Por la carretera marchaba un soldado marcando el paso. ¡Un, dos, un, dos! Llevaba la mochila al hombro y un sable al costado, pues venía de la guerra, y ahora iba a su pueblo. Mas he aquí que se encontró en el camino con una vieja bruja. ¡Uf!, ¡qué espantajo!, con aquel labio inferior que le colgaba hasta el pecho. "¡Buenas tardes, soldado!" le dijo. "¡Hermoso sable llevas, y qué mochila tan grande! Eres un soldado hecho y derecho. Voy a enseñarte la manera de tener todo el dinero que desees."
A soldier came marching along the high road: "Left, right - left, right." He had his knapsack on his back, and a sword at his side; he had been to the wars, and was now returning home. As he walked on, he met a very frightful-looking old witch in the road. Her under-lip hung quite down on her breast, and she stopped and said, "Good evening, soldier; you have a very fine sword, and a large knapsack, and you are a real soldier; so you shall have as much money as ever you like."
"¡Gracias, vieja bruja!" respondió el soldado.
"Thank you, old witch," said the soldier.
"¿Ves aquel árbol tan corpulento?" prosiguió la vieja, señalando uno que crecía a poca distancia. "Por dentro está completamente hueco. Pues bien, tienes que trepar a la copa y verás un agujero; te deslizarás por él hasta que llegues muy abajo del tronco. Te ataré una cuerda alrededor de la cintura para volverte a subir cuando llames."
"Do you see that large tree," said the witch, pointing to a tree which stood beside them. "Well, it is quite hollow inside, and you must climb to the top, when you will see a hole, through which you can let yourself down into the tree to a great depth. I will tie a rope round your body, so that I can pull you up again when you call out to me."
"¿Y qué voy a hacer dentro del árbol?" preguntó el soldado.
"But what am I to do, down there in the tree?" asked the soldier.
"¡Sacar dinero!" exclamó la bruja. "Mira; cuando estés al pie del tronco te encontrarás en un gran corredor muy claro, pues lo alumbran más de cien lámparas. Verás tres puertas; podrás abrirlas, ya que tienen la llave en la cerradura. Al entrar en la primera habitación encontrarás en el centro una gran caja, con un perro sentado encima de ella. El animal tiene ojos tan grandes como tazas de café; pero no te apures. Te daré mi delantal azul; lo extiendes en el suelo, coges rápidamente al perro, lo depositas sobre el delantal y te embolsas todo el dinero que quieras; son monedas de cobre. Si prefieres plata, deberás entrar en el otro aposento; en él hay un perro con ojos tan grandes como ruedas de molino; pero esto no debe preocuparse. Lo pones sobre el delantal y coges dinero de la caja. Ahora bien, si te interesa más el oro, puedes también obtenerlo, tanto como quieras; para ello debes entrar en el tercer aposento. Mas el perro que hay en él tiene los ojos tan grandes como la Torre Redonda. ¡A esto llamo yo un perro de verdad! Pero nada de asustarte. Lo colocas sobre mi delantal, y no te hará ningún daño, y podrás sacar de la caja todo el oro que te venga en gana."
"Get money," she replied; "for you must know that when you reach the ground under the tree, you will find yourself in a large hall, lighted up by three hundred lamps; you will then see three doors, which can be easily opened, for the keys are in all the locks. On entering the first of the chambers, to which these doors lead, you will see a large chest, standing in the middle of the floor, and upon it a dog seated, with a pair of eyes as large as teacups. But you need not be at all afraid of him; I will give you my blue checked apron, which you must spread upon the floor, and then boldly seize hold of the dog, and place him upon it. You can then open the chest, and take from it as many pence as you please, they are only copper pence; but if you would rather have silver money, you must go into the second chamber. Here you will find another dog, with eyes as big as mill-wheels; but do not let that trouble you. Place him upon my apron, and then take what money you please. If, however, you like gold best, enter the third chamber, where there is another chest full of it. The dog who sits on this chest is very dreadful; his eyes are as big as a tower, but do not mind him. If he also is placed upon my apron, he cannot hurt you, and you may take from the chest what gold you will."
"¡No está mal!" exclamó el soldado. "Pero, ¿qué habré de darte, vieja bruja? Pues supongo que algo querrás para ti."
"This is not a bad story," said the soldier; "but what am I to give you, you old witch? For, of course, you do not mean to tell me all this for nothing."
