English Original
Two princes set out to seek adventure and fell into a wild life, never returning home. Their youngest brother, Simpleton, went to find them. When he did, his elder brothers mocked his simplicity. The three traveled together.
They came upon an anthill. The elder brothers wanted to destroy it, but Simpleton said, "Leave the creatures in peace." Later, at a lake with many ducks, the elder brothers wanted to catch some, but Simpleton again protected them. Finally, they found a beehive overflowing with honey. The elder brothers wanted to smoke out the bees, but Simpleton stopped them, saying, "Leave the creatures in peace."
They arrived at an enchanted castle with stone horses and no people. Deep inside, they found a door with three locks and a small window. Through it, they saw a little grey man at a table. They called three times before he rose, unlocked the door, and silently led them to a feast and then to bedrooms.
The next morning, the grey man led the eldest brother to a stone tablet inscribed with three tasks to break the castle's enchantment.
The first task was to collect a thousand pearls hidden in the forest moss before sunset, or be turned to stone. The eldest searched all day but found only a hundred pearls and was turned to stone. The next day, the second brother fared little better, finding only two hundred pearls and meeting the same fate.
When Simpleton's turn came, he struggled to find the pearls and wept in despair. The ant king, whose colony he had saved, arrived with five thousand ants. They quickly gathered all the pearls into a heap.
The second task was to retrieve the key to the princess's bedchamber from the lake. The ducks Simpleton had saved swam up, dove down, and brought him the key.
The third and most difficult task was to identify the youngest and dearest princess among three identical sleeping sisters. They could only be distinguished by what they had eaten before sleeping: the eldest ate sugar, the second ate syrup, and the youngest ate honey. The queen bee, whose hive Simpleton had protected, came and tasted each princess's lips. She settled on the mouth that had tasted honey, revealing the right princess.
The enchantment was broken. Everything awoke, and those turned to stone regained their forms. Simpleton married the youngest princess and became king after her father's death. His two brothers married the other sisters.
中文翻译
两位王子外出冒险，过上了放荡不羁的生活，再也没有回家。他们最小的弟弟“小傻瓜”出发去寻找他们。找到后，他的哥哥们嘲笑他的单纯愚笨。三兄弟一同上路。
他们遇到一个蚁丘。两个哥哥想捣毁它，但小傻瓜说：“让这些生灵安宁吧。”后来，他们来到一个有许多鸭子的湖边，哥哥们想抓几只鸭子，但小傻瓜再次保护了它们。最后，他们发现一个蜂蜜满溢的蜂巢。哥哥们想用烟熏死蜜蜂，但小傻瓜阻止了他们，说：“让这些生灵安宁吧。”
他们来到一座被施了魔法的城堡，里面有石马，空无一人。在城堡深处，他们发现一扇有三把锁的门，门上有个小窗。透过窗子，他们看到一个灰衣小矮人坐在桌边。他们叫了三次，他才起身开门，默默地领他们享用盛宴，然后带他们去卧室休息。
第二天早上，小矮人将大哥领到一块石桌前，上面刻着三个任务，完成即可解除城堡的魔法。
第一个任务是在日落前从森林的苔藓下找齐公主的一千颗珍珠，否则将变成石头。大哥找了一整天，只找到一百颗，变成了石头。第二天，二哥的运气也好不了多少，只找到两百颗，也变成了石头。
轮到小傻瓜时，他找得很艰难，绝望地坐在石头上哭泣。他曾救过的蚁王带着五千只蚂蚁来了。它们很快就把所有珍珠收集到了一起。
第二个任务是从湖中取出公主卧室的钥匙。小傻瓜救过的鸭子游过来，潜入水中，为他取来了钥匙。
第三个也是最难的任务，是从三位长相一模一样的沉睡公主中，找出最年轻、最受宠爱的那位。唯一的区别是她们睡前吃的甜点：大姐吃了一块糖，二姐吃了一点糖浆，小妹吃了一勺蜂蜜。小傻瓜保护过的蜂后飞来，尝了每位公主的嘴唇，最后停在了吃过蜂蜜的公主嘴上，从而找到了正确的那位。
魔法解除了。万物苏醒，变成石头的人都恢复了原形。小傻瓜娶了最年轻的那位公主，并在公主的父亲去世后成为国王。他的两个哥哥则娶了另外两位公主。