by
Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815)
Der grosse und der kleine Hund
Language: German (Deutsch)
Ein kleiner Hund, der lange nichts gerochen
Und Hunger hatte, traf es nun
Und fand sich einen schönen Knochen
Und nagte herzlich dran, wie Hunde denn wohl tun.
Ein großer nahm sein wahr von fern:
Â"Der muß da was zum Besten haben,
Ich fresse auch dergleichen gern;
Will doch des Wegs einmal hintraben.Â"
Alard, der ihn des Weges kommen sah,
Fand es nicht ratsam, daß er weilte;
Und lief betrübt davon, und heulte,
Und seinen Knochen ließ er da.
Und Packan kam in vollem Lauf
Und fraß den ganzen Knochen auf.
Ende der Fabel
"Und die Moral?" Wer hat davon gesprochen? -
Gar keine! Leser, bist du toll?
Denn welcher arme Mann nagt wohl an einem Knochen,
Und welcher reiche nähm ihn wohl?
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "The big and little dogs", copyright © 2001, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-13
Line count: 19
Word count: 122
The big and little dogs
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
A little dog, that hadn't recently
sniffed a bone but was hungry,
came across a beautiful bone
and happily gnawed on it, as dogs tend to do.
A bigger dog came from afar:
«As one who wishes to have the best,
I'll happily gnaw on that same bone;
so I'll drive him away.»
Alard, who saw the other come along the path,
found it unwise to tarry;
and he ran sadly away howling,
for he had to leave his bone there.
And Packan came in full stride
and swallowed up the entire bone.
End of the Fable
«And the moral?» Who has spoken of this?
No one really! Reader, are you amazed?
What poor man gnaws happily on a bone,
and what rich man deprives him of it happily?
Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Matthias Claudius (1740 - 1815), "Der grosse und der kleine Hund"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-11
Line count: 19
Word count: 129