English Original
There was a village where all the peasants were rich except for just one poor one, whom they called the little peasant. He did not own a single cow, and had even less money to buy one with, but he and his wife would have liked to have one ever so much.
One day he said to her, "Listen, I have a good idea. Our kinsman the cabinetmaker should make us a calf out of wood and paint it brown so that it looks like any other calf, and with time it is sure to grow big and be a cow."
His wife liked this idea, and their kinsman skillfully made the wooden calf, painting it to look real, with its head down as if grazing.
The next morning, when the cows were driven out, the little peasant asked the herder to carry his "small calf" to the pasture. The herder agreed, placing it in the grass. That evening, when the herder returned without the calf, claiming it was still grazing, the little peasant insisted on finding it. The calf was gone—stolen. The little peasant took the herder before the mayor, who condemned the herder's carelessness and ordered him to give the little peasant a cow as compensation.
Now the little peasant and his wife had their longed-for cow. However, having no feed, they soon had to slaughter it. The little peasant took the hide to town to sell, hoping to buy a new calf. On the way, he found a raven with broken wings, wrapped it in the hide out of pity, and sought shelter from a storm at a mill.
The miller's wife, alone, gave him bread and cheese and let him sleep in the straw. Soon after, the priest arrived for a secret feast with her. Hearing this, the little peasant was annoyed at his meager meal. When the miller unexpectedly returned, his wife hid the feast—roast, salad, cake, and wine—in various places, and hid the priest in a hallway chest.
The miller, seeing the little peasant, invited him to share his own simple supper of bread and cheese. Afterwards, noticing the hide, the miller asked about it. The clever little peasant claimed it contained a fortune-teller that could reveal four things. By pressing the raven to make it caw, he "translated" its sounds to reveal the locations of the hidden wine, roast, salad, and cake. The terrified miller's wife went to bed.
The miller, eager to know the fifth prophecy, bargained and paid the little peasant three hundred talers. The little peasant then revealed that "the devil" was in the hallway chest. The miller opened it, the priest fled, and the miller, believing he had seen the devil, was convinced.
The little peasant left at dawn with the money. He prospered, building a fine house. When the villagers and mayor demanded to know the source of his wealth, he claimed he had sold his cow's hide for three hundred talers. Envious, the villagers slaughtered their own cows to sell the hides, only to find the hides were nearly worthless. Furious at being deceived, they accused the little peasant of fraud. He was sentenced to death by drowning in a barrel.
As he was led to his execution, he recognized the priest (from the mill) who was to say a mass for him. The little peasant reminded the priest of his earlier rescue and begged for help. Just then, a shepherd who longed to be mayor passed by. The little peasant cried out that he would not become mayor, even if they put him in the barrel. Intrigued, the shepherd asked, and the little peasant explained that whoever got into the barrel would be made mayor. The shepherd eagerly agreed, got in, and the little peasant sealed the barrel and took his flock of sheep.
The villagers rolled the barrel into the water, believing it contained the little peasant. Later, they met the little peasant driving a flock of sheep. He claimed he had reached a beautiful underwater meadow full of sheep. Greedy for more sheep, the villagers, led by the mayor, all jumped into the water and drowned. As the sole survivor, the little peasant inherited the entire village and became a rich man.
中文翻译
从前有个村子，除了一个贫穷的小农夫，其他农民都很富有。小农夫没有牛，也买不起，但他和妻子非常渴望拥有一头。
一天，他对妻子说：“我有个好主意。让我们的木匠亲戚用木头做一头小牛犊，漆成棕色，看起来就跟真的一样。时间久了，它肯定会长大变成一头牛。”妻子同意了。木匠巧妙地做出了木牛犊，漆好颜色，牛头低垂仿佛在吃草。
第二天早上放牛时，小农夫请牧牛人把他“还小”的牛犊抱到牧场去。牧牛人照做了，把它放在草地上。晚上，牧牛人回来时没带回牛犊，说它还在吃草不肯走。小农夫坚持去找，发现牛犊被偷了。他把牧牛人带到村长面前，村长斥责牧牛人粗心，判他赔给小农夫一头牛作为补偿。
小农夫和妻子终于有了梦寐以求的牛。可是他们没有饲料，很快不得不把牛宰了。小农夫拿着牛皮去镇上卖，想换头新牛犊。路上，他遇到一只翅膀受伤的乌鸦，出于怜悯，他用牛皮把它包起来。这时暴风雨来了，他只好到一座磨坊求助。
磨坊主的妻子独自在家，给了他面包和奶酪，让他在草堆上睡。不久，牧师来了，要和磨坊主妻子秘密享用盛宴。小农夫听到后，对自己寒酸的晚餐很生气。磨坊主突然回来，他妻子慌忙把烤肉、沙拉、蛋糕和酒藏到各处，把牧师藏进了走廊的柜子里。
磨坊主看到小农夫，邀请他一起吃简单的面包奶酪晚餐。饭后，磨坊主注意到那张牛皮，便问里面是什么。聪明的小农夫说里面是个算命师，能预言四件事。他按压乌鸦让它“呱呱”叫，然后“翻译”出藏起来的酒、烤肉、沙拉和蛋糕的位置。磨坊主的妻子吓得要死，躲到床上去了。
磨坊主很想知道第五个预言，经过讨价还价，付给小农夫三百塔勒。小农夫于是说，“魔鬼”藏在走廊的柜子里。磨坊主打开柜子，牧师飞快逃走，磨坊主以为自己亲眼见到了魔鬼，深信不疑。
小农夫天亮带着钱离开了。他渐渐富裕起来，盖了漂亮的房子。村民和村长追问他的财富来源，他谎称自己的牛皮在镇上卖了三百塔勒。村民们眼红了，纷纷回家宰了自家的牛，剥下皮去卖，却发现牛皮根本不值钱。他们恼羞成怒，指控小农夫欺诈。小农夫被判处死刑——塞进凿了孔的桶里滚进水中淹死。
行刑路上，他认出了要来为他做弥撒的牧师（正是磨坊里那位）。小农夫提醒牧师自己曾救过他，恳求他帮忙。这时，一个渴望当村长的牧羊人赶着羊群经过。小农夫大声喊叫，说就算把他塞进桶里，他也绝不当村长。牧羊人好奇地问，小农夫解释说，谁进到桶里，谁就能当村长。牧羊人急切地同意了，钻进桶里，小农夫钉上桶盖，赶着牧羊人的羊群走了。
村民们把桶滚进水里，以为里面是小农夫。后来，他们回村时遇见小农夫赶着一群羊。小农夫声称自己沉到水底，发现了一片美丽的草地，上面有很多羊，这群羊就是从那儿带回来的。贪心的村民们，在村长的带领下，都跳进水里去找羊，结果全部淹死了。作为唯一的幸存者，小农夫继承了整个村子，成了富翁。