金马驹和火龙衣，智斗“铁公鸡”财主的故事-英语民间故事

the gold colt and the fire dragon shirt 金马驹和火龙衣，巧斗“铁公鸡”财主的故事。
there once lived a landlord who loved money as he loved his own life. in his eyes the smallest coin seemed as large as a millstone. he was always on the lookout for some new way of making money and was very mean to his peasant tenants. they all called him "skinflint."
one year a long spell of drought devastated the area, ruining the entire crop. the peasants, who were used to living from year to year, and never had a reserve of grain to fall back on, were reduced to eating bark and roots to survive, and now even these were all consumed. starvation drove them to ask for a loan of grain from skinflint, whose granaries, big and small, were filled to overflowing. although the grain was sprouting and the flour was swarming with maggots, he was such a miser that he wouldn't part with a single speck of either. his peasants went away seething with anger and resentment, and resolved to find some way to teach him a lesson.
they put their heads together and came up with rather a good plan. they collected together a few tiny silver ingots and also managed to procure a scraggy little horse. they stuffed the silver up the horse's behind and bunged it up with a wad of cotton floss. then they selected one of their number, a peasant whose gift of gab had earned him the nickname "bigmouth" and who was credited with the power of talking the dead out of their graves. they sent him to skinflint with the horse. seeing them enter, skinflint flew into a rage. his whiskers bristled.

he glowered at bigmouth, pointing at him angrily and shouting, "you damn fool! you have fouled my courtyard enough. get out of my sight!"
"please keep your voice down, master," said bigmouth with a cunning smile. "if you frighten my horse and make him bolt, you'd have to sell everything you've got to make good the damage."
"there you go, bigmouth, bragging again!" said skinflint. "what can this scraggy little horse of yours possibly be worth?"
to which bigmouth replied, "oh, nothing, except that when he moves his bowels silver and gold come out."
in an instant skinflint's anger evaporated and he hastened to ask, "where did you get hold of this beast?"
"i dreamt a dream the night before last," began bigmouth. "i met a white-bearded old man who said to me, 'bigmouth, the colt who used to carry gold and silver ingots for the god of wealth has been demoted and sent down to earth. go to the northeast and catch him. when he moves his bowels, silver and gold come out. if you catch him, you'll make a fortune.' then the old man gave me a push and i woke up. i didn't take it seriously, thinking it to be nothing but a dream. i turned over and fell asleep again. however, as soon as i closed my eyes, the old man reappeared and urged me to hurry up. 'the horse will fall into another's hands if you delay!' he said, and gave me another push which woke me up again. i put on my clothes and ran out. in the northeast i saw a ball of fire. when i ran over, sure enough, there was the colt, grazing contentedly. so i led him home. the following day, i set up an incense burner and as soon as i lit the incense, the colt began to produce silver ingots from its behind."

"did it really?" asked skinflint eagerly.
bigmouth replied, "there's an old proverb which says, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating.' if you don't believe me, allow me to arrange a demonstration."
he asked skinflint to set up a burner and light some incense. meanwhile, he himself held a plate below the horse's behind. he secretly pulled out the wad of cotton and the tiny silver ingots fell jingling onto the plate. on seeing the horse perform like this, skinflint asked avidly, "how much does he produce a day?"
"three or four taels a day for us less lucky folk," replied bigmouth. "but the old man in my dream said that if he meets a really lucky person he produces thirty or forty."
skinflint thought to himself, "i must be one of those. supposing i get the horse, he is bound to produce at least twenty taels a day. that means six hundred taels a month and seven thousand two hundred taels a year."
the longer his sums became, the fonder he grew of the horse. he decided that he must buy him, and talked it over with bigmouth.

at first bigmouth pretended to be unwilling. skinflint tried again and again to persuade him and promised to pay any price he asked. in the end bigmouth sighed and said, "oh well, so be it. my luck is evidently worse than yours. i'll sell. but i don't want silver or gold, just give me thirty bushels of grain."
skinflint considered the price very cheap and readily agreed. they made the exchange then and there.
bigmouth hurried back with the grain and distributed it among his fellow peasants. they were all very happy to have it. skinflint, for his part, felt even happier to have the horse, and just couldn't stop chuckling to himself. he was afraid of losing the horse, however, and tried to tie him up in a great many places, but none of them seemed safe enough. finally, he tied him up in his own living room. he laid a red carpet on the floor and set up an incense burner. the whole family watched the colt in eager anticipation, expecting him any minute to start producing silver and gold.
they waited till midnight. suddenly the horse opened his hind legs. skinflint sensed that he was about to "produce." he quickly brought over a lacquered tray and held it right below the horse's behind. he waited for ages, but nothing happened. skinflint was so anxious by now that he lifted the horse's tail, bent down and peered upwards to keep an eye on further developments. there was a sudden "splash," and before skinflint could do anything about it, the horse had splattered him all over his face. the "liquid gold" ran down the back of his head and down his neck, covering his whole body. the stench was so vile that skinflint started jumping and shouting and then felt nauseous and began to vomit again and again. next the horse urinated in great quantity, ruining the lovely red carpet. the whole room stunk to high heaven. skinflint realized that he had been cheated, and in a fit of rage, he killed the horse.