"No," contestó la mujer, "ni un céntimo. Para mí sacarás un viejo yesquero, que mi abuela se olvidó ahí dentro, cuando estuvo en el árbol la última vez."
"No," said the witch; "but I do not ask for a single penny. Only promise to bring me an old tinder-box, which my grandmother left behind the last time she went down there."
"Bueno, pues átame ya la cuerda a la cintura," convino el soldado.
"Very well; I promise. Now tie the rope round my body."
"Ahí tienes," respondió la bruja, "y toma también mi delantal azul."
"Here it is," replied the witch; "and here is my blue checked apron."
Subióse el soldado a la copa del árbol, se deslizó por el agujero y, tal como le dijera la bruja, se encontró muy pronto en el espacioso corredor en el que ardían las lámparas.
As soon as the rope was tied, the soldier climbed up the tree, and let himself down through the hollow to the ground beneath; and here he found, as the witch had told him, a large hall, in which many hundred lamps were all burning.
Y abrió la primera puerta. ¡Uf! Allí estaba el perro de ojos como tazas de café, mirándolo fijamente.
Then he opened the first door. "Ah!" there sat the dog, with the eyes as large as teacups, staring at him.
"¡Buen muchacho!" dijo el soldado, cogiendo al animal y depositándolo sobre el delantal de la bruja. Llenóse luego los bolsillos de monedas de cobre, cerró la caja, volvió a colocar al perro encima y pasó a la habitación siguiente. En efecto, allí estaba el perro de ojos como ruedas de molino.
"You're a pretty fellow," said the soldier, seizing him, and placing him on the witch's apron, while he filled his pockets from the chest with as many pieces as they would hold. Then he closed the lid, seated the dog upon it again, and walked into another chamber, and, sure enough, there sat the dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels.
"Mejor harías no mirándome así," le dijo. "Te va a doler la vista." Y sentó al perro sobre el delantal. Al ver en la caja tanta plata, tiró todas las monedas de cobre que llevaba encima y se llenó los bolsillos y la mochila de las del blanco metal. Pasó entonces al tercer aposento. Aquello presentaba mal cariz; el perro tenía, en efecto, los ojos tan grandes como la Torre Redonda, y los movía como sí fuesen ruedas de molino.
"You had better not look at me in that way," said the soldier; "you will make your eyes water;" and then he seated him also upon the apron, and opened the chest. But when he saw what a quantity of silver money it contained, he very quickly threw away all the coppers he had taken, and filled his pockets and his knapsack with nothing but silver. Then he went into the third room, and there the dog was really hideous; his eyes were, truly, as big as towers, and they turned round and round in his head like wheels.
"¡Buenas noches!" dijo el soldado llevándose la mano a la gorra, pues perro como aquel no lo había visto en su vida. Una vez lo hubo observado bien, pensó: "Bueno, ya está visto," cogió al perro, lo puso en el suelo y abrió la caja. ¡Señor, y qué montones de oro! Habría como para comprar la ciudad de Copenhague entera, con todos los cerditos de mazapán de las pastelerías y todos los soldaditos de plomo, látigos y caballos de madera de balancín del mundo entero. ¡Allí sí que había oro, palabra! Tiró todas las monedas de plata que llevaba encima, las reemplazó por otras de oro, y se llenó los bolsillos, la mochila, la gorra y las botas de tal modo que apenas podía moverse. ¡No era poco rico, ahora! Volvió a poner al perro sobre la caja, cerró la puerta y, por el hueco del tronco, gritó: "¡Súbeme ya, vieja bruja!"
"Good morning," said the soldier, touching his cap, for he had never seen such a dog in his life. But after looking at him more closely, he thought he had been civil enough, so he placed him on the floor, and opened the chest. Good gracious, what a quantity of gold there was! enough to buy all the sugar-sticks of the sweet-stuff women; all the tin soldiers, whips, and rocking-horses in the world, or even the whole town itself There was, indeed, an immense quantity. So the soldier now threw away all the silver money he had taken, and filled his pockets and his knapsack with gold instead; and not only his pockets and his knapsack, but even his cap and boots, so that he could scarcely walk. He was really rich now; so he replaced the dog on the chest, closed the door, and called up through the tree: "Now pull me out, you old witch."
"¿Tienes el yesquero?" preguntó la mujer.
"Have you got the tinder-box?" asked the witch.
"¡Caramba!" exclamó el soldado, "¡pues lo había olvidado!" Y fue a buscar la bolsita, con la yesca y el pedernal dentro. La vieja lo sacó del árbol, y nuestro hombre se encontró de nuevo en el camino, con los bolsillos, las botas, la mochila y la gorra repletos de oro.
