Ulven og de syv gedekid


The wolf and the seven young kids


En gang var der en gammel ged, som havde syv små kid, og dem holdt den så meget af, som en moder kan holde af sine børn. En dag, da den ville gå ind i skoven og hente føde, kaldte den på dem alle syv og sagde: "Nu skal jeg ud i skoven, lille børn. Kan I nu passe godt på, at ulven ikke kommer herind, mens jeg er borte, for ellers æder den jer med hud og hår. Den slemme fyr forstiller sig tit, men man kan altid kende den på dens grove stemme og sorte fødder." Kiddene lovede at tage sig i agt, og den gamle gik rolig sin vej.
There was once an old goat who had seven little ones, and was as fond of them as ever mother was of her children. One day she had to go into the wood to fetch food for them, so she called them all round her. "Dear children," said she, "I am going out into the wood; and while I am gone, be on your guard against the wolf, for if he were once to get inside he would eat you up, skin, bones, and all. The wretch often disguises himself, but he may always be known by his hoarse voice and black paws." - "Dear mother," answered the kids, "you need not be afraid, we will take good care of ourselves." And the mother bleated good-bye, and went on her way with an easy mind.

Kort efter var der en, som bankede på døren og råbte: "Luk op, kære børn, her kommer jeres mor hjem med noget rigtig godt til jer." Men gedekiddene kunne høre på den grove stemme, at det var ulven. "Vi lukker ikke op," råbte de, "du er slet ikke vores mor. Hun har en mild stemme og din stemme er så grov. Du er ulven." Ulven gik da hen til en købmand og købte et stort stykke kridt, som den spiste, og så blev dens stemme ganske tynd og blid. Den gik nu igen hen og bankede på og råbte: "Luk op, kære børn, her er jeres mor med noget godt til jer allesammen." Men kiddene så på de sorte poter, som ulven havde lagt op i vinduet, og råbte: "Nej, vi lukker ikke op. Vores mor har ikke sådan sorte poter. Du er ulven." Ulven løb da hen til en bager og sagde: "Jeg har stødt min fod, vil du ikke nok smøre lidt dej på den." Bageren gjorde det, og så løb den hen til mølleren og bad ham strø hvidt mel derpå. Mølleren, der tænkte, at ulven ville narre en eller anden, sagde først nej, men da ulven truede ham med, at den ville æde ham, blev han bange, og gjorde som den bad om. Sådan er menneskene.
It was not long before some one came knocking at the house-door, and crying out: "Open the door, my dear children, your mother is come back, and has brought each of you something." But the little kids knew it was the wolf by the hoarse voice. "We will not open the door," cried they; "you are not our mother, she has a delicate and sweet voice, and your voice is hoarse; you must be the wolf." Then off went the wolf to a shop and bought a big lump of chalk, and ate it up to make his voice soft. And then he came back, knocked at the house-door, and cried: "Open the door, my dear children, your mother is here, and has brought each of you something." But the wolf had put up his black paws against the window, and the kids seeing this, cried out, "We will not open the door; our mother has no black paws like you; you must be the wolf." The wolf then ran to a baker. "Baker," said he, "I am hurt in the foot; pray spread some dough over the place." And when the baker had plastered his feet, he ran to the miller. "Miller," said he, "strew me some white meal over my paws." But the miller refused, thinking the wolf must be meaning harm to some one. "If you don't do it," cried the wolf, "I'll eat you up!" And the miller was afraid and did as he was told. And that just shows what men are.

Nu gik den slemme ulv for tredie gang hen til gedekiddene og bankede på. "Luk op, lille børn," sagde den, "her er jeres mor med mad til jer alle syv." - "Vis os først dine poter, så vi kan se, om det er sandt," råbte kiddene. Ulven lagde poten op i vinduet, og da de så, at den var hvid, gik en af dem hen og lukkede døren op. Og så kom ulven ind. De blev forfærdelig bange og prøvede på at skjule sig. Den ene krøb under bordet, den anden sprang op i sengen, den tredie ind i kakkelovnen, den fjerde løb ud i køkkenet, den femte ind i skabet, den sjette krøb under vaskebordet og den syvende ind i urkassen. Men ulven fandt de seks og gjorde ikke mange omstændigheder, men slugte den ene efter den anden. Kun den mindste, der sad inde i uret, fandt den ikke. Da den nu havde fået sin sult stillet, sjokkede den af sted og lagde sig til at sove under et træ ude på engen.
And now came the rogue the third time to the door and knocked. "Open, children!" cried he. "Your dear mother has come home, and brought you each something from the wood." - "First show us your paws," said the kids, "so that we may know if you are really our mother or not." And he put up his paws against the window, and when they saw that they were white, all seemed right, and they opened the door. And when he was inside they saw it was the wolf, and they were terrified and tried to hide themselves. One ran under the table, the second got into the bed, the third into the oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cupboard, the sixth under the sink, the seventh in the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and gave them short shrift; one after the other he swallowed down, all but the youngest, who was hid in the clock-case. And so the wolf, having got what he wanted, strolled forth into the green meadows, and laying himself down under a tree, he fell asleep.