the following morning, first thing, he sent some of his hired thugs to track down bigmouth. but the peasants had already hidden him away. skinflint's men searched for him high and low but always came back empty handed, to his fury and exasperation. there was nothing he could do except send out spies and wait.
in the twinkling of an eye, it was winter. one day bigmouth failed to hide properly and was caught by one of skinflint's henchmen. when he came face to face with his foe, skinflint gnashed his teeth with rage and without saying a word, had bigmouth locked up in his mill. he had him stripped of all his padded clothes and left him with nothing but a cotton shirt, hoping to freeze him to death. it was the very coldest season of the year. outside, snow was falling and a bitter wind was blowing. bigmouth sat huddled up in a corner, trembling with cold. as the cold was becoming unbearable, an idea suddenly occurred to him. he stood up at once, heaved a millstone up off the ground and began walking back and forth with it in his arms. he soon warmed up and started sweating. he passed the entire night in this way, walking around with the millstone and occasionally stopping for a rest.

early next morning skinflint thought bigmouth must surely be dead. but when he unlocked the mill door, to his great surprise, he found bigmouth squatting there in a halo of steam, his whole body in a muck of sweat. bigmouth stood up at once and begged him, "master, take pity on me! quick, lend me a fan! or i shall die of heat!"
"how come you are so hot?" asked the dumbfounded skinflint.
"this shirt of mine is a priceless heirloom," bigmouth explained. "it's called the fire dragon shirt. the colder the weather, the greater the heat it gives off."
"when did you get hold of it?"
"originally it was the pelt cast off by the lord fire dragon. then the queen of the western heaven wove it into a shirt. later on it somehow fell into the possession of my ancestors and became a family heirloom. it has been passed down from generation to generation until finally it came into my hands."
seeing how unbearably hot he was, skinflint swallowed the whole story. he was now set on getting hold of this fire dragon shirt and had completely forgotten the episode of the gold colt. he insisted on bartering his fox-fur gown for the shirt. bigmouth absolutely refused at first, but when skinflint added fifty taels of silver to the price, he said with a sigh, "alas, what a worthless son am i, to have thus lost my family's treasured heirloom!"

having said this, he took off his shirt and put on skinflint's fox-fur gown. then he pocketed the fifty taels of silver and strode away.
skinflint's joy knew no bounds. several days later his father-in-law's birthday came round. in order to show off his new acquisition, he went to convey his birthday greetings wearing nothing but the fire dragon shirt. in the middle of the journey, a fierce wind came up and it began to snow. skinflint felt unbearably cold. the place was far from village or inn, and there was no shelter of any sort to be found. he glanced over his shoulder and saw a tree by the roadside, half of which had burnt away in a fire. it was hollow in the middle and the space was wide enough for a person to stand up in. skinflint hurried over and hid inside. shortly afterwards his whole body became numb with cold, and soon he died.
several days later the family found his body. they knew that he had been cheated again by bigmouth, and sent men to seize him.
"my precious shirt burns whenever it comes into contact with kindling, grass or timber," explained bigmouth. "the master must have been burned to death in this way. i am not to blame. i never told him to hide inside a tree. if you look, you will see that half of the tree has been burnt away."
when the family examined the tree and saw that it was indeed as bigmouth had described, they had no choice but to set him free.

