\"What' s that?\" said Great Claus. \"Have I not killed him? I must go myself and see to this.\" And so he went over himself with the bushel to Little Claus.

\"Now， where did you get all that money from?\" he asked; and he opened his eyes wide when he saw all that had been brought together.

\"You killed my grandmother， and not me，\" replied Little Claus;\"and I've sold her， and got a whole bushel of money for her.\"

\"That' s really being well paid，\" said Great Claus; and he hastened home， took an axe， and killed his own grandmother directly. Then he put her on a carriage， and drove off to the town with her， to where the apothecary lived， and asked him if he would buy a dead person.

\"Who is it， and where did you get him from?\" asked the apothecary.

\"It' s my grandmother，\" answered Great Claus.\"I've killed her to get a bushel of money for her.\"

\"Heaven save us!\" cried the apothecaly， \"you' re raving! Don' t say such things， or you may lose your head.\" And he told him earnestly what a bad deed this was that he had done， and what a bad man he was， and that he must be punished. And Great Claus was so frightened that he jumped out of the surgery straight into his carriage， and whipped the horses， and drove home. But the apothecary and all the people thought him mad， and so they let him drive whither he would.

\"You shall pay for this!\" said Great Claus， when he was out upon the high road: \"yes， you shall pay me for this， Little Claus!\" And directly he got home he took the biggest sack he could find， and went over to Little Claus and said，\"Now， you' ve tricked me again! First I killed my horses， and then my old grandmother! That' s all your fault; but you shall never trick me any more.\" And he seized Little Claus round the body， and thrust him into the sack， and took him upon his back， and called out to him， \"Now I shall go off with you and drown you.\"

It was a long way that he had to travel before he came to the river， and Little Claus was not too light to carry. The road led him close to a church; the organ was playing， and the people were singing， so beautifully! Then Great Claus put down his sack， with Little Claus in it， close to the church door， and thought it would be a very good thing to go in and hear a psalm before he went farther; for Little Claus could not get out， and all the people were in church; and so he went in.

\"Oh， dear!Oh， dear!\"sighed Little Claus in the sack. And he turned and twisted， but he found it impossible to loosen the cord. Then there came by an old drover with snow-white hair， and a great staff in his hand; he was driving a whole herd of cows and oxen before him， and they stumbled against the sack in which Little Claus was confined， so that it was overthrown.

\"Oh， dear!\"sighed Little Claus， \"I' m so young yet， and am to go to heaven directly?\"

\"And I， poor fellow，\" said the drover， \"am so old， already， and can't get there yet?\"

\"Open the sack，\" cried Little Claus; \"creep into it instead of me， and you will get to heaven directly.\"

\"With all my heart，\" replied the drover; and he untied the sack， out of which Little Claus crept forth immediately.

\"But will you look after the cattle?\" said the old man; and he crept into the sack at once， whereupon Little Claus tied it up， and went his way with all the cows and oxen.

Soon afterwards Great Claus came out of the church. He took the sack on his shoulders again， although it seemed to him as if the sack had become lighter; for the old drover was only half as heavy as Little Claus.

\"How light he is to carry now! Yes， that is because I have heard a psalm.\"

So he went to the river， which was deep and broad， threw the sack with the old drover in it into the water， and called after him， thinking that it was Little Claus， \"You lie there! Now you shan't trick me any more!\"

Then he went home; but when he came to a place where there was a cross-road， he met Little Claus driving all his beasts.

\"What's this?\" cried Great Claus. \"Have I not drowned you?\"

\"Yes， \"replied Little Claus， \"you threw me into the river less than half an hour ago.\"

\"But wherever did you get all those fine beasts from?\" asked Great Claus.

