English Original
There was once a poor woman who had a son who wished to travel. His mother said, "How can you travel? We have no money for you to take." The son replied, "I will manage well for myself. I will always say, 'Not much, not much, not much.'"
He walked for a long time, repeating, "Not much, not much, not much." Passing some fishermen, he said, "God speed you! Not much, not much, not much." "What are you saying, churl, 'not much'?" they cried. When they drew in their net, they had caught little fish. One beat the youth with a stick, saying, "Have you never seen me threshing?" "What should I say then?" asked the youth. "You must say, 'Get it full, get it full.'"
He walked on, saying, "Get it full, get it full," until he came to a gallows where a poor sinner was about to be hanged. He said, "Good morning; get it full, get it full." "What are you saying, knave? 'Get it full'? Do you imply there are more wicked people? Isn't this enough?" He received blows on his back. "What should I say then?" "You must say, 'May God have pity on the poor soul.'"
He continued, saying, "May God have pity on the poor soul!" He came to a pit where a knacker was cutting up a horse. The youth said, "Good morning; God have pity on the poor soul!" "What are you saying, you ill-tempered knave?" The knacker boxed his ears so hard he could not see. "What should I say then?" "You must say, 'There lies the carrion in the pit!'"
He walked on, repeating, "There lies the carrion in the pit, there lies the carrion in the pit." He met a cart full of people and said, "Good morning, there lies the carrion in the pit!" The cart pushed him into a hole, and the driver whipped him until he was forced to crawl back to his mother. He never went traveling again.
中文翻译
从前，有个贫穷的妇人，她的儿子非常想去旅行。母亲说：“你怎么能去旅行呢？我们根本没有钱给你带上路。”儿子回答说：“我会自己应付好的；我会一直说‘不多，不多，不多。’”
他走了很久，一直说着“不多，不多，不多。”他路过一群渔夫，说道：“愿上帝保佑你们！不多，不多，不多。”“你这粗人，说什么‘不多’？”渔夫们喊道。当他们把网拉上来时，果然没捕到多少鱼。其中一人就用棍子打了这个年轻人，说：“你没见过我打谷吗？”“那我该说什么呢？”年轻人问。“你必须说‘装满它，装满它。’”
之后，他又走了很久，说着“装满它，装满它”，直到他来到一个绞刑架前，那里有一个可怜的罪人即将被绞死。他说：“早上好；装满它，装满它。”“你说什么，无赖？‘装满它’？你是想说世界上还有更多恶人吗？这些还不够吗？”他又挨了几记打。“那我该说什么呢？”“你必须说‘愿上帝怜悯这可怜的灵魂。’”
年轻人又走了很长一段路，说着“愿上帝怜悯这可怜的灵魂！”他来到一个坑边，一个屠马夫正在那里肢解一匹马。年轻人说：“早上好；愿上帝怜悯这可怜的灵魂！”“你说什么，你这坏脾气的无赖？”屠马夫狠狠地扇了他一耳光，打得他眼冒金星。“那我该说什么呢？”“你必须说‘坑里躺着腐尸！’”
于是他继续走，一直说着“坑里躺着腐尸，坑里躺着腐尸。”他遇到一辆满载人的马车，便说：“早上好，坑里躺着腐尸！”马车把他撞进了一个坑里，车夫拿起鞭子抽打他，直到他被迫爬回母亲身边。从此以后，他再也没有出去旅行过。