"It is dreadfully hot here!" observed the first brother.
"Yes," replied the Princess, "my father is going to roast young pullets today."
"Baa!" there he stood like a baa-lamb. He had not been prepared for a speech of this kind, and had not a word to say, though he intended to say something witty. "Baa!"
"He is of no use!" said the Princess. "Away with him!"
And he was obliged to go accordingly. And now the second brother came in.
"It is terribly warm here!" he observed.
"Yes, we're roasting pullets to-day," replied the Princess.
"What- what were you- were you pleased to ob-" stammered he- and all the clerks wrote down, "pleased to ob-"
"He is of no use!" said the Princess. "Away with him!"
Now came the turn of Jack the Dullard. He rode into the hall on his goat.
"Well, it's most abominably hot here."
"Yes, because I'm roasting young pullets," replied the Princess.
"Ah, that's lucky!" exclaimed Jack the Dullard, "for I suppose you'll let me roast my crow at the same time?"
"With the greatest pleasure," said the Princess. "But have you anything you can roast it in? for I have neither pot nor pan."
"Certainly I have!" said Jack. "Here's a cooking utensil with a tin handle."
And he brought out the old wooden shoe, and put the crow into it.
"Well, that is a famous dish!" said the Princess. "But what shall we do for sauce?"
"Oh, I have that in my pocket," said Jack; "I have so much of it that I can afford to throw some away;" and he poured some of the clay out of his pocket.
"I like that!" said the Princess. "You can give an answer, and you have something to say for yourself, and so you shall be my husband. But are you aware that every word we speak is being taken down, and will be published in the paper to-morrow? Look yonder, and you will see in every window three clerks and a head clerk; and the old head clerk is the worst of all, for he can't understand anything."
But she only said this to frighten Jack the Dullard; and the clerks gave a great crow of delight, and each one spurted a blot out of his pen on to the floor.
"Oh, those are the gentlemen, are they?" said Jack; "then I will give the best I have to the head clerk." And he turned out his pockets, and flung the wet clay full in the head clerk's face.
"That was very cleverly done," observed the Princess. "I could not have done that; but I shall learn in time."
And accordingly Jack the Dullard was made a king, and received a crown and a wife, and sat upon a throne. And thisreport we have wet from the press of the head clerk and the corporation of printers- but they are not to be depended upon in the least.
笨汉汉斯
乡下有一幢古老的房子，里面住着一位年老的乡绅。他有两个儿子。这两个人是那么聪明，他们只须用一半聪明就够了，还剩下一半是多余的。他们想去向国王的女儿求婚，而也敢于这样做，因为她宣布过，说她要找一个她认为最能表现自己的人做丈夫。
这两个人做了整整一星期的准备——这是他们所能花的最长的时间。但是这也够了。因为他们有许多学问，而这些学问都是有用的。一位已经把整个拉丁文字典和这个城市出的三年的报纸，从头到尾和从尾到头，都背得烂熟。另一位精通公司法和每个市府议员所应知道的东西，因此他就以为自己能够谈论国家大事。此外他还会在裤子的吊带上绣花;因为他是一个文雅和手指灵巧的人。
“我要得到这位公主!”他们两人齐声说。
于是他们的父亲就给他们两人每人一匹漂亮的马。那个能背诵整部字典和三年报纸的兄弟得到一匹漆黑的马;那个懂得公司法和会绣花的兄弟得到一匹乳白色的马。然后他们就在自己的嘴角上抹了一些鱼肝油，以便能够说话圆滑流利。所有的仆人们都站在院子里，观看他们上马。这时忽然第三位少爷来了，因为他们兄弟有三个人，虽然谁也不把他当做一个兄弟——因为他不像其他两个那样有学问。一般人都把他叫做“笨汉汉斯”。
“你们穿得这么漂亮，要到什么地方去呀?”他问。
“到宫里去，向国王的女儿求婚去!你不知道全国各地都贴了布告了吗?”
于是他们就把事情原原本本地都告诉了他。
“我的天!我也应该去!”笨汉汉斯说。他的两个兄弟对他大笑了一通以后，便骑着马儿走了。
“爸爸，我也得有一匹马。”笨汉汉斯大声说。“我现在非常想结婚!如果她要我，她就可以得到我。她不要我，我还是要她的!”
“这完全是胡说八道!”父亲说。“我什么马也不给你。你连话都不会讲!你的两个兄弟才算得是聪明人呢!”
“如果我不配有一匹马，”笨汉汉斯说，“那么就给我一只公山羊吧，它本来就是我的，它驮得起我!”
因此他就骑上了公山羊。他把两腿一夹，就在公路上跑起来了。
“嗨，嗬!骑得真够劲!我来了!”笨汉汉斯说，同时唱起歌来，他的声音引起一片回音。
但是他的两个哥哥在他前面却骑得非常斯文，他们一句话也不说，他们正在考虑如何讲出那些美丽的词句，因为这些东西都非在事先想好不可。
“喂!”笨汉汉斯喊着。“我来了!瞧瞧我在路上拾到的东西吧!”于是他就把他抬到的一只死乌鸦拿给他们看。