\"These beasts are sea-cattle， \"replied Little Claus. \"I'll tell you the whole story--and thank you for drowning me， for now I'm at the top of the tree. I am really rich! How frightened I was when I lay huddled in the sack， and the wind whistled about my ears when you threw me down from the bridge into the cold water! I sank to the bottom immediately; but I did not knock myself， for the most splendid soft glass grows down there. Upon that I fell; and immediately the sack was opened， and the loveliest maiden， with snow-white garments and a green wreath upon her wet hair， took me by the hand， and said， 'Are you come， Little Claus? Here you have some cattle to begin with. A mile farther along the road there is a whole herd more， which I will give to you. ' And now I saw that the river formed a great highway for the people of the sea. Down in its bed they walked and drove directly from the sea， and straight into the land， to where the river ends. There it was so beautifully full of flowers and of the freshest grass; the fishes， which swam in the water， shot past my ears， just as here the birds in the air. What pretty people there were there， and what fine cattle pasturing on mounds and in ditches!\"

\"But why did you come up again to us directly?\" asked Great Claus.\"I should not have done that， if it is so beautiful down there.\"

\"Why，\" replied Little Claus， \"just in that I acted with good policy. You heard me tell you that the sea-maiden said'A mile farther along the road'--and by the road she meant the river， for she can't go anywhere else-- ' there is a whole herd of cattle for you.'But I know what bends the stream makes--sometimes this way， sometimes that; there's a long way to go round; no， the thing can be managed in a shorter way by coming here to the land， and driving across the fields towards the river again. In this manner I save myself almost half a mile， and get all the quicker to my sea-cattle!\"

\"Oh， you are a fortunate man!\" said Great Claus.\"Do you think I should get some sea-cattle too if I went down to the bottom of the river?\"

\"Yes， I think so，\" replied Little Claus. \"But I cannot carry you in the sack as far as the river; you are too heavy for me! But if you will go there， and creep into the sack yourself， I will throw you in with a great deal of pleasure.\"

\"Thanks!\"said Great Claus; \"but if I don't get any sea-cattle when I am down there， I shall beat you， you may be sure!\"

\"Oh， no; don't be so fierce!\"

And so they went together to the river. When the beasts， which were thirsty， saw the stream， they ran as fast as they could to get at the water.

\"See how they hurry!\"cried Little Claus. \"They are longing to get back to the bottom.\"

\"Yes， but help me first!\" said Great Claus， \"or else you shall be beaten.\"

And so he crept into the great sack， which had been laid across the back of one of the oxen.

\"Rut a stone in， for I'm afraid I shan't sink else， \"said Great Claus.

\"That will be all right，\" replied Little Claus; and he put a big stone into the sack， tied the rope tightly， and pushed against it. Plump!There lay Gleat Claus in the river， and sank at once to the bottom.

\"I' m afraid he won' t find the cattle!\" said Little Claus and then he drove homeward with what he had.

“這是怎么回事?”大克勞斯說(shuō)，“難道我沒(méi)把他殺死嗎?我得親眼去看看?！庇谑菐狭慷罚H自去見(jiàn)小克勞斯。

“這回你又從哪兒搞這么多錢(qián)?”他問(wèn)。當(dāng)他看到所有的錢(qián)堆在一起時(shí)，他瞪大了眼睛。

“你殺的是我奶奶，不是我?！毙】藙谒勾鸬馈！拔野阉u了，得了滿滿一斗錢(qián)?！?/p>

“真是太值了!”大克勞斯說(shuō)。他急忙回家，操起斧頭，一下把自己的奶奶砸死了。然后他把尸體抱上馬車，駕車直奔城里，找到藥劑師，問(wèn)他要不要買死人。

“是誰(shuí)呀?你從哪兒搞的?”藥劑師問(wèn)。

“是我奶奶，”大克勞斯答道， “我殺了她，想換一斗錢(qián)?！?/p>

“老天保佑!”藥劑師叫道，“你瘋了嗎，再也別提這事，否則你會(huì)掉腦袋的。”藥劑師真誠(chéng)地告訴他，他做了一件多壞的事兒，他是一個(gè)多壞的人，應(yīng)該受到怎樣的懲罰。大克勞斯大驚失色，他一頭從藥房里躥出來(lái)，直奔自己的馬車，揮鞭打馬，急忙往家趕。但藥劑師和所有人都以為他瘋了，就隨他跑到哪兒去。

