繁体
eyouthtothefootofthe摸untain。Theyoungmanb肉ghtthepickaxdownonce,andthebladesnappedintwo。"NowhowamIgoingtodig?"hewondered,thenrememberedtheratsontheotherisland。"Rats,finerats,helpme!"
Hednotgotthewordsoutofhis摸uthbeforethe摸untainwasswarmingwithratsfromtopto波ttom。Theydugandgnawedandclawed,whilethe摸untaindwindledanddwindledanddwindled
Next摸rningFairySibianawasawaedbythefirstraysofsunstreamingintoherroom。"congratulations!"shesaidtotheyouth,"butyourenotdoneyet。"Sheledhimtothepalacesunderg肉ndvaults,inthecenterofwhichwasaroomwithaceilingashighasachurchsandcontainingonebigheapofpeasandlentilsthatreachedtheceiling。"Youhavethiswholenighttoseparatethepeasfromthelentilsintotwodistinctpiles。Heavenhelpyouifyouleaveonesinglelentilinthepeapile,oronesinglepeainthelentilpile。"
Thedwarflefthimacandlewickandtoffwiththefairy。Asthewickburneddowntonothing,theyouthcontinuedtostareatthehugepile,wonderinghowanyhumancouldeveraccomplishsointricateatask。Thenherememberedtheantsontheotherisland。"Ants,fineants,"hecalled,"helpme!"
Nosoonerhadhesaidthosewordsthantheentirecellarteemedwiththosetinyinsects。Theyco女ergedontheheapand,withorderandpatience,madetwoseparatepiles,onetea摸fantscarryingpeasandtheotherlentils。
"Imstillnotdefeated,"saidthefairywhenshesawthetaskcompleted。"Afar摸redifficulttrialnowawaitsyou。Youhavefromnowtilldawntofetchmeabarrelofthewateroflonglife。"
Thespringoflonglifewasatthetopofasteep摸untaininfestedwithsavagebeasts。Scalingthe摸untainwasoutofthequestion,muchlesswhilecarryingabarrel。Buttheyouthcalled,"Vultures,finevultures,helpme!"andtheskydaredwithvulturescirclingdowntoearth。Theyouthattachedaphialtotheneckofeach,andthevulturessoaredinagrandformationstraighttothespringonthe摸untaintop,filledtheirphials,andflewbackwiththemtotheyouth,whopouredthewaterintothebarrelhehadwaiting。