English Original
Twelve servants who had done nothing all day would not exert themselves at night either, but laid themselves on the grass and boasted of their idleness.
The first said, "What is your laziness to me? I have to concern myself about my own. The care of my body is my principal work. I eat not a little and drink still more. When I have had four meals, I fast a short time until I feel hunger again, and that suits me best. To rise early is not for me; when it is getting near midday, I already seek out a resting-place. If the master calls, I do exactly as if I had not heard him, and if he calls a second time, I wait awhile before I get up, and go to him very slowly. In this way life is endurable."
The second said, "I have a horse to look after, but I leave the bit in his mouth. If I do not want to do it, I give him no food, and say he has had it already. I, however, lay myself in the oat-chest and sleep for four hours. After this I stretch out one foot and move it a couple of times over the horse's body, and then he is combed and cleaned. Who is going to make a great business of that? Nevertheless, service is too toilsome for me."
The third said, "Why plague oneself with work? Nothing comes of it! I laid myself in the sun and fell asleep. It began to rain a little, but why should I get up? I let it rain on in God's name. At last came a splashing shower, so heavy that it pulled the hair out of my head and washed it away, and I got a hole in the skull. I put a plaster on it, and then it was all right. I have already had several injuries of that kind."
The fourth said, "If I am to undertake a piece of work, I first loiter about for an hour to save up my strength. After that I begin quite slowly and ask if no one is there who could help me. Then I let him do the chief of the work, and in reality only look on; but that also is still too much for me."
The fifth said, "What does that matter? Just think, I am to take away the manure from the horse's stable and load the cart with it. I let it go on slowly, and if I have taken anything on the fork, I only half-raise it up, and then I rest just a quarter of an hour until I quite throw it in. It is enough and to spare if I take out a cartful in the day. I have no fancy for killing myself with work."
The sixth said, "Shame on you; I am afraid of no work, but I lie down for three weeks and never once take my clothes off. What is the use of buckling your shoes on? For aught I care they may fall off my feet, it is no matter. If I am going up some steps, I drag one foot slowly after the other onto the first step, and then I count the rest of them that I may know where I must rest."
The seventh said, "That will not do with me; my master looks after my work, only he is not at home the whole day. But I neglect nothing; I run as fast as it is possible to do when one crawls. If I am to get on, four sturdy men must push me with all their might. I came where six men were lying sleeping on a bed beside each other. I lay down by them and slept too. There was no waking me again, and when they wanted to have me home, they had to carry me."
The eighth said, "I see plainly that I am the only active fellow; if a stone lies before me, I do not give myself the trouble to raise my legs and step over it. I lay myself down on the ground, and if I am wet and covered with mud and dirt, I stay lying until the sun has dried me again. At the very most, I only turn myself so that it can shine on me."
The ninth said, "That is the right way! Today the bread was before me, but I was too idle to take it, and nearly died of hunger! Moreover, a jug stood by it, but it was so big and heavy that I did not like to lift it up, and preferred bearing thirst. Just to turn myself round was too much for me; I remained lying like a log the whole day."
The tenth said, "Laziness has brought misfortune on me: a broken leg and a swollen calf. Three of us were lying in the road, and I had my legs stretched out. Someone came with a cart, and the wheels went over me. I might indeed have drawn my legs back, but I did not hear the cart coming, for the midges were humming about my ears and creeping in at my nose and out again at my mouth; who can take the trouble to drive the vermin away?"
The eleventh said, "I gave up my place yesterday. I had no fancy for carrying the heavy books to my master any longer or fetching them away again. There was no end of it all day long. But to tell the truth, he gave me my dismissal and would not keep me any longer, for his clothes, which I had left lying in the dust, were all moth-eaten, and I am very glad of it."
The twelfth said, "Today I had to drive the cart into the country and made myself a bed of straw on it, and had a good sleep. The reins slipped out of my hand, and when I awoke, the horse had nearly torn itself loose. The harness was gone, the strap which fastened the horse to the shafts was gone, and so were the collar, the bridle, and the bit. Someone had come by who had carried all off. Besides this, the cart had got into a quagmire and stuck fast. I left it standing and stretched myself on the straw again. At last the master came himself and pushed the cart out, and if he had not come I should not be lying here but there, and sleeping in full tranquillity."