“你必須還這筆債!”大克勞斯在公路上說(shuō)，“是的，你得還這筆債，小克勞斯!”他徑直回到家，拿了最大的袋子，去找小克勞斯，說(shuō)，“這次你又耍弄了我!第一次我打死了自己的馬，這次我又殺死了自己的奶奶!這都是你惹的禍，不過(guò)你再也耍不了我啦?！彼ё⌒】藙谒?，把他扔進(jìn)袋子，大聲對(duì)他說(shuō):“現(xiàn)在我要帶你出去，把你淹死?！?/p>

要到河邊，他還得走很長(zhǎng)一段路。而且小克勞斯也不輕，不容易扛的。那條路通往教堂附近。教堂里正在彈風(fēng)琴，人們都在唱歌，聲音真是好聽(tīng)!大克勞斯把袋子放在教堂門(mén)口，里面還裝著小克勞斯呢。他想:“在趕路前，聽(tīng)人們唱一首贊美詩(shī)，倒是一件美事!反正小克勞斯也出不來(lái)，而且人們都在教堂里面。”于是他就進(jìn)去了。

“噢，天哪!噢，天哪!”小克勞斯在袋子里嘆道。他扭來(lái)扭去，但他發(fā)現(xiàn)根本不可能把繩子解開(kāi)。這時(shí)正好有一個(gè)白發(fā)蒼蒼的趕牲口的老人路過(guò)，手里拿著一根大木棍，正趕著一群母牛和公牛。它們踢到了那個(gè)裝小克勞斯的袋子，把袋子踢翻了。

“噢，天哪!”小克勞斯叫道，“我還這么年輕，就要進(jìn)天堂了?！?/p>

“而我呢，真可憐，已經(jīng)這么老了，還是進(jìn)不了天堂!”趕牲口的老人說(shuō)。

“打開(kāi)袋子，”小克勞斯說(shuō)，“爬進(jìn)來(lái)?yè)Q我，你就可以直接進(jìn)天堂了?！?/p>

“那我真是太高興了!”趕牲口的答道。他解開(kāi)袋子，小克勞斯趕緊爬了出來(lái)。

“但你能幫我照看牲口嗎?”老人說(shuō)。他馬上鉆進(jìn)袋子，小克勞斯把袋口系緊，趕著所有的母牛和公牛走了。

不久大克勞斯就從教堂里出來(lái)了。他又把袋子扛上，但他覺(jué)得袋子好像變輕了，因?yàn)槔先酥挥行】藙谒挂话胫亍?/p>

“這下扛起來(lái)多輕快!是啊，那是因?yàn)槲衣?tīng)了一首贊美詩(shī)。”

他來(lái)到河邊，河又深又寬。他把裝老人的袋子扔進(jìn)河里，還跟在后面喊，他以為那是小克勞斯呢。

“你躺在里面吧，這下你再也不能捉弄我了!”

然后他朝家走去。但當(dāng)他來(lái)到一個(gè)十字路口時(shí)，遇見(jiàn)小克勞斯正趕著一群牲口。

“這是怎么回事?”大克勞斯叫道，“我沒(méi)把你淹死嗎?”

