从前有个国王，他有三个儿子。老大和老二聪明伶俐，小儿子却头脑简单，不爱说话，人们管他叫「缺心眼」。
When the king became old and weak, and thought that he was nearing his end, he did not know which of his sons should inherit the kingdom after him, so he said to them, "Go forth, and the one of you who brings me the finest carpet, he shall be king after my death."
国王年纪大了，身体虚弱，想到身后之事，觉得难以确定究竟由哪个儿子来继承王位。他把三个儿子找来对他们说：「你们谁带回来的地毯最漂亮，谁就能继承王位。」
So there would be no dispute among them, he led them to the front of his castle, blew three feathers into the air, and said, "As they fly, so shall you go."
他认为这样他们就没甚么可争辩的了。他将儿子们领到外面，对着三片羽毛吹了一口气，说：「你们分头跟着羽毛所指的方向去找吧。」
the one feather flew to the east, the other to the west, and the third feather flew straight ahead, falling quickly to the ground after going only a short distance. The one brother went to the right, the other to the left, and they laughed at the Simpleton who had to stand there where the third feather had fallen.
三片羽毛一片朝东，一片朝西，第三片直着朝上飞了一阵就落在地上了。两个哥哥对「缺心眼」弟弟嘲笑了一番，因为他只能留在本地，然后他们一东一西去寻找最美丽的地毯去了。
the Simpleton sat down and was sad. Then he suddenly noticed that there was a trapdoor next to his feather. He lifted it up, found a stairway, and climbed down inside. He came to another door and knocked on it, upon which he heard someone calling out from within:
小王子十分难过地坐到地上，猛然发现羽毛边有扇地板门。他掀开盖板，看到有几级楼梯，就沿着梯级往下走。不久又是一道门，他伸手敲了敲，听到有人在里面说：
Maiden GREen and small, Hopping toad, Hopping toad's puppy, Hop to and fro, Quickly see who is outside.
「青青侍女跛着脚，跛脚小狗到处跳，瞧瞧有谁会来到。」
the door opened, and he saw a big, fat toad sitting there, surrounded by a large number of little toads. The fat toad asked what he wanted.
门开处，只见一只巨大的蟾蜍蹲在那儿，四周挤满了小蟾蜍。它问小王子要甚么，
the Simpleton answered, "I would like the most beautiful and finest carpet."
小王子说：「我想要世界上最漂亮、质地最好的地毯。」
then the fat toad called to a young toad, saying:
大蟾蜍召来一个小蟾蜍对它说：
Maiden GREen and small, Hopping toad, Hopping toad's puppy, Hop to and fro, Bring me the large box.
「青青侍女跛着脚，跛脚小狗到处跳，搬来大箱子瞧一瞧。」