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What’s with this “Wren” thing?
The oldest extant version of the fable
we
are presenting here appeared in 1913 in the first volume of a two-volume anthology
of Low
Saxon folktales (Plattdeutsche
Volksmärchen “Low German Folktales”)
collected by Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935). Read
more ...
Yiddish
Listen to this version
narrated with non-native pronunciation:
Der rob hot gehat zayn nest inem vogns hoyz. Amol zenen avekgefloygn di altn
beyde kedey tsu brengen epes tsu esn far zeyere yingelekh – un zey hobn gor
aleyn gelozn di kleyninker.
In a rege arum iz vider aheym gekumen der robn-tate.
“Vos zhe iz do geshen?” zogt er. “Ver hot aykh epes beyzs geton, kinderlekh?
Ir zayt yo azoy dershrokn!”
“Oy, tatenyu,” zogn zey, “aza monkalb aza groyser iz nor vos bay fargekumen.
Er hot oysgezen azoy tayvlonish un groylik! Er hot arayn geglotst in undzer
nest mit zayne groyse oygn. Derfar hobn mir undz azoy dershrokn!”
“Aha,” zogt der robn-tate, “Vu farumert iz er gegangen?”
“Nu,” zogn zey, “Er iz gegangen ot farumert.”
“Vart!” zogt der robn-tate, “Ikh vel im nokh. Sha! Baruikt zikh, kinderlekh!
Ikh vel im dervishn.” Un glaykh flit er im nokh.
Az er iz gekumen umen ek, iz geven der leyb vos iz ot farumert gegangen.
Ober der rob hot nit gehat keyn moyre. Er iz gefloygn oyfn rukn funem
leybn un hot ongehoybn tsu beyzern. “Farvos kumst du tsu mayn hoyz,” zogt er,
“un dershrekst mayne kinder?!”
Der leyb hot zikh gornit umgekukt un iz bloyz vayter gegangen.
Deriber hot im dos kleyne giberle nokh shtarker oysgezidlt. “Gornisht
host du dortn tsu ton, zog ikh dir! Un kumst du vider a mol,” zogt er, “nu,
du vetst zen! Ikh vel take nit ton,” zogt er un heybt zikh oyf eyn fun zayne
fiselekh, “ober ikh volt brekhn dayn rukn-un-lend mit eyn trit!”
Nokh dem flit er tsurik tsu zayn nest.
“Ot hot ir aykh, kinderlekh,” zogt er, “Ikh hob dem gelozn hern. Der vet
nit kumen do tsurik.”