“是啊，”小克勞斯答道，“不到半小時(shí)前，你確實(shí)把我扔進(jìn)河里了?！?/p>

“但你從哪兒搞到這么多好牲口的?”大克勞斯問(wèn)道。

“這些都是海洋牲口啊，”小克勞斯答道，“我來(lái)把全部經(jīng)過(guò)告訴你——謝謝你把我扔進(jìn)河里，因?yàn)槲椰F(xiàn)在撞了大運(yùn)了。我十分富有!我躺在袋子里的時(shí)候，心里有多害怕呀!當(dāng)你把我從橋上扔到冰冷的水里時(shí)，風(fēng)從我的耳邊呼嘯而過(guò)。我馬上就沉入河底，但我沒(méi)有摔著，因?yàn)榈紫率亲詈玫能洸輧?。我就是掉在那上面的。袋口馬上開(kāi)了，走過(guò)來(lái)一個(gè)姑娘，穿著雪白的裙子，濕濕的頭發(fā)上戴著綠底的花環(huán)。她拉住我的手，說(shuō)，‘你來(lái)啦，小克勞斯?先給你一些牲口吧。順著這條路再走一英里，你還能見(jiàn)到一大群，那也是我要給你的?！@下我明白了，原來(lái)這條河是海底居住的人們的一條公路。他們?cè)诤哟采闲凶?，從海底可以走到陸地，一直到達(dá)河的盡頭。那兒真是美極了，繁花盛開(kāi)，新草青青，游在河底的魚(yú)兒，從我的耳朵旁邊穿過(guò)，就像空中的鳥(niǎo)兒一樣。那兒的人都那么美，那些在山坡上、山溝里吃草的牲口又是多么漂亮呀!”

“但你為什么還回到我們這兒來(lái)呢?”大克勞斯問(wèn)，“如果那底下果真是那么漂亮，我是不會(huì)回來(lái)的?！?/p>

“你問(wèn)我為什么回來(lái)?”小克勞斯答道，“這就是我高明之處。我告訴過(guò)你，美人魚(yú)說(shuō)‘順著大路再走一英里’——她說(shuō)的‘路’就是‘河’的意思，因?yàn)樗荒茏邉e的路——‘那兒還有一大群，也是給你的’。但我知道河流是多么彎彎曲曲，有時(shí)往這兒拐，有時(shí)往那兒拐，得走很長(zhǎng)很長(zhǎng)的路。這可不行，從這兒到那片土地去有條捷徑，只要駕車穿過(guò)田地，直奔大河里去就行了。這樣就可以抄近一半的路程，能更快地得到我的海牲口了?！?/p>

“啊，你真是個(gè)幸運(yùn)兒!”大克勞斯說(shuō)， “你覺(jué)得如果我到河底去，也能弄到海牲口嗎?”

“是的，我想是這樣。”小克勞斯答道，“但河離這兒那么遠(yuǎn)，你又那么沉，我可沒(méi)辦法把你裝在袋子里拖過(guò)去。如果你到了河邊，自己爬進(jìn)袋子，我倒是很樂(lè)意把你扔進(jìn)去。”

“太感謝了!”大克勞斯說(shuō)，“但我要是在河底下沒(méi)弄到牲口，我會(huì)痛揍你的，你可要明白?！?/p>

“噢，別，別那么狠!”

于是他倆一同朝河邊走去。那些口渴的牲口一見(jiàn)到河，一下子沖到河邊。

“瞧它們急的!”小克勞斯叫道，“它們太想再回到河底了?！?/p>

“是啊，不過(guò)還是先幫我下去!”大克勞斯說(shuō)，“要不然你得挨一頓揍。”

于是他爬進(jìn)大袋子，那個(gè)大袋子一直放在一頭公牛的背上。

“搬塊石頭放進(jìn)袋子，要不我怕自己沉不下去?！贝罂藙谒拐f(shuō)。

“好吧，”小克勞斯答道。他把一塊大石頭放進(jìn)袋子，扎緊袋口，把它朝河里一推。只聽(tīng)得撲通一聲，大克勞斯就掉進(jìn)了河里，轉(zhuǎn)眼就沉下去了。

“我擔(dān)心他恐怕找不到那些牲口!”小克勞斯說(shuō)。然后，他趕著自己的牲口回家了。(全文完)