The Golden and the Silver Axe
故事全文
Once upon a time, there was a thin woodcutter who was chopping wood by the lake. He accidentally dropped his ax into the lake, but the goddess of the lake returned his ax, and also gave him a golden ax because he was an honest man. When he returned to the village, the thin woodcutter told his neighbor about the goddess of the lake. His neighbor was a fat woodcutter, and he also wanted to have a golden ax.
So, the fat woodcutter brought an old and dirty ax, and threw it into the lake. Then he pretended to cry. Suddenly, a beautiful goddess appeared. She asked gently,"Why are you crying so sadly? What happened?"The fat woodcutter said,"My ax fell into the lake."The goddess showed the fat woodcutter a golden and a silver ax and asked him, "Which is your ax?"
The fat woodcutter saw the golden and the silver ax and he thought,"Oh my! These axes will make me rich!"So, he told the goddess,"Both axes are mine."The goddess shook her head angrily and said"You are a greedy man. The axes do not belong to you. You lied. You are not an honest man. As your punishment, you will not receive either of them."The goddess vanished into the lake. In the end, the fat woodcutter went home empty-handed.