Kort tid efter kom den gamle ged hjem. Døren stod på vid gab, stole, borde og bænke var væltet imellem hinanden, skårene af vandfadet lå strøet på gulvet og lagner og puder var revet ud af sengen. Hun gav sig til at søge efter sine børn, men de var jo intet steds at finde. Hun kaldte på dem, den ene efter den anden, men ingen svarede. Da hun kom til den sidste, var der endelig en tynd lille stemme, der sagde: "Jeg sidder herinde i uret, lille mor." Hun hjalp den straks ud, og den fortalte nu, hvordan ulven var kommet og havde spist alle de andre. Den stakkels mor gav sig til at græde, fordi hun havde mistet sine seks små børn.
Not long after, the mother goat came back from the wood; and, oh! what a sight met her eyes! the door was standing wide open, table, chairs, and stools, all thrown about, dishes broken, quilt and pillows torn off the bed. She sought her children, they were nowhere to be found. She called to each of them by name, but nobody answered, until she came to the name of the youngest. "Here I am, mother," a little voice cried, "here, in the clock case." And so she helped him out, and heard how the wolf had come, and eaten all the rest. And you may think how she cried for the loss of her dear children.

Lidt efter gik hun udenfor, og det yngste lille kid gik med hende. Da de kom ud på engen, fik de øje på ulven, der lå og snorkede, så grenene rystede. Hun så på den fra alle sider og kunne se, at der var noget, der rørte sig inde i maven på den. "Gode Gud," tænke hun, "skulle mine børn være levende endnu." I en fart fik hun det lille gedekid sendt hjem for at hente en saks og nål og tråd. Derpå begyndte hun at klippe uhyrets mave op, og hun var næppe begyndt, før det ene kid stak hovedet frem. Hun klippede videre og efterhånden sprang alle seks spillevende ud. De havde ikke taget den mindste skade, for ulven havde været så grådig, at den havde slugt dem hele. Der blev rigtignok glæde! De omfavnede deres mor og hoppede rundt om hende, men hun sagde til dem: "Gå hen og find nogle kampestene. Dem lægger vi så i maven på den stygge ulv, mens den ligger og sover." Gedekiddene skyndte sig at slæbe sten derhen og puttede så mange, de kunne få plads til, ind i ulvens mave. Så syede den gamle den sammen i en fart, og ulven mærkede det slet ikke, rørte sig ikke en gang af pletten.
At last in her grief she wandered out of doors, and the youngest kid with her; and when they came into the meadow, there they saw the wolf lying under a tree, and snoring so that the branches shook. The mother goat looked at him carefully on all sides and she noticed how something inside his body was moving and struggling. Dear me! thought she, can it be that my poor children that he devoured for his evening meal are still alive? And she sent the little kid back to the house for a pair of shears, and needle, and thread. Then she cut the wolf's body open, and no sooner had she made one snip than out came the head of one of the kids, and then another snip, and then one after the other the six little kids all jumped out alive and well, for in his greediness the rogue had swallowed them down whole. How delightful this was! so they comforted their dear mother and hopped about like tailors at a wedding. "Now fetch some good hard stones," said the mother, "and we will fill his body with them, as he lies asleep." And so they fetched some in all haste, and put them inside him, and the mother sewed him up so quickly again that he was none the wiser.

Da den endelig havde fået udsovet, rejste den sig op, og da den var tørstig ville den gå hen til en brønd for at få noget at drikke. Men da den begyndte at røre sig, stødte stenene i maven imod hinanden og raslede. Den råbte da:
When the wolf at last awoke, and got up, the stones inside him made him feel very thirsty, and as he was going to the brook to drink, they struck and rattled one against another. And so he cried out:

"Av, min mave, er rent af lave,
"What is this I feel inside me

det rumler og tumler
Knocking hard against my bones?

som var den fuld af sten,
How should such a thing betide me!

og så er det dog kun gedebukkeben."
They were kids, and now they're stones."

Da den kom hen til brønden og bøjede sig ud over vandet tyngede stenene sådan, at den tabte ligevægten og styrtede på hovedet ned i vandet og druknede. De syv gedekid kom løbende og råbte højt: "Ulven er død, ulven er død!" Så tog de hinanden i hånden og dansede glade rundt om brønden.
So he came to the brook, and stooped to drink, but the heavy stones weighed him down, so he fell over into the water and was drowned. And when the seven little kids saw it they came up running. "The wolf is dead, the wolf is dead!" they cried, and taking hands, they danced with their mother all about the place.