中文翻译
十二个仆人白天什么也没干，晚上也不愿出力，他们躺在草地上吹嘘自己的懒惰。
第一个说：“你的懒惰关我什么事？我得操心我自己的事。照顾我的身体是我的主要工作。我吃得不少，喝得更多。吃完四顿饭，我会禁食一小会儿，直到再次感到饥饿，这最适合我。早起不适合我；快到中午时，我就已经给自己找了个休息的地方。如果主人叫我，我就装作没听见；如果他叫第二次，我就等一会儿再起来，然后慢吞吞地走过去。这样生活才能忍受。”
第二个说：“我有一匹马要照看，但我把马嚼子留在它嘴里。如果我不想喂它，我就不给它食物，还说它已经吃过了。而我呢，躺在燕麦箱里睡上四个小时。之后，我伸出一只脚，在马身上来回蹭几下，就当给它梳理清洁了。谁会把这当成大事呢？不过，伺候人对我来说还是太辛苦了。”
第三个说：“为什么要用工作折磨自己？毫无意义！我躺在阳光下睡着了。开始下小雨了，但我为什么要起来？我任凭它下，听天由命。最后下起了瓢泼大雨，雨势猛烈，竟然把我头上的头发都冲掉了，还冲出了个窟窿。我贴了块膏药，就好了。这种伤我已经受过好几次了。”
第四个说：“如果要我干一件活，我先闲逛一个小时，好积蓄体力。之后我才慢悠悠地开始，还问有没有人能帮我。然后我就让他干主要的活，实际上只是在旁边看着；但就连这样对我来说也还是太累了。”
第五个说：“那有什么关系？想想看，我得把马厩里的粪肥清走，装到车上。我慢吞吞地干，如果用叉子叉起了什么，我只举到一半，然后休息整整一刻钟，才把它完全扔进去。一天能装出一车，就绰绰有余了。我可不想把自己累死。”
第六个说：“真丢人；我不怕干活，但我一躺就是三个星期，衣服一次都没脱。系鞋带有什么用？我才不在乎鞋子会不会从脚上掉下来，无所谓。如果要上台阶，我把一只脚慢慢地拖到第一级台阶上，然后数剩下的台阶，好知道该在哪里休息。”
第七个说：“我可不行；我的主人监督我的工作，只是他整天不在家。但我什么也没耽误；我以爬行能达到的最快速度奔跑。如果要我往前走，得四个壮汉用尽全力推我才行。有一次我走到一个地方，有六个人并排躺在一张床上睡觉。我也躺在他们旁边睡着了。再也叫不醒我，他们想带我回家时，只好把我抬回去。”
第八个说：“我清楚地看到，只有我是勤快人；如果我面前有块石头，我才不费劲抬腿跨过去。我直接躺在地上，如果我浑身湿透、沾满泥污，我就一直躺着，直到太阳把我晒干。最多，我只是翻个身，好让阳光照到我。”
第九个说：“这才是正确的方法！今天面包就在我面前，但我懒得去拿，差点饿死！而且旁边还有个水罐，但它又大又重，我不想把它举起来，宁愿忍着口渴。就连翻个身对我来说都太费劲了，我一整天都像根木头一样躺着。”
第十个说：“懒惰给我带来了不幸：一条腿断了，小腿也肿了。我们三个躺在路上，我把腿伸得直直的。有人赶着车过来，车轮从我身上碾了过去。我本可以把腿缩回来，但我没听到车来，因为蚊虫在我耳边嗡嗡叫，还从我鼻子爬进去，又从嘴里爬出来；谁有那闲工夫去赶走这些害虫呢？”
第十一个说：“我昨天辞工了。我再也不想给主人搬那些沉重的书，或者再把它们拿回来了。整天没完没了。不过说实话，是他把我解雇了，不想再留用我了，因为他的衣服被我丢在灰尘里，全被虫蛀了，我对此非常高兴。”
第十二个说：“今天我得赶车去乡下，我在车上用稻草给自己铺了张床，美美地睡了一觉。缰绳从我手中滑落，等我醒来时，马差点挣脱了。马具不见了，把马拴在车辕上的皮带不见了，轭圈、笼头和嚼子也都不见了。有人路过，把东西全拿走了。此外，马车还陷进了泥沼，动弹不得。我就让它停在那里，自己又躺在稻草上。最后主人亲自来了，把车推了出来，要不是他来了，我现在就不会躺在这儿，而是还在那儿，睡得安安稳稳呢。”