the old grandfather and his grandson

jacob and wilhelm grimm

once upon a time there was a very, very old man. his eyes had grown dim, his ears deaf, and his knees shook. when he sat at the table, he could scarcely hold a spoon. he spilled soup on the tablecloth1, and, beside that, some of his soup would run back out of his mouth.

his son and his son's wife were disgusted with this, so finally they made the old grandfather sit in the corner behind the stove, where they gave him his food in an earthenware2 bowl, and not enough at that. he sat there looking sadly at the table, and his eyes grew moist. one day his shaking hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. the young woman scolded, but he said not a word. he only sobbed3. then for a few hellers they bought him a wooden bowl and made him eat from it.

once when they were all sitting there, the little grandson of four years pushed some pieces of wood together on the floor.

"what are you making?" asked his father.

"oh, i'm making a little trough for you and mother to eat from when i'm big."

the man and the woman looked at one another and then began to cry. they immediately brought the old grandfather to the table, and always let him eat there from then on. and if he spilled a little, they did not say a thing.

从前有个很老很老的老人，眼睛花，耳朵也背，双膝还不住地发抖。每当他坐在餐桌前吃饭时，汤匙也握不稳，常常把菜汤撒在桌布上，汤还会从嘴边流出来。儿子和媳妇都嫌弃他，老人只好躲到灶后的角落里吃饭。他们给他一只瓦盆，把饭菜盛到里面给他吃，而且每顿饭都不给老人吃饱。老人很伤心，常常眼泪汪汪地看着桌子。

有一天，老人的手颤抖得连那只瓦盆都端不稳了，瓦盆掉到地上打碎了。儿媳妇没完没了地训斥他，老人一声不吭，只是不住地歎气。他们於是花了几分钱买来一只木碗给老人吃饭用。

后来有一天，老人的儿子和媳妇正坐在那儿吃饭，四岁的小孙子在把地上的碎木片拾掇到一起。

「你这是干甚么呢？」父亲问。

「我要做一只木碗，等我长大了，让爸爸妈妈用它吃饭。」

听到这话，儿子和媳妇对视了一会儿，最后哭了起来。他们立刻将老人请到桌边，让他从此和他们一起吃饭，即使老人泼了点甚么，他们也不再说甚么了。