从前有一个外号叫铁公鸡的财主，他剥削穷人的手段真可以说花样翻新，凡到他家做长短工的人没有一个不着他手脚的。长工们起早贪晚为他忙活了一年，到头来还是两手空空。老实厚道的穷苦人恨透了他，但又拿他没办法。
这一年的阴历腊月二十八，铁公鸡老早就把长工们叫到了上房。他指着桌子上堆着的银子，满脸堆笑地对长工们说：“眼下就要过年了，家中的老小都等着你们挣几个钱早点回去呢，这不，银子我早就给你们预备好了。可是眼下还得按我们家的老规矩办，也就是谁能回答我提出的问题，或者按我的要求办好一件事，工钱一个也不少给，马上就叫他拿钱回家。如果办不到，钱一个也不能给。你们听明白了吗？”长工们望着堆在桌上的银子心里想：还不是先有蛋还是先有鸡那个事吗，我们早就研究了。这时只听铁公鸡干咳了两声说：“谁能说出我的头有多重，马上就可以拿钱回家。”长工们你看看我，我瞅瞅你，都瞅着他那明光锃亮的大脑袋发起呆来。是呀，就连长在自己脖子上的脑袋有多重自己都不知道，怎么会知道别人的头有多重呢？就这样长工们又白白地给他干了一年，一个钱也没拿到，只好无可奈何地卷起铺盖卷儿饿着肚子空手回家了。

