English Original
Once upon a time, a wealthy king and queen longed for a child. When their wish was finally granted, the queen gave birth not to a human baby, but to a little donkey foal. Heartbroken, she wanted to abandon it, but the king declared the donkey his son and heir.
The young donkey grew up cheerful and developed a great love for music. Despite his hooves, he persevered and learned to play the lute beautifully. One day, seeing his reflection in a spring, he was dismayed and set off to see the world with a single companion.
They arrived at a kingdom ruled by an old king with a beautiful daughter. The donkey announced himself at the gate and, when ignored, played enchanting music on his lute. Amazed, the gatekeeper brought him to the king. Though laughed at initially, the donkey insisted on his noble status and was allowed to sit beside the king and the princess, whom he admired greatly.
After a time, feeling despondent, the donkey decided to leave. The king, who had grown fond of him, offered him anything to stay—gold, jewels, even half the kingdom. The donkey refused until the king offered his daughter's hand in marriage, which the donkey eagerly accepted.
On their wedding night, the king sent a servant to spy. To everyone's astonishment, once alone, the donkey cast off his skin, revealing himself as a handsome young prince. He explained to his bride that he was worthy of her. Each morning, he would put the skin back on.
The servant reported this to the king, who was skeptical. The next night, the king hid and witnessed the transformation himself. Following the servant's advice, he stole the donkey skin and burned it to ashes.
Discovering his skin gone at dawn, the prince was frightened and planned to flee. The king stopped him, saying, "Stay, my son. You are a fine man." He offered the prince half his kingdom immediately and the rest upon his death. The prince agreed to stay. He eventually inherited both his father-in-law's and his own father's kingdoms, living happily ever after.
中文翻译
从前，一位富有的国王和王后渴望有一个孩子。当他们的愿望最终实现时，王后生下的不是人类婴儿，而是一头小驴驹。王后心碎欲绝，想抛弃它，但国王宣布这头驴就是他的儿子和王位继承人。
年轻的驴子快乐地长大了，并且对音乐产生了极大的热爱。尽管长着蹄子，他仍坚持不懈，学会了优美地弹奏鲁特琴。一天，他在泉水中看到自己的倒影，感到沮丧，于是带着一位忠实的同伴出发去看世界。
他们来到了一个由一位老国王统治的王国，老国王有一位美丽的女儿。驴子在城门口通报了自己，被忽视后，他用前蹄在鲁特琴上弹奏出迷人的音乐。惊讶的守门人将他带到国王面前。虽然起初被嘲笑，但驴子坚持自己高贵的身份，并被允许坐在国王和公主旁边，他对公主极为倾慕。
过了一段时间，驴子感到沮丧，决定离开。已经喜欢上他的国王提出给他任何东西让他留下——黄金、珠宝，甚至是半个王国。驴子都拒绝了，直到国王提出将女儿许配给他，驴子才欣然接受。
新婚之夜，国王派了一个仆人去窥探。令所有人惊讶的是，独自相处时，驴子脱下了他的皮，显露出一位英俊的年轻王子。他向新娘解释自己是配得上她的。每天早晨，他会重新披上驴皮。
仆人将此事报告给国王，国王表示怀疑。第二天晚上，国王亲自躲藏起来，目睹了变身过程。他听从仆人的建议，偷走了驴皮并将其烧成灰烬。
黎明时分，王子发现驴皮不见了，惊恐万分，计划逃跑。国王拦住了他，说：“留下来，我的儿子。你是个好男儿。”他立即将半个王国赠与王子，并承诺死后将整个王国传给他。王子同意留下。他最终继承了岳父和自己父亲的两个王国，从此过上了幸福美满的生活。