the hare and the hedgehog

jacob and wilhelm grimm

this story was actually made up, young ones, but it really is true, for my grandfather, who told it to me, always said whenever he told it, "it must be true, my son, otherwise it couldn't be told." anyway, this is how the story goes:

it was on a sunday morning at harvest time, just when the buckwheat was in bloom. the sun was shining bright in the heaven, the morning wind was blowing warmly across the stubble, the larks1 were singing in the air, the bees were buzzing in the buckwheat, and the people in their sunday best were on their way to church, and all the creatures were happy, including the hedgehog.

the hedgehog was standing2 before his door with his arms crossed, humming a little song to himself, neither better nor worse than hedgehogs usually sing on a nice sunday morning. singing there to himself, half silently, it suddenly occurred to him that while his wife was washing and drying the children, he could take a little walk into the field and see how his turnips3 were doing. the turnips were close by his house, and he and his family were accustomed to eating them, so he considered them his own.

no sooner said than done. the hedgehog closed the house door behind him and started down the path to the field. he hadn't gone very far away from his house at all, only as far as the blackthorn bush which stands at the front of the field, near the turnip4 patch, when he met up with the hare, who had gone out for a similar purpose, namely to examine his cabbage.

when the hedgehog saw the hare, he wished him a friendly good morning. the hare, however, who was in his own way a distinguished5 gentleman, and terribly arrogant6 about it, did not answer the hedgehog's greeting, but instead said to the hedgehog, in a terribly sarcastic7 manner, "how is it that you are running around in the field so early in the morning?"

"i'm taking a walk," said the hedgehog.

"taking a walk?" laughed the hare. "i should think that you could better use your legs for other purposes."

this answer made the hedgehog terribly angry, for he could stand anything except remarks about his legs, for by nature they were crooked8.

"do you imagine," said the hedgehog to the hare, "that you can accomplish more with your legs?"

"i should think so," said the hare.

"that would depend on the situation," said the hedgehog. "i bet, if we were to run a race, i'd pass you up."

"that is a laugh! you with your crooked legs!" said the hare. "but for all i care, let it be, if you are so eager. what will we wager9?"

"a gold louis d'or and a bottle of brandy," said the hedgehog.

"accepted," said the hare. "shake hands, and we can take right off."

"no, i'm not in such a hurry," said the hedgehog. "i'm very hungry. first i want to go home and eat a little breakfast. i'll be back here at this spot in a half hour."

the hare was agreeable with this, and the hedgehog left.

on his way home the hedgehog thought to himself, "the hare is relying on his long legs, but i'll still beat him. he may well be a distinguished gentleman, but he's still a fool, and he'll be the one to pay."

arriving home, he said to his wife, "wife, get dressed quickly. you've got to go out to the field with me."

"what's the matter?" said his wife.

"i bet a gold louis d'or and a bottle of brandy with the hare that i could beat him in a race, and you should be there too."

"my god, man," the hedgehog's wife began to cry, "are you mad? have you entirely10 lost your mind? how can you agree to run a race with the hare?"

"hold your mouth, woman," said the hedgehog. "this is my affair. don't get mixed up in men's business. hurry up now, get dressed, and come with me."

what was the hedgehog's wife to do? she had to obey, whether she wanted to or not.

as they walked toward the field together, the hedgehog said to his wife, "now pay attention to what i tell you. you see, we are going to run the race down the long field. the hare will run in one furrow11 and i in another one. we'll begin running from up there. all you have to do is to stand here in the furrow, and when the hare approaches from the other side, just call out to him, 'i'm already here.'"

with that they arrived at the field, the hedgehog showed his wife her place, then he went to the top of the field. when he arrived the hare was already there.

"can we start?" said the hare.

"yes, indeed," said the hedgehog. "on your mark!" and each one took his place in his furrow.

the hare counted "one, two, three," and he tore down the field like a windstorm. but the hedgehog ran only about three steps and then ducked down in the furrow and remained there sitting quietly.

when the hare, in full run, arrived at the bottom of the field, the hedgehog's wife called out to him, "i'm already here!"

the hare, startled and bewildered, thought it was the hedgehog himself, for as everyone knows, a hedgehog's wife looks just like her husband.

the hare thought, "something's not right here." he called out, "let's run back again!" and he took off again like a windstorm, with his ears flying from his head. but the hedgehog's wife remained quietly in place.

when the hare arrived at the top, the hedgehog called out to him, "i'm already here!"

the hare, beside himself with excitement, shouted, "let's run back again!"

"it's all right with me," answered the hedgehog. "for all i care, as often as you want."

so the hare ran seventy-three more times, and the hedgehog always kept up with him. each time the hare arrived at the top or the bottom of the field, the hedgehog or his wife said, "i am already here!"

but the hare did not complete the seventy-fourth time. in the middle of the field, with blood flowing from his neck, he fell dead to the ground.

the hedgehog took the gold louis d'or and the bottle of brandy he had won, called his wife from her furrow, and happily they went back home.

and if they have not died, then they are still alive.

thus it happened that the hedgehog ran the hare to death on the buxtehude heath, and since that time no hare has agreed to enter a race with a hedgehog.

the moral of this story is, first, that no one, however distinguished he thinks himself, should make fun of a lesser12 man, even if this man is a hedgehog. and second, when a man marries, it is recommended that he take a wife from his own class, one who looks just like him. in other words, a hedgehog should always take care that his wife is also a hedgehog, and so forth13. #p#副标题#e#

