Two kings’ sons once upon a time went into the world to seek their fortunes; but they soon fell into a wasteful foolish way of living, so that they could not return home again. Then their brother, who was a little insignificant dwarf, went out to seek for his brothers: but when he had found them they only laughed at him, to think that he, who was so young and simple, should try to travel through the world, when they, who were so much wiser, had been unable to get on. However, they all set out on their journey together, and came at last to an ant-hill. The two elder brothers would have pulled it down, in order to see how the poor ants in their fright would run about and carry off their eggs. But the little dwarf said, ‘Let the poor things enjoy themselves, I will not suffer you to trouble them.’
从前，两位国王的儿子外出闯荡，却很快陷入了挥霍无度的愚蠢生活，以致无法回家。后来，他们那位不起眼的矮小弟弟也出发去寻找哥哥们；找到他们后，哥哥们只嘲笑他，心想：如此年轻单纯的他竟敢尝试游历世界，而他们这些自认为更聪明的人却都未能成功。尽管如此，三人还是结伴启程，最终来到一座蚁丘前。两位哥哥本想拆毁蚁丘，好看看受惊的蚂蚁四处奔逃、搬运卵子的狼狈模样。但矮小弟弟说：‘让这些小可怜安享太平吧，我不许你们打扰它们。’
So on they went, and came to a lake where many many ducks were swimming about. The two brothers wanted to catch two, and roast them. But the dwarf said, ‘Let the poor things enjoy themselves, you shall not kill them.’ Next they came to a bees’-nest in a hollow tree, and there was so much honey that it ran down the trunk; and the two brothers wanted to light a fire under the tree and kill the bees, so as to get their honey. But the dwarf held them back, and said, ‘Let the pretty insects enjoy themselves, I cannot let you burn them.’
于是他们继续前行，来到一个湖边，湖中有很多鸭子在游来游去。两兄弟想抓两只烤着吃，但侏儒说：‘让可怜的小家伙们享受吧，你们不能杀它们。’接着他们来到一棵空心树里的蜂巢，那里的蜂蜜多得顺着树干流下来；两兄弟想在树下点火烧死蜜蜂，好得到蜂蜜。但侏儒拦住了他们，说：‘让这些可爱的小昆虫享受吧，我不能让你们烧死它们。’
At length the three brothers came to a castle: and as they passed by the stables they saw fine horses standing there, but all were of marble, and no man was to be seen. Then they went through all the rooms, till they came to a door on which were three locks: but in the middle of the door was a wicket, so that they could look into the next room. There they saw a little grey old man sitting at a table; and they called to him once or twice, but he did not hear: however, they called a third time, and then he rose and came out to them.
终于，三兄弟来到了一座城堡。当他们经过马厩时，看到几匹骏马站在那里，但全是大理石制成的，却不见一个人影。随后他们穿过所有房间，直到来到一扇装有三个锁的门前：门中央有一个小窗，可以窥见隔壁的房间。他们看见一位灰发老者坐在桌旁；他们喊了他一两声，但他没有听见；然而当他们第三次呼唤时，他便起身出来迎接他们。
He said nothing, but took hold of them and led them to a beautiful table covered with all sorts of good things: and when they had eaten and drunk, he showed each of them to a bed-chamber.
他一言不发，却牵起他们的手，引至一张摆满各式美食的精美餐桌旁；待他们饱餐痛饮之后，他便将每人领入一间卧室。
The next morning he came to the eldest and took him to a marble table, where there were three tablets, containing an account of the means by which the castle might be disenchanted. The first tablet said: ‘In the wood, under the moss, lie the thousand pearls belonging to the king’s daughter; they must all be found: and if one be missing by set of sun, he who seeks them will be turned into marble.’
第二天早上，他来到长兄那里，带他去一张大理石桌前，桌上放着三块石板，上面记载着解除城堡魔咒的方法。第一块石板上写着：‘在树林里，青苔之下，沉睡着国王女儿的一千颗珍珠；必须全部找到它们；若日落时还有一颗遗失，寻找者就会变成石头。’
The eldest brother set out, and sought for the pearls the whole day: but the evening came, and he had not found the first hundred: so he was turned into stone as the tablet had foretold.
大哥出发去寻找珍珠，整整一天都在寻找，但到了傍晚仍未找到第一颗，于是正如石碑所预言的那样，他变成了石头。
The next day the second brother undertook the task; but he succeeded no better than the first; for he could only find the second hundred of the pearls; and therefore he too was turned into stone.
第二天，二弟接过了任务；但他和哥哥一样没能成功，因为他只找到了第二百颗珍珠，因此也被变成了石头。
At last came the little dwarf’s turn; and he looked in the moss; but it was so hard to find the pearls, and the job was so tiresome!--so he sat down upon a stone and cried. And as he sat there, the king of the ants (whose life he had saved) came to help him, with five thousand ants; and it was not long before they had found all the pearls and laid them in a heap.
最后轮到小矮人了；他俯身查看苔藓，但寻找珍珠实在太难，工作又如此令人厌倦——于是他坐在一块石头上哭了起来。就在他坐着时，他曾救过的蚁王带着五千只蚂蚁前来相助；没过多久，他们便找到了所有珍珠，并将它们堆成一堆。
The second tablet said: ‘The key of the princess’s bed-chamber must be fished up out of the lake.’ And as the dwarf came to the brink of it, he saw the two ducks whose lives he had saved swimming about; and they dived down and soon brought in the key from the bottom.
第二块石碑上写着：‘公主寝室的钥匙必须从湖中打捞上来。’当小矮人来到湖边时，他看见他曾救过的两只鸭子正在游动；它们潜入水底，很快便将钥匙从湖底衔了上来。
The third task was the hardest. It was to choose out the youngest and the best of the king’s three daughters. Now they were all beautiful, and all exactly alike: but he was told that the eldest had eaten a piece of sugar, the next some sweet syrup, and the youngest a spoonful of honey; so he was to guess which it was that had eaten the honey.
第三个任务最难。它是要从国王的三个女儿中选出最年轻且最优秀的那一个。她们都美丽无比，而且长得一模一样：但有人告诉他，大女儿吃了一块糖，二女儿喝了一些甜糖浆，而小女儿吃了一勺蜂蜜；因此他需要猜出谁吃了蜂蜜。
Then came the queen of the bees, who had been saved by the little dwarf from the fire, and she tried the lips of all three; but at last she sat upon the lips of the one that had eaten the honey: and so the dwarf knew which was the youngest. Thus the spell was broken, and all who had been turned into stones awoke, and took their proper forms. And the dwarf married the youngest and the best of the princesses, and was king after her father’s death; but his two brothers married the other two sisters.
随后，蜂王出现了，她曾被小矮人从火中救出。她依次亲吻了三个人的嘴唇，最后却停在了那个吃过蜂蜜的人的唇上；于是小矮人认出了谁是最小的女儿。咒语就此解除，所有变成石头的人都苏醒过来，恢复了原本的模样。小矮人娶了三位公主中最年轻、最善良的那位，在她父亲去世后成为国王；而他的两个兄弟则分别娶了另外两位姐妹。