"No; I declare I quite forgot it." So he went back and fetched the tinderbox, and then the witch drew him up out of the tree, and he stood again in the high road, with his pockets, his knapsack, his cap, and his boots full of gold.
"¿Para qué quieres el yesquero?" preguntó el soldado.
"What are you going to do with the tinder-box?" asked the soldier.
"¡Eso no te importa!" replicó la bruja. "Ya tienes tu dinero; ahora dame la bolsita."
"That is nothing to you," replied the witch; "you have the money, now give me the tinder-box."
"¿Conque sí, eh?" exclamó el mozo. "¡Me dices enseguida para qué quieres el yesquero, o desenvaino el sable y te corto la cabeza!"
"I tell you what," said the soldier, "if you don't tell me what you are going to do with it, I will draw my sword and cut off your head."
"¡No!" insistió la mujer.
"No," said the witch.
Y el soldado le cercenó la cabeza y dejó en el suelo el cadáver de la bruja. Puso todo el dinero en su delantal, colgóselo de la espalda como un hato, guardó también el yesquero y se encaminó directamente a la ciudad.
The soldier immediately cut off her head, and there she lay on the ground. Then he tied up all his money in her apron, and slung it on his back like a bundle, put the tinderbox in his pocket, and walked off to the nearest town.
Era una población magnífica, y nuestro hombre entró en la mejor de sus posadas y pidió la mejor habitación y sus platos preferidos, pues ya era rico con tanto dinero.
It was a very nice town, and he put up at the best inn, and ordered a dinner of all his favourite dishes, for now he was rich and had plenty of money.
Al criado que recibió orden de limpiarle las botas ocurriósele que eran muy viejas para tan rico caballero; pero es que no se había comprado aún unas nuevas. Al día siguiente adquirió unas botas como Dios manda y vestidos elegantes. Y ahí tenéis al soldado convertido en un gran señor. Le contaron todas las magnificencias que contenía la ciudad, y le hablaron del Rey y de lo preciosa que era la princesa, su hija.
The servant, who cleaned his boots, thought they certainly were a shabby pair to be worn by such a rich gentleman, for he had not yet bought any new ones. The next day, however, he procured some good clothes and proper boots, so that our soldier soon became known as a fine gentleman, and the people visited him, and told him all the wonders that were to be seen in the town, and of the king's beautiful daughter, the princess.
"¿Dónde se puede ver?" preguntó el soldado.
"Where can I see her?" asked the soldier.
"No hay medio de verla," le respondieron. "Vive en un gran palacio de cobre, rodeado de muchas murallas y torres. Nadie, excepto el Rey, puede entrar y salir, pues existe la profecía de que la princesa se casará con un simple soldado, y el Monarca no quiere pasar por ello."
"She is not to be seen at all," they said; "she lives in a large copper castle, surrounded by walls and towers. No one but the king himself can pass in or out, for there has been a prophecy that she will marry a common soldier, and the king cannot bear to think of such a marriage."
"Me gustaría verla," pensó el soldado; pero no había modo de obtener una autorización.
"I should like very much to see her," thought the soldier; but he could not obtain permission to do so.
El hombre llevaba una gran vida: iba al teatro, paseaba en coche por el parque y daba mucho dinero a los pobres, lo cual decía mucho en su favor. Se acordaba muy bien de lo duro que es no tener una perra gorda. Ahora era rico, vestía hermosos trajes e hizo muchos amigos, que lo consideraban como persona excelente, un auténtico caballero, lo cual gustaba al soldado. Pero como cada día gastaba dinero y nunca ingresaba un céntimo, al final le quedaron sólo dos ochavos. Tuvo que abandonar las lujosas habitaciones a que se había acostumbrado y alojarse en la buhardilla, en un cuartucho sórdido bajo el tejado, limpiarse él mismo las botas y coserlas con una aguja saquera. Y sus amigos dejaron de visitarlo; ¡había que subir tantas escaleras!
However, he passed a very pleasant time; went to the theatre, drove in the king's garden, and gave a great deal of money to the poor, which was very good of him; he remembered what it had been in olden times to be without a shilling. Now he was rich, had fine clothes, and many friends, who all declared he was a fine fellow and a real gentleman, and all this gratified him exceedingly. But his money would not last forever; and as he spent and gave away a great deal daily, and received none, he found himself at last with only two shillings left. So he was obliged to leave his elegant rooms, and live in a little garret under the roof, where he had to clean his own boots, and even mend them with a large needle. None of his friends came to see him, there were too many stairs to mount up.