长工们都恨透了铁公鸡，回家后就凑在一块合计，要想办法整治他，非报这个仇不可。这时大家想到了一直在外地打长工才到家的崔老大，都说他的鬼点子多，保不住他能想出什么招法来，就决定找他帮忙。都在一个屯里住着，本来离就不远，说话间也就到了老崔家。崔老大听完了大伙的遭遇，十分生气，决定帮助大家出气，讨回这几年的工钱。他们如此这般地合计了一会儿，就凑了九吊钱买了一匹瘦得几乎站不起来的瘦马，崔老大又把自己这一年挣来的散碎银子偷偷地塞进这匹瘦马的屁股里，用破棉花塞好，就牵着来到铁公鸡的大门外。
这时正在贴门对儿的铁公鸡看天崔老大牵一匹戗毛戗齿的瘦马要从他家门前过，十分生气，大骂崔老大冲了他家的财神，破坏了他家的风水。听他一骂，崔老大马上露出一副惊慌的面孔说：“快别吵吵，要惊跑了我的宝马你全部家当都赔不起。”他一边说一边小心地摸索着马毛。铁公鸡听崔老大这么一说，又见他那慌恐的样子，就觉得大有来头。特别是“宝马”两个字，就象一颗吸铁石一样紧紧地吸住了他那颗贪婪的心。他决定把事情弄明白，只要有便宜就不能让穷小子拣去。于是他又换了一副面孔说：“我说老崔呀，人家都说你能吹，我还不信，直到今天我才相信你真能吹，就这样一匹瘦马也给你说成是宝马，我那些马往哪儿摆，别瞎吹了。”听到这，崔老大用右手轻轻地拍了拍马背说：“别看你的马又高又大满身是膘，可那都是些干力气活的蠢货，怎敢与我这拉金尿银的宝马相比。”说着他轻篾地看了“铁公鸡”一眼，又做出了拉马要走的姿势。铁公鸡一听拉金尿银几个字立刻就蒙了，又见他拉马要走，就赶忙拦住说：“我说老崔大哥，你该不是瞎吹呀！你如果不是瞎吹乎就请你当我面试一试，要真象你说的什么拉金尿银，我这辈子可就开了眼也服了你啦。”老崔看他就要上钩了，心里暗暗好笑。他牵着马一边准备一边说：“这不行，我的马今天早上刚拉了四两多银子，要到晌午才能拉那遍。如果这会儿叫它拉的话，顶多也只能拉出二两多，我不合算。”铁公鸡一听早上就拉了四两多，这会儿还能拉二两多，说啥也不叫崔老大把马牵走，非叫当场拉一拉看。崔老大做出一副无可奈何的样子说：“哎！谁叫我今天非从这儿走！真是没事找事，好吧，我就试给你看。不过只能试一次，还得摆上香案，要不宝马是不会拉金尿银的。”
香案很快就摆好了。崔老大叫铁公鸡跪在马头的前面给宝马磕头，并且不准偷看，说是不这样会影响宝马拉金尿银，弄不好说不定宝马一生气就一点也不拉了。崔老大望着给宝马不断磕头的铁公鸡强忍住笑。他左手端着朱红的漆盘，右手偷偷的把塞在马屁股里的棉花扯了出来。随着一声轻微的马屁声，雪白的银子便掉在了盘子里。铁公鸡顾不上再磕头了，跑过去一看，这宝马果真拉了二两多雪花白银。看到这儿，他马上教老伴准备酒菜，要和崔老大好好喝一盅。酒席桌上他听崔老大向他介绍了宝马的来历：“有一天晚上刚到半夜，我梦见一个白胡子老头和我说，西北方向有一匹财神爷刚骑来的金马驹，这匹宝马能拉金尿银，如果遇到福气大的人哪，一天就能拉三四十两，你的福气小它一天只能给你拉十几两。快去呀，要是错过机会就叫别人牵走了。说完他就推了我一把。当时我想，我是个穷命人，连肚子都填不饱还想什么金马驹，所以我翻了个身照样睡我的觉。哪知刚睡着那个白胡子老头又来了，他硬是从炕上把我拖了起来。我一想别管真假还是出去看看呀，哪知道我刚一推门就见西北方向放出一片红光，我赶忙跑到那一看，这匹金马驹正在那吃草呢，我就把它牵了回来。另外那个白胡子老头一再嘱咐我，叫我用炒黄豆喂金马驹，还说吃完黄豆别忘了饮凉水，只有这样宝马才能拉出又大又多的银子。咱家穷喂不起黄豆，所以拉出的银块又少又小。”听了崔老大的话，铁公鸡眼望宝马刚才拉出的白银，不仅盘算起来：要说福份呀穷鬼们自然不敢和我比，就说百里方圆以内，恐怕我也是数一数二的。我要把宝马弄到手，一天不用多，少算也拉三十两，这样一三得三，三三得九，一个月就是九百两雪花白银呢！一年十二个月不就是一万多两吗！这样看来这匹宝马我无论如何也要买下来。想到这就和崔老大提出要买他的金马驹。崔老大呢又故意做出说啥也不肯卖的样子。最后铁公鸡说要把他送到官府治罪，他才勉强同意了。通过双方讨价还价，最后铁公鸡以两千两白银和五百石粮食的价钱将宝马买到了手。乡亲们家家都分到了好多粮食和银子，都过了一个快乐的年。
单说铁公鸡买到了宝马，无论放到哪都不放心，生怕被别人偷走，最后把马拴到了自己的卧室里才算放心。吃晚饭时为了不使宝马受到惊吓，他破例的没叫家里人放鞭炮。他望着因不断吃炒豆喝凉水而渐渐鼓起来的马肚子，心里有说不出的高兴，因为他知道，马的肚子越大银子也就越多。好容易等到了半夜十二点，就在家家户户接完财神吃辞岁饺子时，他在屋里供好老祖宗，排好了香案，把宝马牵到了腥红的地毯上。他叫老伴在前面不住的给宝马磕头，他自己则端着大红漆盘在马屁股那儿接着。可是等了半天也没见宝马拉下一块银子来，到是听见马肚子里一个劲“咕噜咕噜”地响。他想：这一定是银子太多，宝马太瘦没有力气拉不下来，得叫老伴帮帮宝马的忙，要不时间一长憋坏宝马可了不得。