The Ungrateful Son

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　A man and his wife were once sitting by the door of their house, and they had a roasted chicken before them, and were about to eat it together. Then the man saw that his aged¹ father was coming, and hastily² took the chicken and hid it, for he did not want him to have any of it. The old man came, took a drink, and went away. Now the son wanted to put the roasted chicken on the table again, but when he reached for it, it had turned into a large toad³, which jumped into his face and sat there and never went away again. And if anyone wanted to take it off, it looked venomously at him as if it would jump in his face, so that no one dared to touch it. And the ungrateful son was forced to feed the toad every day, or else it fed itself on his face. And thus he went to and fro in the world without rest.

　　从前有一个人和他的女人坐在家门口，面前摆着一只烧鸡，正准备吃饭。这时那人突然瞧见自己年迈的父亲向他们走来，便匆匆地把鸡收起来藏好，他不想与父亲分享这一顿美味佳餚呢！老人来了，只喝了口水便走了。儿子又去把烧鸡重新端上桌来，可当他去端时，发现鸡已变成了癞蛤蟆。蛤蟆猛地跳上他的脸，便粘在那里不再动了，谁要去赶它，蛤蟆就会恶狠狠地盯着他，大有要跳到来者脸上之势，从此便无人胆敢再去碰它了。并且这个不肖之子还得每天好好犒劳这只蛤蟆，否则它就会咬他脸上的肉吃，这样这个忘恩负义的儿子再无安宁日子过了。