Un día, ya oscurecido, se encontró con que no podía comprarse ni una vela, y entonces se acordó de un cacho de yesca que había en la bolsita sacada del árbol de la bruja. Buscó la bolsa y sacó el trocito de yesca; y he aquí que al percutirla con el pedernal y saltar las chispas, se abrió súbitamente la puerta y se presentó el perro de ojos como tazas de café que había encontrado en el árbol, diciendo: "¿Qué manda mi señor?"
One dark evening, he had not even a penny to buy a candle; then all at once he remembered that there was a piece of candle stuck in the tinder-box, which he had brought from the old tree, into which the witch had helped him. He found the tinder-box, but no sooner had he struck a few sparks from the flint and steel, than the door flew open and the dog with eyes as big as teacups, whom he had seen while down in the tree, stood before him, and said, "What orders, master?"
"¿Qué significa esto?" inquirió el soldado. "¡Vaya yesquero gracioso, si con él puedo obtener lo que quiera! Tráeme un poco de dinero," ordenó al perro; éste se retiró, y estuvo de vuelta en un santiamén con un gran bolso de dinero en la boca.
"Hallo," said the soldier; "well this is a pleasant tinderbox, if it brings me all I wish for." - "Bring me some money," said he to the dog. He was gone in a moment, and presently returned, carrying a large bag of coppers in his month.
Entonces se enteró el soldado de la maravillosa virtud de su yesquero. Si golpeaba una vez, comparecía el perro de la caja de las monedas de cobre; si dos veces, se presentaba el de la plata, y si tres, acudía el del oro. Nuestro soldado volvió a sus lujosas habitaciones del primer piso, vistióse de nuevo con ricas prendas, y sus amigos volvieron a ponerlo por las nubes.
The soldier very soon discovered after this the value of the tinder-box. If he struck the flint once, the dog who sat on the chest of copper money made his appearance; if twice, the dog came from the chest of silver; and if three times, the dog with eyes like towers, who watched over the gold. The soldier had now plenty of money; he returned to his elegant rooms, and reappeared in his fine clothes, so that his friends knew him again directly, and made as much of him as before.
Un día le vino un pensamiento: "¡Es bien extraño que no haya modo de ver a la princesa!. Debe de ser muy hermosa, pero ¿de qué le sirve, si se ha de pasar la vida en el palacio de cobre rodeado de murallas y torres? ¿No habría modo de verla? ¿Dónde está el yesquero?" y, al encender la yesca, se presentó el perro de ojos grandes como tazas de café.
After a while he began to think it was very strange that no one could get a look at the princess. "Every one says she is very beautiful," thought he to himself; "but what is the use of that if she is to be shut up in a copper castle surrounded by so many towers. Can I by any means get to see her. Stop! where is my tinder-box?" Then he struck a light, and in a moment the dog, with eyes as big as teacups, stood before him.
"Ya sé que estamos a altas horas de la noche," dijo el soldado, "pero me gustaría mucho ver a la princesa, aunque fuera sólo un momento."
"It is midnight," said the soldier, "yet I should very much like to see the princess, if only for a moment."
El perro se retiró enseguida, y antes de que el soldado tuviera tiempo de pensarlo, volvió a entrar con la doncella, la cual venía sentada en su espalda, dormida, y era tan hermosa, que a la legua se veía que se trataba de una princesa. El soldado no pudo resistir y la besó; por algo era un soldado hecho y derecho.
The dog disappeared instantly, and before the soldier could even look round, he returned with the princess. She was lying on the dog's back asleep, and looked so lovely, that every one who saw her would know she was a real princess. The soldier could not help kissing her, true soldier as he was.
Marchóse entonces el perro con la doncella; pero cuando, a la mañana, acudieron el Rey y la Reina, su hija les contó que había tenido un extraño sueño, de un perro y un soldado. Ella iba montada en un perro, y el soldado la había besado.
Then the dog ran back with the princess; but in the morning, while at breakfast with the king and queen, she told them what a singular dream she had had during the night, of a dog and a soldier, that she had ridden on the dog's back, and been kissed by the soldier.
"¡Pues vaya historia!" exclamó la Reina.
"That is a very pretty story, indeed," said the queen.