想到这他把儿子和儿媳妇都叫到自己的屋里，叫他们一边两个人用力地挤压宝马那胀鼓鼓的肚子。挤着挤着他看见宝马一拉拉胯儿，就赶忙跪在宝马屁股后面，双手托着盘子准备接银子，可是又等了半天，也没见拉下一块银子。他听着宝马那“哧哧”的喘气声和马肚子里越来越厉害的“咕噜”声，他着急了。以为是银块太大拉不出来，就放下托盘，一手掀起马尾巴仔细地盯着马屁股眼看。看着看着只听得哗地一声，一股黄糊糊的东西象开了闸门的洪水似的喷射出来。人们一看，哪里是什么金银哪，原来是瘦马拉了稀。再一看铁公鸡哪里还有半点人样，满头满脸全是黄糊糊的稀屎，连五官都难以辨认了，身上那刚换上的万字服简直就成了屎黄袍了。那腥红色的新地毯哪里还有半点模样。这匹跑了肚的瘦马连拉带尿，整个屋子臭气熏天使人喘不过气来。
吃了大亏的铁公鸡连夜杀了瘦马，又叫手下人去捉拿崔老大。怎奈有乡亲们的保护他一直没有抓到崔老大。五六天过去了，连气带病一直没有起炕的铁公鸡听着满屯的鞭炮声，气不打一处来，就连睡梦中还一个劲儿地骂崔老大。
有一天风雪特别大，天也特别冷。乡亲们以为铁公鸡的人不会出来了，就一边在火盆边烤火，一边讲铁公鸡上当吃亏的事。就在大家哈哈大笑的时候，铁公鸡的四个狗腿子进屋了，他们不由分说抓住崔老大就带回了铁公鸡家。
真是仇人相见分外眼红，躺在炕上的铁公鸡见到崔老大，二话没说就叫人剥下崔老大的衣服，把他关在磨房里。狠心的财主要活活冻死他。只穿着汗褟儿的崔老大蜷缩在磨房的墙角里，起初他还能抗得住，但后来他发觉自己的腿脚麻木了，不听使唤了，头也开始一阵阵地迷糊起来，他知道自己就要被冻死了。这时他突然想到如果能干点活出点汗不就不冷了吗！他两眼盯着那盘大石磨开始挣扎着活动自己的手脚，不一会他竟站了起来。就这样他抱着磨杆拉了整整一夜空磨。
天亮了，铁公鸡破例地起了个早，他要亲眼看看崔老大冻死的样子，以解他的心头之恨。可是等打开大铁锁拉开门时一下子把他惊呆了！原来崔老大不但没有被冻死，反而浑身冒热气，豆大的汗珠一个接一个从头上滚下来。他见铁公鸡来了，一边用汗褟扇着汗一边说：“哎呀，好心的东家快行行好救救我吧，真要热死我了！”铁公鸡十分奇怪地问：“你怎么会热成这个样子？”崔老大一边擦汗一边说：“你哪知道，我穿的这是火龙衣，天越冷它就越热得厉害。”铁公鸡听到火龙衣三个字心里又活动起来，但他一想到金马驹的事心里又犯了嘀咕：这大冷天我穿这狐狸皮大衣还冷得受不了，可他光穿一件破汗褟就热成这样，由此看来是真的，如果不是真的，怕是有十个崔老大这一宿也早给冻死了。嗯，是真的，肯定没问题。对，还得跟他换，好东西说啥也不能落在穷鬼手里。想到这他把崔老大让进了自己的上房，又提出和他换衣服的事。崔老大看了看溅在祖像上的粪点说：“这回呀，你说出大天来我也不和你换了。上回好好的一匹金马驹叫你给宰了，还要把我冻死，这回要是你再叫火龙衣给烧死还不得拿我是问。上次咱俩喝酒时我一再告诉你，一定不要在祖像前拉金尿银，你就是不听，结果宝马拉了稀，常言说得好，有德者据之。宝马只有你能得，别人谁也不行，就冲你祖上的那个德性，宝马要不拉稀才怪。”铁公鸡听了这番话心里着实服了气，心里说：我供祖宗像的样谁也不知道，他怎么能知道？这宝马一准有这个说道，保不住当时光顾高兴，把这个事给忘了也是有的，看起来他所说的都是真的，对，火龙衣非换不可。想到这儿，他又提出来自己愿出和宝马相同的价钱买火龙衣。崔老大听了怎么也不同意，讲到最后又增加了五十垧地才算讲成。
铁公鸡得到了无价宝物火龙衣高兴得了不得。他刚把火龙衣包好锁进箱子里，亲家那边就来人送信，说今天是亲家母的五十大寿，请他去吃喜面。打发走来人后他心里想：亲家呀，别看你眼下比我多了千把两银子和几十垧地，可这无价之宝火龙衣你连见还没见过呢，今天咱叫你也开一开眼吧！哎！如果我那屈死的金马驹还活着有多好，可以骑着金马驹穿着火龙衣去会亲家，眼下是说啥也没用了，只好光穿火龙衣去了。
铁公鸡穿着火龙衣上路了。刚开始他觉得冷得有点受不了，可他一想崔老大的话和他那热得汗下如雨的样子，信心也就十足了。他认为现在天一定不算太冷，所以热劲还没有上来，再等一下天再冷点就好了。就这样他咬着牙一直走了四里多地，来到了一个前不着村后不着店的山岗上。这时候天更冷了，西北风卷起地上的积雪劈头盖脑地打来，他咬着牙往四下里看，发现路边有棵被雷火烧过空心的树桩，他赶忙跑过去，挤进了那早已被烧得乌黑的空心树桩。刚进去时他觉得比外边暖多了，但渐渐的他觉得四肢麻木起来，不一会儿就被冻死了。
家里人知道后抓来了崔老大，哭喊着叫他偿命。崔老大望了望蹭得浑身乌黑的铁公鸡镇定的说：“当初我说不换他非逼着我换，不叫他穿着火龙衣站在树下，可他偏要站在树下，这不，由于火龙衣遇到木头着了火，他被烧死了。他靠着的那棵树一定也给烧焦了，不信你们可以去看一看。”家里的人到那棵树下一看，果然一棵十分粗大的树真给烧焦了，而且树心都给烧空了。铁公鸡家的人没有办法，只好放了崔老大。崔老大整了整狐狸皮大衣的领子，在身背后的一片哭嚎声中背着手，哼着小曲回家过正月十五去了。