English Original
There were once a cock and a hen who wanted to take a journey together. So the cock built a beautiful carriage with four red wheels and harnessed four mice to it. The hen seated herself in it with the cock, and they drove away together.
Not long afterwards, they met a cat who asked, "Where are you going?"
"We are going to the house of Herr Korbes," replied the cock.
"Take me with you," said the cat.
The cock answered, "Most willingly. Get up behind, lest you fall off in front. Take great care not to dirty my little red wheels. And you, little wheels, roll on, and you, little mice, pipe out, as we go forth on our way to the house of Herr Korbes."
After this came a millstone, then an egg, a duck, a pin, and at last a needle. They all seated themselves in the carriage and drove along.
When they reached the house of Herr Korbes, however, he was not at home.
The mice drew the carriage into the barn. The hen and the cock flew up onto a perch. The cat sat down by the hearth, and the duck settled on the well-pole. The egg rolled itself into a towel, the pin stuck itself into the chair-cushion, the needle jumped onto the bed right in the middle of the pillow, and the millstone laid itself over the door.
Then Herr Korbes came home. He went to the hearth and was about to light the fire when the cat threw a quantity of ashes in his face. He ran into the kitchen in a great hurry to wash it off, and the duck splashed water in his face. He wanted to dry himself with the towel, but the egg rolled up against him, broke, and glued his eyes shut. Wanting to rest, he sat down in the chair, and the pin pricked him. In a passion, he threw himself on his bed, but as soon as he laid his head on the pillow, the needle pricked him, making him scream aloud. In his rage, he was just going to run out into the wide world, but when he came to the house-door, the millstone leapt down and struck him dead.
Herr Korbes must have been a very wicked man!
中文翻译
从前，有一只公鸡和一只母鸡想要一起旅行。于是，公鸡造了一辆漂亮的马车，它有四个红色的轮子，并套了四只老鼠来拉车。母鸡和公鸡一起坐进车里，他们便驾车出发了。
不久之后，他们遇到一只猫，猫问：“你们要去哪儿？”
“我们要去科贝斯先生的家。”公鸡回答。
“带我一起去吧。”猫说。
公鸡答道：“非常乐意。坐到后面来，免得你从前面掉下去。小心别弄脏我的小红轮子。小轮子们，滚动起来吧，小老鼠们，吹起哨子吧，我们这就出发前往科贝斯先生的家。”
这之后，来了一个磨盘，接着是一个鸡蛋、一只鸭子、一根别针，最后是一根缝衣针。他们都坐进了马车，一同前行。
然而，当他们到达科贝斯先生的家时，他并不在家。
老鼠们把马车拉进了谷仓。母鸡和公鸡飞上了栖木。猫在壁炉边坐下，鸭子落在了井杆上。鸡蛋滚进了一条毛巾里，别针扎进了椅垫，缝衣针跳到了床上，正好落在枕头中央，而磨盘则横在了门上方。
接着，科贝斯先生回家了。他走到壁炉边，正要生火，猫把一大堆灰烬扔到了他脸上。他急忙跑进厨房想洗掉，鸭子又泼了他一脸水。他想用毛巾擦干，但鸡蛋滚过来撞到他身上，破了，粘住了他的眼睛。他想休息一下，便坐到了椅子上，结果别针扎了他。他勃然大怒，一头扑到床上，可脑袋刚碰到枕头，缝衣针就扎了他，疼得他大声尖叫。盛怒之下，他正要冲出门跑到广阔的世界去，但当他走到家门口时，磨盘跳了下来，把他砸死了。
科贝斯先生一定是个非常邪恶的人！