Once upon a time, a mouse, a bird, and a sausage, entered into partnership and set up house together. For a long time all went well; they lived in great comfort, and prospered so far as to be able to add considerably to their stores. The bird’s duty was to fly daily into the wood and bring in fuel; the mouse fetched the water, and the sausage saw to the cooking.
从前，一只老鼠、一只小鸟和一根香肠合伙过日子，共同建立了一个家庭。起初一切都很顺利，他们生活得十分舒适，积蓄也日益增多。小鸟的职责是每天飞进树林搬运柴火；老鼠负责打水，而香肠则负责做饭。
When people are too well off they always begin to long for something new. And so it came to pass, that the bird, while out one day, met a fellow bird, to whom he boastfully expatiated on the excellence of his household arrangements. But the other bird sneered at him for being a poor simpleton, who did all the hard work, while the other two stayed at home and had a good time of it. For, when the mouse had made the fire and fetched in the water, she could retire into her little room and rest until it was time to set the table. The sausage had only to watch the pot to see that the food was properly cooked, and when it was near dinner-time, he just threw himself into the broth, or rolled in and out among the vegetables three or four times, and there they were, buttered, and salted, and ready to be served. Then, when the bird came home and had laid aside his burden, they sat down to table, and when they had finished their meal, they could sleep their fill till the following morning: and that was really a very delightful life.
人一旦过得太安逸，总会渴望些新鲜事。于是有一天，小鸟外出时遇到另一只鸟，便得意洋洋地向对方炫耀自己家庭的安排。可那只鸟却嘲笑它是个愚蠢的家伙：干着最重的活，另外两个却在家享福。原来，老鼠生好火、打好水后，就可以回到自己的小房间休息，直到摆饭点为止；香肠只需守着锅看食物是否煮熟，快到开饭时，它只需跳进汤里，或在蔬菜间来回翻滚三四次，这样食物就加了黄油和盐，准备上桌了。等小鸟回家放下柴火，大家便围坐用餐，饭后还能一直睡到第二天早晨——这实在是一段令人向往的生活。
Influenced by those remarks, the bird next morning refused to bring in the wood, telling the others that he had been their servant long enough, and had been a fool into the bargain, and that it was now time to make a change, and to try some other way of arranging the work. Beg and pray as the mouse and the sausage might, it was of no use; the bird remained master of the situation, and the venture had to be made. They therefore drew lots, and it fell to the sausage to bring in the wood, to the mouse to cook, and to the bird to fetch the water.
受此言论影响，次日清晨小鸟拒绝再去搬柴，声称自己已当了足够久的仆人，还傻得可笑，现在该改变一下，尝试另一种分工方式。尽管老鼠和香肠苦苦哀求，却无济于事；小鸟坚持己见，事情只好照此进行。于是他们抽签决定：香肠去搬柴，老鼠负责做饭，小鸟则去打水。
And now what happened? The sausage started in search of wood, the bird made the fire, and the mouse put on the pot, and then these two waited till the sausage returned with the fuel for the following day. But the sausage remained so long away, that they became uneasy, and the bird flew out to meet him. He had not flown far, however, when he came across a dog who, having met the sausage, had regarded him as his legitimate booty, and so seized and swallowed him. The bird complained to the dog of this bare-faced robbery, but nothing he said was of any avail, for the dog answered that he found false credentials on the sausage, and that was the reason his life had been forfeited.
结果如何呢？香肠出发去找柴火，小鸟生起火，老鼠把锅架好，然后两人便等待香肠带着第二天的燃料归来。可香肠迟迟未归，他们开始不安起来，小鸟便飞出去迎接它。然而刚飞不远，就遇见一只狗——那狗早已遇到香肠，视其为合法猎物，于是将其抓住并吞下。小鸟向狗控诉这明目张胆的抢劫，但毫无用处，因为狗回答说：它在香肠身上发现了伪造的身份凭证，因此才剥夺了它的性命。
He picked up the wood, and flew sadly home, and told the mouse all he had seen and heard. They were both very unhappy, but agreed to make the best of things and to remain with one another.
他拾起那根木头，悲伤地飞回家，把所见所闻都告诉了老鼠。它们俩都非常难过，但决定尽力而为，彼此相伴。
So now the bird set the table, and the mouse looked after the food and, wishing to prepare it in the same way as the sausage, by rolling in and out among the vegetables to salt and butter them, she jumped into the pot; but she stopped short long before she reached the bottom, having already parted not only with her skin and hair, but also with life.
于是鸟儿摆好了餐桌，老鼠负责照看食物；她本想像香肠那样，在蔬菜间来回滚动来撒盐抹油，便跳进了锅里；可还没到底部她就停住了，不仅失去了皮毛，也失去了生命。
Presently the bird came in and wanted to serve up the dinner, but he could nowhere see the cook. In his alarm and flurry, he threw the wood here and there about the floor, called and searched, but no cook was to be found. Then some of the wood that had been carelessly thrown down, caught fire and began to blaze. The bird hastened to fetch some water, but his pail fell into the well, and he after it, and as he was unable to recover himself, he was drowned.
不久鸟儿回来准备上菜，却到处找不到厨师。他惊慌失措，把木头扔得到处都是，四处呼喊搜寻，却始终不见厨师踪影。随后，几根被随意丢下的木头不慎起火，开始熊熊燃烧。鸟儿急忙去取水，但水桶掉进了井里，他也跟着跳下去，因无法自救而溺亡。