Y dispusieron que a la noche siguiente una vieja dama de honor se quedase de guardia junto a la cama de la princesa, para cerciorarse de si se trataba o no de un sueño.
So the next night one of the old ladies of the court was set to watch by the princess's bed, to discover whether it really was a dream, or what else it might be.
Al soldado le entraron unos deseos locos de volver a ver a la hija del Rey, y por la noche llamó al perro, el cual acudió a toda prisa a su habitación con la muchacha a cuestas; pero la vieja dama corrió tanto como él, y al observar que su ama desaparecía en una casa, pensó: "Ahora ya sé dónde está," y con un pedazo de tiza trazó una gran cruz en la puerta. Regresó luego a palacio y se acostó; mas el perro, al darse cuenta de la cruz marcada en la puerta, trazó otras iguales en todas las demás de la ciudad. Fue una gran idea, pues la dama no podría distinguir la puerta, ya que todas tenían una cruz.
The soldier longed very much to see the princess once more, so he sent for the dog again in the night to fetch her, and to run with her as fast as ever he could. But the old lady put on water boots, and ran after him as quickly as he did, and found that he carried the princess into a large house. She thought it would help her to remember the place if she made a large cross on the door with a piece of chalk. Then she went home to bed, and the dog presently returned with the princess. But when he saw that a cross had been made on the door of the house, where the soldier lived, he took another piece of chalk and made crosses on all the doors in the town, so that the lady-in-waiting might not be able to find out the right door.
Al amanecer, el Rey, la Reina, la dama de honor y todos los oficiales salieron para descubrir dónde había estado la princesa.
Early the next morning the king and queen accompanied the lady and all the officers of the household, to see where the princess had been.
"¡Es aquí!" exclamó el Rey al ver la primera puerta con una cruz dibujada.
"Here it is," said the king, when they came to the first door with a cross on it.
"¡No, es allí, cariño!" dijo la Reina, viendo una segunda puerta con el mismo dibujo.
"No, my dear husband, it must be that one," said the queen, pointing to a second door having a cross also.
"¡Pero si las hay en todas partes!" observaron los demás, pues dondequiera que mirasen veían cruces en las puertas. Entonces comprendieron que era inútil seguir buscando.
"And here is one, and there is another!" they all exclaimed; for there were crosses on all the doors in every direction. So they felt it would be useless to search any farther.
Pero la Reina era una dama muy ladina, cuya ciencia no se agotaba en saber pasear en coche. Tomando sus grandes tijeras de oro, cortó una tela de seda y confeccionó una linda bolsita. La llenó luego de sémola de alforfón y la ató a la espalda de la princesa, abriendo un agujerito en ella, con objeto de que durante el camino se fuese saliendo la sémola.
But the queen was a very clever woman; she could do a great deal more than merely ride in a carriage. She took her large gold scissors, cut a piece of silk into squares, and made a neat little bag. This bag she filled with buckwheat flour, and tied it round the princess's neck; and then she cut a small hole in the bag, so that the flour might be scattered on the ground as the princess went along.
Por la noche se presentó de nuevo el perro, montó a la princesa en su lomo y la condujo a la ventana del soldado, trepando por la pared hasta su habitación.
During the night, the dog came again and carried the princess on his back, and ran with her to the soldier, who loved her very much, and wished that he had been a prince, so that he might have her for a wife.
A la mañana siguiente el Rey y la Reina descubrieron el lugar donde habla sido llevada su hija, y, mandando prender al soldado, lo encerraron en la cárcel.
The dog did not observe how the flour ran out of the bag all the way from the castle wall to the soldier's house, and even up to the window, where he had climbed with the princess. Therefore in the morning the king and queen found out where their daughter had been, and the soldier was taken up and put in prison.
Sí señor, a la cárcel fue a parar. ¡Qué oscura y fea era la celda! ¡Y si todo parara en eso! "Mañana serás ahorcado," le dijeron. La perspectiva no era muy alegre, que digamos; para colmo, se había dejado el yesquero en casa. Por la mañana pudo ver, por la estrecha reja de la prisión, cómo toda la gente llegaba presurosa de la ciudad para asistir a la ejecución; oyó los tambores y presenció el desfile de las tropas. Todo el mundo corría; entre la multitud iba un aprendiz de zapatero, en mandil y zapatillas, galopando con tanta prisa, que una de las babuchas le salió disparada y fue a dar contra la pared en que estaba la reja por donde miraba el soldado.
