German short stories – Learning German through English
Aesop’s Fables – Der Esel, der das Bild trägt
Once upon a time, there was a great festival in a temple. Thousands of people had come to see an image of God and were waiting in the streets. A Donkey was adorned in garlands and jewels and flowers and everything beautiful. On its back was a saddle and the saddle carried the image.
TranslateEs war einmal ein großes Fest in einem Tempel. Viele Menschen waren gekommen, um ein Bild von Gott zu sehen und warteten auf der Straße. Ein Esel war mit Girlanden und Juwelen und Blumen geschmückt und alles schön. Auf dem Rücken befand sich ein Sattel, und der Sattel trug das Bild.
The devotees, the priests and the courtiers followed the donkey. The people and the priests threw flowers on the image. Many people fell on their knees and prayed to the image as the donkey crossed them.
TranslateDie Anhänger, die Priester und die Höflinge folgten dem Esel. Das Volk und die Priester warfen Blumen auf das Bild. Viele Menschen fielen auf die Knie und beteten zum Bild, als der Esel sie überquerte.
The Donkey was very stupid and thought that the honour was for him. He held his head high and walked proudly. He thought that they were kneeling down for him. He thought that they were showering flowers on him. He thought that they were cheering for him.
TranslateDer Esel war sehr dumm und dachte, dass die Ehre für ihn war. Er hielt seinen Kopf hoch und ging stolz. Er dachte, dass sie für ihn knieten. Er dachte, dass sie Blumen auf ihn duschten. Er dachte, dass sie ihn anfeuerten.
The Donkey stopped and perked his ears, and brayed loudly. The people behind coxed the Donkey but he did not move.
“BRAAAAAAAAY! BRAAAAAAAAY!”
TranslateDer Esel blieb stehen, spitzte die Ohren und brüllte laut. Die Leute dahinter steuerten den Esel aber er bewegte sich nicht.
„BRAAAAAAAAY! BRAAAAAAAAY! ”
He was too proud and thought that everyone was here to worship him and he could do as he wanted.
The owner of the donkey understood what had happed and hit the donkey hard on its back with a sharp stick. The donkey howled in pain.
The owner said, “Go on, you stupid donkey. The honour was for the image and not for yourself.”
TranslateEr war zu stolz und dachte, dass jeder hier war, um ihn anzubeten und er konnte tun, was er wollte.
Der Besitzer des Esels verstand, was passiert war und schlug den Esel mit einem scharfen Stock hart auf den Rücken. Der Esel heulte vor Schmerz.
Der Besitzer sagte: „Weiter, du dummer Esel. Die Ehre galt dem Bild und nicht dir selbst. “
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About: Studying through Dual Language immersion is among the best techniques for learning a new language. The objective of this website is to teach yourself how to read and speak German confidently using English as a base 🙂 These German short stories are super cool to read for beginners and also for entertaining children. Aesop’s Fables are among the best stories that can be studied on a daily basis.
About the Editor
The author of this German dual language short story is a C1 Goethe certified German language expert. He has over 5 years’ experience in teaching German and over 8 years learning.
He has conducted over 1000 plus hours of classes to over 300 students. In simple words (his words as well as his student’s words), he is AWESOME!!! He can be reached out to at deindeutschlehrer24@gmail.com
He also provides German Language courses for A1, A2 and B1 levels. Below are the details for the same:
Fees for A1, A2 and B1 levels are 120€,140€ and 160€ respectively.
