The Flea, the Grasshopper, and the Skipjack once wanted to see which of them could jump highest; and they invited the whole world, and whoever else would come, to see the grand sight. And there the three famous jumpers were met together in the room.
Loppen, græshoppen og springgåsen ville engang se hvem af dem der kunne springe højest og så inviterede de hele verden og hvem der ellers ville komme at se den stads, og det var tre ordentlige springfyre, da de kom sammen i stuen.
"Yes, I'll give my daughter to him who jumps highest," said the King, "for it would be mean to let these people jump for nothing."
"Ja, jeg giver min datter til den, som springer højest!" sagde kongen, "for det er så fattigt at de personer skal springe om ingenting!"
The Flea stepped out first. He had very pretty manners, and bowed in all directions, for he had young ladies' blood in his veins, and was accustomed to consort only with human beings; and that was of great consequence.
Loppen kom først frem, den havde sådanne nette manerer og hilste til alle sider, for den havde frøkenblod i sig og var vant til kun at omgås med mennesker, og det gør nu så meget.
Then came the Grasshopper: he was certainly much heavier, but he had a good figure, and wore the green uniform that was born with him. This person, moreover, maintained that he belonged to a very old family in the land of Egypt, and that he was highly esteemed there. He had just come from the field, he said, and had been put into a card house three stories high, and all made of picture cards with the figures turned inwards. There were doors and windows in the house, cut in the body of the Queen of Hearts.
Nu kom græshoppen, den var rigtignok betydelig sværere, men den havde dog ganske god skik på sig og var i grøn uniform, og den var medfødt; desuden sagde personen, at den havde en meget gammel familie i det land Ægypten, og at den her hjemme var højt vurderet, den var taget lige fra marken og sat i et korthus der havde tre etager, alle sammen af herreblade, der vendte den kulørte side indad; der var både dør og vinduer og det skåret ud i livet på hjerter dame. "Jeg synger således," sagde den, "at seksten indfødte fårekyllinger der har pebet fra små af og dog ikke fået korthus, har ved at høre mig ærgret sig endnu tyndere end de var!"
"I sing so," he said, "that sixteen native crickets who have chirped from their youth up, and have never yet had a card house of their own, would become thinner than they are with envy if they were to hear me."
Begge to, både loppen og græshoppen gjorde således godt rede for hvem de var og at de troede de nok kunne ægte en prinsesse.
Both of them, the Flea and the Grasshopper, took care to announce who they were, and that they considered themselves entitled to marry a Princess.
Springgåsen sagde ikke noget, men man sagde om den, at den tænkte desto mere og da hofhunden bare snøftede til den, indestod han for at springgåsen var af god familie; den gamle rådmand, der havde fået tre ordener for at tie stille, forsikrede at han vidste at springgåsen var begavet med spådomskraft, man kunne se på ryggen af den om man fik en mild eller en streng vinter og det kan man ikke engang se på ryggen af ham der skriver almanakken.
The Skipjack said nothing, but it was said of him that he thought all the more; and directly the Yard Dog had smelt at him he was ready to assert that the Skipjack was of good family, and formed from the breastbone of an undoubted goose. The old councillor, who had received three medals for holding his tongue, declared that the Skipjack possessed the gift of prophecy; one could tell by his bones whether there would be a severe winter or a mild one; and that's more than one can always tell from the breastbone of the man who writes the almanac.
"Ja, jeg siger nu ikke noget!" sagde den gamle konge, "men jeg går nu sådan altid og tænker mit!"
"I shall not say anything more," said the old King. "I only go on quietly, and always think the best."
Nu var det springet om at gøre. Loppen sprang så højt at ingen kunne se det og så påstod de at den slet ikke havde sprunget og det var nu lumpent!
Now they were to take their jump. The Flea sprang so high that no one could see him; and then they asserted that he had not jumped at all. That was very mean. The Grasshopper only sprang half as high, but he sprang straight into the King's face, and the King declared that was horribly rude. The Skipjack stood a long time considering; at last people thought that he could not jump at all.
Græshoppen sprang kun halvt så højt, men den sprang kongen lige i ansigtet og så sagde han at det var ækelt.
"I only hope he's not become unwell," said the Yard Dog, and then he smelt at him again.
Springgåsen stod længe stille og betænkte sig, man troede til sidst at den slet ikke kunne springe.
"Tap!" he sprang with a little crooked jump just into the lap of the Princess, who sat on a low golden stool.
"Bare den ikke har fået ondt!" sagde hofhunden og så snøftede han igen til den: rutsch! sprang den et lille skævt spring hen i skødet på prinsessen der sad lavt på en guldskammel.
Then the King said, "The highest leap was taken by him who jumped up to my daughter; for therein lies the point; but it requires head to achieve that, and the Skipjack has shown that he has a head."
Da sagde kongen: "Det højeste spring er at springe op til min datter, for det er det fine af det, men sligt hører der hoved til at falde på og springgåsen har víst at den har hoved. Den har ben i panden!"
And so he had the Princess.
Og så fik den prinsessen.
"I jumped highest, after all," said the Flea. "But it's all the same. Let her have the goose-bone with its lump of wax and bit of stick. I jumped to the highest; but in this world a body is required if one wishes to be seen."
"Jeg sprang dog højest!" sagde loppen. "Men det kan være det samme! lad hende kun have den gåserad med pind og med beg! jeg sprang dog højest, men der skal i denne verden krop til for at de kan se én!"
And the Flea went into foreign military service, where it is said he was killed.
Og så gik loppen i fremmed krigstjeneste, hvor man siger at den blev slået ihjel.
The Grasshopper seated himself out in the ditch, and thought and considered how things happened in the world. And he too said, "Body is required! body is required!" And then he sang his own melancholy song, and from that we have gathered this story, which they say is not true, though it's in print.
Græshoppen satte sig ude i grøften og tænkte over hvorledes det egentlig gik til i verden og den sagde også: "Krop skal der til! Krop skal der til!" og så sang den sin egen bedrøvelige vise og det er af den vi har taget historien, som dog gerne kunne være løgn om den endogså var trykt.