There was once a wonderful musician, who went quite alone through a forest and thought of all manner of things, and when nothing was left for him to think about, he said to himself, "Time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I will fetch hither a good companion for myself." Then he took his fiddle from his back, and played so that it echoed through the trees. It was not long before a wolf came trotting through the thicket towards him. "Ah, here is a wolf coming! I have no desire for him!" said the musician; but the wolf came nearer and said to him, "Ah, dear musician, how beautifully thou dost play. I should like to learn that, too." - "It is soon learnt," the musician replied, "thou hast only to do all that I bid thee." - "Oh, musician," said the wolf, "I will obey thee as a scholar obeys his master." The musician bade him follow, and when they had gone part of the way together, they came to an old oak-tree which was hollow inside, and cleft in the middle. "Look," said the musician, "if thou wilt learn to fiddle, put thy fore paws into this crevice." The wolf obeyed, but the musician quickly picked up a stone and with one blow wedged his two paws so fast that he was forced to stay there like a prisoner. "Stay there until I come back again," said the musician, and went his way.
Der var en gang en spillemand, som gik ganske alene gennem en stor skov. Han gik i sine egne tanker, men til sidst begyndte han at kede sig og tænkte: "Tiden falder mig alligevel lidt lang nu. Jeg vil se, om jeg ikke kan få fat på en kammerat." Han tog så sin violin og begyndte at spille, så det klang gennem skoven. Lidt efter kom en ulv travende gennem krattet. "Den har jeg rigtignok ikke længtes efter," tænkte spillemanden, da han så den, men ulven sagde: "Hvor du dog spiller dejligt, spillemand, den kunst ville jeg rigtignok gerne lære." - "Det er nemt nok," svarede spillemanden, "men så må du gøre alt, hvad jeg siger." - "Jeg vil adlyde dig som en lærling sin mester," svarede ulven. Spillemanden sagde så, at den skulle følge med ham, og da de havde gået en lille tid, kom de til en gammel eg, der var hul og helt revnet. "Hvis du vil lære at spille, skal du lægge dine poter i denne revne," sagde spillemanden. Ulven gjorde det, men spillemanden tog hurtig en stor sten og klemte træet så fast sammen, at ulven ikke kunne slippe løs. "Vent der, til jeg kommer tilbage," sagde han, og gik sin vej.
After a while he again said to himself, "Time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I will fetch hither another companion," and took his fiddle and again played in the forest. It was not long before a fox came creeping through the trees towards him. "Ah, there's a fox coming!" said the musician. "I have no desire for him." The fox came up to him and said, "Oh, dear musician, how beautifully thou dost play! I should like to learn that too." - "That is soon learnt," said the musician. "Thou hast only to do everything that I bid thee." - "Oh, musician," then said the fox, "I will obey thee as a scholar obeys his master." - "Follow me," said the musician; and when they had walked a part of the way, they came to a footpath, with high bushes on both sides of it. There the musician stood still, and from one side bent a young hazel-bush down to the ground, and put his foot on the top of it, then he bent down a young tree from the other side as well, and said, "Now little fox, if thou wilt learn something, give me thy left front paw." The fox obeyed, and the musician fastened his paw to the left bough. "Little fox," said he, "now reach me thy right paw" and he tied it to the right bough. When he had examined whether they were firm enough, he let go, and the bushes sprang up again, and jerked up the little fox, so that it hung struggling in the air. "Wait there till I come back again," said the musician, and went his way.
Nogen tid efter tænkte han igen: "Det keder mig at gå her alene. Jeg vil se at få fat på en kammerat," og han begyndte igen at spille på sin violin. Et øjeblik efter så han en ræv komme luskende mellem træerne. "Åh, det er en ræv," tænkte han, "den har jeg rigtignok ikke længtes efter." Den kom nu hen til ham og sagde: "Hvor du spiller kønt. Bare jeg kunne lære det." - "Det er nemt nok," svarede spillemanden, "du skal bare gøre alt, hvad jeg siger." - "Jeg vil adlyde dig som lærlingen sin mester," svarede ræven. "Kom så med," sagde spillemanden, og da de havde gået lidt, kom de til en sti med højt krat på begge sider. "Giv mig så din venstre pote, hvis du vil lære noget," sagde spillemanden. Ræven gjorde det, og han bandt den nu fast til en gren på den ene side af vejen. "Giv mig så den højre," sagde han, og bandt den fast på den anden side. Og da han havde bundet det rigtig stramt, gav han slip, grenene for op, og der hang ræven og dinglede. "Vent der, til jeg kommer igen," sagde han og gik videre.
