German short stories – Learning German through English
Aesop’s Fables – Die Krähe und der Schwan
A crow is born with the blackest of feathers. He looked dark and he was ashamed of his colour. He once saw a swan and he thought its feathers were gorgeous. They looked as white as the purest of snow and shined in the sun’s rays.
The crow decided that the swan was the most beautiful of all the birds in the land. After all, his feathers were the purest white.
TranslateEine Krähe wird mit den schwärzesten Federn geboren. Er sah dunkel aus und schämte sich seiner Farbe. Er sah einmal einen Schwan und fand seine Federn wunderschön. Sie sahen so weiß aus wie der reinste Schnee und leuchteten in den Sonnenstrahlen.
Die Krähe entschied, dass der Schwan der schönste aller Vögel im Land war. Immerhin waren seine Federn das reinste Weiß.
The crow asked the swan, “Good Morning, Mr. Swan. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
The swan said, “Sure. Mr. Crow. Please feel free to ask me.”
TranslateDie Krähe fragte den Schwan: „Guten Morgen, Herr Schwan. Stört es Sie, wenn ich Ihnen eine Frage stelle? “
Der Schwan sagte: „Sicher. Herr Krähe . Bitte zögern Sie nicht, mich zu fragen. “
The crow asked, “Are you always in the water?”
The swan said, “Yes, for most of the day. I spend hours washing my feathers.”
TranslateDie Krähe fragte: „Sind Sie immer im Wasser?”
Der Schwan sagte: „Ja, fast den ganzen Tag. Ich verbringe Stunden damit, meine Federn zu waschen.“
The crow said, “Ah ok. And what else do you do with the rest of your day?”
The swan said, “Well, I eat green shoots and grass. I eat the weeds and the plants in the pond. That is all that I do.”
TranslateDie Krähe sagte: „Ah ok. Und was machen Sie sonst noch mit dem Rest Ihres Tages? “
Der Schwan sagte: „Nun, ich esse grüne Triebe und Gras. Ich esse das Unkraut und die Pflanzen im Teich. Das ist alles was ich tue. “
The crow thanked the swan and decided, “If I do exactly as the swan does, I will also become white and beautiful!”
The craw began to swim in the lake every day. He dived into the lake and ate the moss in the bottom of the pond. He ate only the weeds and washed himself a hundred times a day. His feathers however remained as black as ever.
TranslateDie Krähe dankte dem Schwan und entschied: „Wenn ich genau so mache wie der Schwan, werde ich auch weiß und schön!”
Die Krähe begann jeden Tag im See zu schwimmen. Er tauchte in den See ein und fraß das Moos am Boden des Teiches. Er fraß nur das Unkraut und wusch sich hundertmal am Tag. Seine Federn blieben jedoch so schwarz wie immer.
The weeds he ate did not agree with him and he only got sick and became very thin. One day he overheard a swan say to another swan, “The crow looks so beautiful with its shiny black wings and its even colour. I am so ugly and am so plain and white.”
TranslateDas Unkraut, das er fraß, stimmte nicht mit ihm überein und er wurde nur krank und wurde sehr dünn. Eines Tages hörte er, wie ein Schwan zu einem anderen Schwan sagte: „Die Krähe sieht mit seinen glänzenden schwarzen Flügeln und seiner gleichmäßigen Farbe so schön aus. Ich bin so hässlich und so schlicht und weiß. “
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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.