Oh, how dark and disagreeable it was as he sat there, and the people said to him, "To-morrow you will be hanged." It was not very pleasant news, and besides, he had left the tinder-box at the inn. In the morning he could see through the iron grating of the little window how the people were hastening out of the town to see him hanged; he heard the drums beating, and saw the soldiers marching. Every one ran out to look at them, and a shoemaker's boy, with a leather apron and slippers on, galloped by so fast, that one of his slippers flew off and struck against the wall where the soldier sat looking through the iron grating.
"¡Hola, zapatero, no corras tanto!" le gritó éste, "no harán nada sin mí. Pero si quieres ir a mi casa y traerme mí yesquero, te daré cuatro perras gordas. ¡Pero tienes que ir ligero!" El aprendiz, contento ante la perspectiva de ganarse unas perras, echó a correr hacia la posada y no tardó en estar de vuelta con la bolsita, que entregó al soldado. ¡Y ahora viene lo bueno!
"Hallo, you shoemaker's boy, you need not be in such a hurry," cried the soldier to him. "There will be nothing to see till I come; but if you will run to the house where I have been living, and bring me my tinder-box, you shall have four shillings, but you must put your best foot foremost." The shoemaker's boy liked the idea of getting the four shillings, so he ran very fast and fetched the tinder-box, and gave it to the soldier. And now we shall see what happened.
En las afueras de la ciudad habían levantado una horca, y a su alrededor formaba la tropa y se apiñaba la multitud: millares de personas. El Rey y la Reina ocupaban un trono magnífico, frente al tribunal y al consejo en pleno.
Outside the town a large gibbet had been erected, round which stood the soldiers and several thousands of people. The king and the queen sat on splendid thrones opposite to the judges and the whole council.
El soldado estaba ya en lo alto de la escalera, pero cuando quisieron ajustarle la cuerda al cuello, rogó que, antes de cumplirse el castigo, se le permitiera, pobre pecador, satisfacer un inocente deseo: fumarse una pipa, la última que disfrutaría en este mundo.
The soldier already stood on the ladder; but as they were about to place the rope around his neck, he said that an innocent request was often granted to a poor criminal before he suffered death. He wished very much to smoke a pipe, as it would be the last pipe he should ever smoke in the world.
El Rey no quiso negarle tan modesta petición, y el soldado, sacando la yesca y el pedernal, los golpeó una, dos, tres veces. Inmediatamente se presentaron los tres perros: el de los ojos como tazas de café, el que los tenía como ruedas de molino, y el de los del tamaño de la Torre Redonda.
The king could not refuse this request, so the soldier took his tinder-box, and struck fire, once, twice, thrice, and there in a moment stood all the dogs; the one with eyes as big as teacups, the one with eyes as large as mill-wheels, and the third, whose eyes were like towers.
"Ayudadme a impedir que me ahorquen," dijo el soldado. Y los canes se arrojaron sobre los jueces y sobre todo el consejo, cogiendo a los unos por las piernas y a los otros por la nariz y lanzándolos al aire, tan alto, que al caer se hicieron todos pedazos.
"Help me now, that I may not be hanged," cried the soldier. And the dogs fell upon the judges and all the councillors; seized one by the legs, and another by the nose, and tossed them many feet high in the air, so that they fell down and were dashed to pieces.
"¡A mí no, a mí no!" gritaba el Rey; pero el mayor de los perros arremetió contra él y la Reina, y los arrojó adonde estaban los demás. Al verlo, los soldados se asustaron, y todo el pueblo gritó: "¡Buen soldado, serás nuestro Rey y te casarás con la bella princesa!"
"I will not be touched," said the king. But the largest dog seized him, as well as the queen, and threw them after the others. Then the soldiers and all the people were afraid, and cried, "Good soldier, you shall be our king, and you shall marry the beautiful princess."
Y a continuación sentaron al soldado en la carroza real, los tres canes abrieron la marcha, danzando y gritando "¡hurra!," mientras los muchachos silbaban con los dedos, y las tropas presentaban armas. La princesa salió del palacio de cobre y fue Reina. ¡Y bien que le supo! La boda duró ocho días, y los perros, sentados junto a la mesa, asistieron a ella con sus ojazos bien abiertos.
So they placed the soldier in the king's carriage, and the three dogs ran on in front and cried "Hurrah!" and the little boys whistled through their fingers, and the soldiers presented arms. The princess came out of the copper castle, and became queen, which was very pleasing to her. The wedding festivities lasted a whole week, and the dogs sat at the table, and stared with all their eyes.