German short stories – Learning German through English
Aesop’s Fables – Der Esel und sein Schatten
Once upon a time, there was a traveller who wanted to go from the village to the town. He hired an Ass from a merchant to carry his goods to the town. The merchant agreed to hire the donkey but he came along with the traveller as well.
There was a small desert between the town and the village. The road was very hot and the sun was harsh. The traveller became tired and he thought that it would be a good idea to stop soon.
TranslateEs war einmal ein Reisender, der vom Dorf in die Stadt gehen wollte. Er mietete einen Esel von einem Händler, um seine Waren in die Stadt zu tragen. Der Kaufmann stimmte zu, den Esel zu mieten, kam aber auch mit dem Reisenden mit.
Es gab eine kleine Wüste zwischen der Stadt und dem Dorf. Die Straße war sehr heiß und die Sonne war hart. Der Reisende wurde müde und er dachte, dass es eine gute Idee wäre, bald anzuhalten.
There were no trees visible for miles so they walked some more but soon they realised that they were only halfway through the desert and there would be no more trees along the way.
The traveller became so tired that he decided that it would be good to take a break now. As there were no trees, there was no shadow. As there was no shadow, the traveller said, “I shall sit in the shadow of the Ass for some time. It is too hot and I need to rest.”
TranslateMeilenweit waren keine Bäume zu sehen, also liefen sie weiter, aber bald merkten sie, dass sie nur auf halbem Weg durch die Wüste waren und es keine Bäume mehr auf dem Weg geben würde.
Der Reisende wurde so müde, dass er beschloss, dass es gut wäre, jetzt eine Pause zu machen. Da es keine Bäume gab, gab es keinen Schatten. Da es keinen Schatten gab, sagte der Reisende: „Ich werde einige Zeit im Schatten des Esels sitzen. Es ist zu heiß und ich muss mich ausruhen. “
The merchant was feeling very hot as well. He also wished to rest in the shade cast by the Ass. So he said to the traveller, “I have rented only the Ass to you. The shadow cast by the Ass was not paid for and belongs to me.”
Saying so, the merchant tried to push the traveller away. The traveller became very angry and soon the two of them began to fight.
TranslateDer Händler fühlte sich auch sehr heiß. Er wollte sich auch im Schatten des Esels ausruhen, den der Esel warf. Also sagte er zu dem Reisenden: „Ich habe nur den Esel an dich vermietet. Der Schatten, den der Esel wirft, wurde nicht bezahlt und gehört mir. “
Als der Händler dies sagte, versuchte er, den Reisenden wegzuschieben. Der Reisende wurde sehr wütend und bald begannen die beiden zu kämpfen.
The donkey panicked on seeing the two people fight and ran away. The merchant lost his donkey and the traveller lost his goods. They both sadly walked back to the village.
TranslateDer Esel geriet in Panik, als er die beiden Menschen kämpfen sah und rannte weg. Der Händler verlor seinen Esel und der Reisende verlor seine Waren. Sie gingen beide traurig zurück ins Dorf.
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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.