Again he said to himself, "Time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I will fetch hither another companion," so he took his fiddle, and the sound echoed through the forest. Then a little hare came springing towards him. "Why, a hare is coming," said the musician, "I do not want him." - "Ah, dear musician," said the hare, "how beautifully thou dost fiddle; I too, should like to learn that." - "That is soon learnt," said the musician, "thou hast only to do everything that I bid thee." - "Oh, musician," replied the little hare, "I will obey thee as a scholar obeys his master." They went a part of the way together until they came to an open space in the forest, where stood an aspen tree. The musician tied a long string round the little hare's neck, the other end of which he fastened to the tree. "Now briskly, little hare, run twenty times round the tree!" cried the musician, and the little hare obeyed, and when it had run round twenty times, it had twisted the string twenty times round the trunk of the tree, and the little hare was caught, and let it pull and tug as it liked, it only made the string cut into its tender neck. "Wait there till I come back," said the musician, and went onwards.
Nogen tid efter tænkte han igen: "Det bliver alligevel lidt kedeligt at gå her alene. Jeg vil se at få fat på en kammerat." Han tog atter sin violin og gav sig til at spille, og et øjeblik efter kom en hare springende. "Det var rigtignok ikke den, jeg mente," tænkte han. "Hvor du dog spiller dejligt," sagde haren, "bare jeg kunne lære det." - "Det er såmænd let nok," svarede spillemanden, "du skal bare gøre alt, hvad jeg siger til dig." - "Jeg vil adlyde dig som en lærling sin mester," sagde haren. De gik nu videre til de kom til en åben plads, bevokset med popler. Spillemanden bandt et stykke sejlgarn om halsen på haren og bandt den anden ende fast til et træ. "Løb nu tyve gange rundt om træet," sagde spillemanden. Haren gjorde det, men blev sådan viklet ind i snoren, at den ikke kunne komme løs igen, og når den trak i den, skar den den i halsen. "Vent der, til jeg kommer tilbage," sagde spillemanden og gik videre.
The wolf, in the meantime, had pushed and pulled and bitten at the stone, and had worked so long that he had set his feet at liberty and had drawn them once more out of the cleft. Full of anger and rage he hurried after the musician and wanted to tear him to pieces. When the fox saw him running, he began to lament, and cried with all his might, "Brother wolf, come to my help, the musician has betrayed me!" The wolf drew down the little tree, bit the cord in two, and freed the fox, who went with him to take revenge on the musician. They found the tied-up hare, whom likewise they delivered, and then they all sought the enemy together.
Imidlertid havde ulven arbejdet så længe, at den havde kunnet trække poterne ud af revnen, og den styrtede nu rasende af sted efter spillemanden, for at kaste sig over ham og flå ham. Da ræven så den, begyndte den at skrige af alle kræfter: "Kom og hjælp mig, broder ulv, spillemanden har narret mig." Ulven trak træerne ned, bed snorene over og løste ræven, og de løb nu begge to af sted for at hævne sig på spillemanden. De kom også forbi haren og befriede den, og gik nu alle tre på jagt efter deres fjende.
The musician had once more played his fiddle as he went on his way, and this time he had been more fortunate. The sound reached the ears of a poor wood-cutter, who instantly, whether he would or no, gave up his work and came with his hatchet under his arm to listen to the music. "At last comes the right companion," said the musician, "for I was seeking a human being, and no wild beast." And he began and played so beautifully and delightfully that the poor man stood there as if bewitched, and his heart leaped with gladness. And as he thus stood, the wolf, the fox, and the hare came up, and he saw well that they had some evil design. So he raised his glittering axe and placed himself before the musician, as if to say, "Whoso wishes to touch him let him beware, for he will have to do with me!" Then the beasts were terrified and ran back into the forest. The musician, however, played once more to the man out of gratitude, and then went onwards.
Spillemanden havde imidlertid endnu en gang ladet violinens toner klinge, og nu havde han mere held med sig. Musikken var trængt hen til en fattig brændehugger, og enten han ville eller ej, måtte han holde op med arbejdet og kom nu gående med øksen under armen. "Der kommer den rigtige," tænkte spillemanden, "det er et menneske og ikke vilde dyr, jeg har kaldt på." Han spillede nu så dejligt, at den stakkels mand blev helt betaget, og hans bryst svulmede af glæde. Mens han stod der og lyttede kom ulven, ræven og haren farende, og han kunne nok se, at de havde ondt i sinde. Da løftede han sin blinkende økse og stillede sig foran spillemanden, som om han ville sige: "Den, der vil gøre ham fortræd, får med mig at bestille." Dyrene blev bange og løb ind i skoven igen. Men spillemanden spillede endnu længe for manden til tak, inden han drog videre.