Grimms' Fairy Tales — Page 13
Then he went to the king, and told him all his brothers' roguery; and they were seized and punished, and he had the princess given to him again; and after the king's death he was heir to his kingdom.
Dann ging er zum König und erzählte ihm von all der Schurkentat seiner Brüder; und sie wurden ergriffen und bestraft, und ihm wurde die Prinzessin wieder gegeben; und nach dem Tod des Königs war er Erbe seines Königreichs.
A long while after, he went to walk one day in the wood, and the old fox met him, and besought him with tears in his eyes to kill him, and cut off his head and feet.
Lange Zeit danach ging er eines Tages im Wald spazieren, und der alte Fuchs begegnete ihm und bat ihn mit Tränen in den Augen, ihn zu töten und ihm Kopf und Füße abzuschneiden.
And at last he did so, and in a moment the fox was changed into a man, and turned out to be the brother of the princess, who had been lost a great many many years.
Und schließlich tat er es, und im nächsten Augenblick verwandelte sich der Fuchs in einen Mann und stellte sich heraus, der Bruder der Prinzessin zu sein, der seit sehr vielen Jahren verloren gewesen war.
HANS IN LUCK
HANS IM GLÜCK
Some men are born to good luck: all they do or try to do comes right--all that falls to them is so much gain--all their geese are swans--all their cards are trumps--toss them which way you will, they will always, like poor puss, alight upon their legs, and only move on so much the faster.
Manche Menschen werden zum Glück geboren: alles, was sie tun oder zu tun versuchen, geht gut aus – alles, was ihnen zufällt, ist reiner Gewinn – alle ihre Gänse sind Schwäne – alle ihre Karten sind Trumpf – wohin man sie auch wirft, sie landen immer, wie die arme Katze, auf ihren Beinen und gehen nur umso schneller weiter.
The world may very likely not always think of them as they think of themselves, but what care they for the world? what can it know about the matter?
Die Welt denkt vielleicht nicht immer so von ihnen, wie sie von sich selbst denken, aber was kümmert sie die Welt? Was kann sie schon davon verstehen?
One of these lucky beings was neighbour Hans.
Eines dieser Glückskinder war der Nachbar Hans.
Seven long years he had worked hard for his master.
Sieben lange Jahre hatte er fleißig für seinen Herrn gearbeitet.
At last he said, 'Master, my time is up; I must go home and see my poor mother once more: so pray pay me my wages and let me go.
Schließlich sagte er: „Herr, meine Zeit ist um; ich muss nach Hause gehen und meine arme Mutter noch einmal sehen: so bitte zahlt mir meinen Lohn und lasst mich gehen.
Vocabulary
- Dann
- Then; used to indicate what happened next
- ging
- Went; past tense of gehen (to go)
- er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun
- zum
- To the; contraction of zu dem
- König
- King; male ruler of a kingdom
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- erzählte
- Told; past tense of erzählen (to tell/narrate)
- ihm
- Him; dative form of the pronoun er
- von
- Of/from; preposition indicating origin or topic
- all
- All; referring to the entirety of something
- der
- The; definite article for feminine/genitive nouns
- Schurkentat
- Villainous deed; wicked or criminal act committed
- seiner
- His; genitive/dative possessive pronoun for er
- Brüder
- Brothers; plural of Bruder (male siblings)
- sie
- They/she; third-person pronoun, singular or plural
- wurden
- Were; past tense passive auxiliary of werden
- ergriffen
- Seized/arrested; past participle of ergreifen
- bestraft
- Punished; past participle of bestrafen (to punish)
- wurde
- Became/was; singular past tense of werden
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- Prinzessin
- Princess; daughter or female member of royalty
- wieder
- Again; indicates repetition of an action
- gegeben
- Given; past participle of geben (to give)
- nach
- After/to; preposition indicating time or direction
- dem
- The; dative definite article for masculine/neuter
- Tod
- Death; the end of life
- des
- Of the; genitive definite article for masculine/neuter
- Königs
- Of the king; genitive form of König
- war
- Was; past tense singular of sein (to be)
- Erbe
- Heir/inheritance; one who inherits property or title
- seines
- Of his; genitive possessive pronoun for masculine/neuter
- Königreichs
- Of the kingdom; genitive of Königreich
- Lange
- Long; referring to a lengthy duration of time
- Zeit
- Time; a measurable duration or period
- danach
- After that; following a previously mentioned event
- eines
- One; indefinite article in genitive form
- Tages
- Of a day; genitive of Tag, meaning one day
- im
- In the; contraction of in dem
- Wald
- Forest; a large area covered with trees
- spazieren
- To stroll/walk; to take a leisurely walk
- alte
- Old; adjective describing something of advanced age
- Fuchs
- Fox; a wild canine animal known for cunning
- begegnete
- Encountered; past tense of begegnen (to meet)
- bat
- Asked/requested; past tense of bitten (to request)
- ihn
- Him; accusative form of the pronoun er
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- Tränen
- Tears; liquid drops produced when crying
- in
- In; preposition indicating location inside something
- den
- The; accusative/dative definite article for plural/masculine
- Augen
- Eyes; the organs used for seeing
- zu
- To; preposition or infinitive particle in German
- töten
- To kill; to cause the death of something
- Kopf
- Head; the uppermost part of the body
- Füße
- Feet; plural of Fuß, the lowest body parts
- abzuschneiden
- To cut off; to sever something using a blade
- Und
- And; conjunction used to connect words or phrases
- schließlich
- Finally/eventually; at last after some time
- tat
- Did; past tense of tun (to do)
- es
- It; third-person neuter pronoun
- nächsten
- Next; adjective referring to the immediately following
- Augenblick
- Moment; a very brief instant of time
- verwandelte
- Transformed; past tense of verwandeln (to transform)
- sich
