宴，将他们诱进一个铁屋，锁上门，并下令在屋下生火，想闷死他们。戴帽子的人把帽子戴正，召来一股严寒，熄灭了热火，连食物都冻住了。
国王打开门，以为他们已死，却发现他们正抱怨太冷。国王大怒，又生一计：他提出给主人尽可能多的黄金，只要他放弃公主。
主人要求给他的仆人能拿走的那么多。十四天后，大力士背着一个由全国裁缝缝制的巨袋来了。他把国王所有的财宝都装了进去——先是一吨黄金，然后是全部王室财富，最后是七千车黄金连同拉车的牛。袋子还没装满。
眼见财富尽失，国王怒不可遏，派了两个骑兵团去追赶。吹气者仅用一个鼻孔一吹，就把士兵们吹散到空中。一个中士求饶，被放过回去给国王报信。
国王一败涂地，只好放他们走。六个伙伴带着财富回家，平分了财宝，从此过着心满意足的生活。