孩子们，我这故事听起来像是捏造的，但它却是千真万确的。故事是从我爷爷那听来的，他每次给我讲时，总说：

「这当然是真的，要不然就不给你讲了。」

这故事是这样的。在收穫季节的一个星期天早上，荞麦花开得正盛，阳光明媚，微风和煦地吹拂着田间的草梗，云雀在空中欢唱，蜜蜂在荞麦间嗡嗡地飞来飞去，人们正穿着盛装去教堂做礼拜。万物欢喜，刺蝟也不例外。

刺蝟正双手叉腰，靠门站着，享受这清晨的和风，悠闲地哼着小曲，这首歌和他平时星期天早上唱的歌没有甚么两样。他悠闲地半哼半唱着，突然想起了要趁自己的女人正给孩子们洗澡的当儿，去看看他的萝蔔长势如何。这些萝蔔其实并不是他的，只是离他家很近，他和他的家人就习以为常地靠吃这些萝蔔度日，他也理所当然地把它当成是他自己的了。说干就干，只见他关上身后的门，随即就踏上了去萝蔔地的路。他在离家不远的地方绕过了地边仅有的一丛灌木，正准备到地里去时，他看到了为同样目的出门的野兔，他也想去看看自己的白菜长得怎样了。刺蝟看到野兔时友好地和他道了声早安，但野兔自以为是位不同寻常的绅士，表现得非常傲慢无礼，连刺蝟的问候也不搭理，只是以一种很轻蔑的态度对刺蝟说：「你怎么这么一大清早就在地边跑？」「我在散步。」刺蝟说。「散步？」野兔微微一笑，「我想你可以用你的腿干点更好的事吧。」刺蝟听到这回答非常气愤，他一切都可忍受，只有自己的腿不能提，因为大自然给了他一双短短的弯腿。於是他对野兔说：「你以为你的腿能比我的腿派上更大的用场？」「我正是这样认为的。」野兔说。「这个我们可以验证一下，我打赌如果我们赛跑，我一定会胜过你。」刺蝟说道。「真是滑稽，瞧你那对短短的腿。不过我倒很乐意，既然你有这种荒诞的想法，我们来赌点甚么呢？」野兔说道。「一个金路易和一瓶白兰地。」刺蝟说道。「一言为定。」野兔说。「来，击掌为证，我们现在就可以开始。」「不，」刺蝟说，「没必要这么急嘛，我还没吃过早饭呢！我得先回家，吃完饭。半小时后我就会回来。」

於是刺蝟离开了，野兔对这一切也很满意。在回家的路上刺蝟想：「野兔仗着他的腿长，很得意，但我会设法胜过他的。他或许是个人物，但他却是个愚蠢透顶的傢伙，他会为他所说的话招报应的。」当他回到家时，他对自己的女人说：「老婆，快点穿好衣服，跟我到地里走一趟。」「出了甚么事？」他女人问道。「我和野兔打了个赌，赌一个金路易和一瓶白兰地。我要和他赛跑，你也得到场。」「天哪，老公，」他女人叫道，「你没有毛病吧，你是不是疯了，你怎么会想到要和野兔赛跑呢？」「住嘴，你这女人，」刺蝟叫道，「这是我的事，男人的事你最好少插嘴。快去穿上衣服跟我走。」刺蝟的老婆拿他没办法，不管她愿意不愿意，她都得听他的。

於是他们一起上路了。刺蝟告诉她的女人说：「现在听好我的话，你瞧，我会把这块地作为我们的赛跑路线，他跑一畦，我跑一畦。我们会从那头上跑下来，现在要做的就是呆在这畦的底下，当他到达你身旁那畦的终点线时，你就对他叫：我早就在这里了。」

他们到地里后，刺蝟告诉他的女人该呆的地方，然后他就往头上走去。他到头上的时候，野兔已经在那儿了。「可以开始了吗？」野兔问道。「当然，」刺蝟说，「咱们一起跑。」说着，他们就各自在自己的菜畦上准备好了。野兔数：「一、二、三，跑。」然后就像一阵风似地冲下了这块地。但那只刺蝟只跑了两三步远就蹲在了菜畦沟里，并安安静静地呆在了那儿。

当野兔全速冲到那头时，刺蝟的女人迎了上去，叫道：「我早就在这里了。」野兔大吃一惊，十分奇怪。由於刺蝟的女人长得和刺蝟一样，他认为除了刺蝟外没人会叫他。然而，野兔想：「这不公平。」於是叫道，「再跑一次，咱们得重新来一次。」他又一次像风一样往前跑了，他看起来像是在飞。但刺蝟的女人仍安安静静地呆在那儿。当野兔跑到菜地的顶端时，刺蝟就在那儿对他叫道：「我早就在这里了。」这下野兔可气坏了，叫道：「重跑一次，我们再来一次。」「没问题，」刺蝟答道，「对我来说，你愿意跑多少次都行。」於是野兔又跑了七十三次，刺蝟总是奉陪着。每次野兔跑到底端或顶端时，刺蝟和他的女人总叫：「我早就在这里了。」

到了第七十四次时，野兔再也跑不动了，跑到一半就倒在地上，嘴角流着血，躺在地上死了。刺蝟拿走了他赢的白兰地和金路易，把他的女人从菜畦里叫了出来，欢天喜地回家了。要是还活着的话，他们准还住在那儿呢！

这就是刺蝟如何在布克斯胡德荒地上与野兔赛跑，直到把野兔跑死。打那以后，野兔再也不敢与布克斯胡德的刺蝟赛跑了。

这则故事的寓意是：第一，无论甚么人，不管他如何伟大，都不该嘲笑比自己差的人，就算是刺蝟这样的小动物也不可小瞧；第二，它告诉我们，一个男人必须依据自己的情况，挑一个和自己相貌相配的人为妻。那么谁遇到了刺蝟，就得留心刺蝟的女人也是刺蝟。