- Himself/itself; reflexive pronoun for third person
- einen
- A/one; indefinite article in accusative masculine form
- Mann
- Man; an adult male person
- stellte
- Turned out/placed; past tense of stellen
- heraus
- Out; separable prefix meaning out or outward
- Bruder
- Brother; a male sibling
- sein
- To be/his; infinitive of sein or possessive pronoun
- seit
- Since/for; preposition indicating duration up to now
- sehr
- Very; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb
- vielen
- Many; referring to a large number of things
- Jahren
- Years; plural dative of Jahr (year)
- verloren
- Lost; past participle of verlieren (to lose)
- gewesen
- Been; past participle of sein (to be)
- GLÜCK
- Luck/happiness; fortune or a feeling of joy
- Manche
- Some; referring to an unspecified number of people
- Menschen
- People; plural of Mensch (human being)
- werden
- Become/will; auxiliary or main verb of becoming
- Glück
- Luck/happiness; good fortune or a joyful feeling
- geboren
- Born; past participle of gebären (to give birth)
- alles
- Everything; referring to the totality of things
- was
- What/that which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- tun
- To do; to perform an action or task
- oder
- Or; conjunction presenting an alternative option
- versuchen
- To try/attempt; to make an effort to do something
- geht
- Goes; third-person singular present of gehen
- gut
- Good/well; adjective or adverb meaning favorable
- aus
- Out/from; preposition or separable prefix indicating outward
- ihnen
- Them/to them; dative plural pronoun for they
- zufällt
- Falls to/accrues; something coming one's way by chance
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of sein
- reiner
- Pure/sheer; adjective meaning entirely or purely something
- Gewinn
- Gain/profit; something earned or won beneficially
- alle
- All; referring to every member of a group
- ihre
- Their/her; possessive pronoun for sie (they/she)
- Gänse
- Geese; plural of Gans, a large waterfowl bird
- sind
- Are; third-person plural present of sein
- Schwäne
- Swans; plural of Schwan, elegant large white birds
- Karten
- Cards; plural of Karte, playing cards or maps
- Trumpf
- Trump card; a card or advantage that wins over others
- wohin
- Whereto; asking or stating the direction of movement
- man
- One/you; impersonal pronoun referring to people generally
- auch
- Also/even; adverb meaning additionally or likewise
- wirft
- Throws; third-person singular present of werfen
- landen
- To land; to arrive or come down onto a surface
- immer
- Always; at all times, without exception
- wie
- Like/how; comparing or asking in what manner
- arme
- Poor; adjective describing lack of wealth or pitiable state
- Katze
- Cat; a common domesticated feline animal
- auf
- On/upon; preposition indicating position or direction
- ihren
- Their/her; accusative/dative possessive pronoun
- Beinen
- Legs; plural dative of Bein (leg)
- gehen
- To go/walk; to move from one place to another
- nur
- Only/just; limiting adverb restricting to one thing
- umso
- All the more; intensifier used with comparatives
- schneller
- Faster; comparative form of schnell (fast)
- weiter
- Further/on; continuing in a direction or activity
- Die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- Welt
- World; the earth or a particular domain of life
- denkt
- Thinks; third-person singular present of denken
- vielleicht
- Perhaps/maybe; expressing uncertainty about something
- nicht
- Not; negation particle in German sentences
- so
- So/such; adverb indicating degree or manner
- selbst
- Oneself/itself; reflexive intensifier pronoun
- denken
- To think; to use the mind to reason or reflect
- aber
- But/however; conjunction indicating contrast
- kümmert
- Cares/bothers; third-person singular of kümmern
- Was
- What; interrogative pronoun asking about something
- kann
- Can; modal verb expressing ability or possibility
- schon
- Already/really; adverb with emphatic or temporal meaning
- davon
- Of it/from it; pronominal adverb referring to something
- verstehen
- To understand; to comprehend the meaning of something
- Eines
- One (of); genitive/nominative indefinite article neuter
- dieser
- Of these/this; demonstrative pronoun in genitive form
- Glückskinder
- Lucky children; people born with extraordinary good fortune
- Nachbar
- Neighbor; a person living near or next to someone
- Sieben
- Seven; the number 7
- lange
- Long; adverb or adjective indicating lengthy duration
- Jahre
- Years; plural of Jahr (year)
- hatte
- Had; past tense singular of haben (to have)
- fleißig
- Diligently/hard-working; working with great effort
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose or beneficiary
- seinen
- His; accusative masculine possessive pronoun
- Herrn
- Master/lord; accusative/genitive of Herr (lord/sir)
- gearbeitet
- Worked; past participle of arbeiten (to work)
- Schließlich
- Finally; at the end of a period or process
- sagte
- Said; past tense of sagen (to say)
- Herr
- Master/Sir/Mister; formal title for a man
- meine
- My; possessive pronoun for first-person singular
- um
- In order to/around; preposition or conjunction of purpose
- ich
- I; first-person singular nominative pronoun
- muss
- Must; modal verb expressing necessity or obligation
- Hause
- Home; dative of Haus, used in nach Hause (homeward)
- Mutter
- Mother; a female parent
- noch
- Still/yet/once more; adverb indicating continuation
- einmal
- Once/one more time; indicating a single occurrence
- sehen
- To see; to perceive with the eyes
- bitte
- Please; polite word used when making a request
- zahlt
- Pays; third-person singular present of zahlen
- mir
- Me/to me; dative first-person singular pronoun
- meinen
- My; accusative masculine possessive pronoun
- Lohn
- Wage/pay; money received for work performed
- lasst
- Let/allow; second-person plural imperative of lassen
- mich
- Me; accusative first-person singular pronoun
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →