A tailor's apprentice was travelling about the world in search of work, and at one time he could find none, and his poverty was so great that he had not a farthing to live on. Presently he met a Jew on the road, and as he thought he would have a great deal of money about him, the tailor thrust God out of his heart, fell on the Jew, and said,“Give me your money, or I will strike you dead.”Then said the Jew,“Grant me my life, I have no money but eight farthings.”But the tailor said,“Money you have; and it shall be produced,”and used violence and beat him until he was near death. And when the Jew was dying, the last words he said were,“The bright sun will bring it to light,”and thereupon he died. The tailor's apprentice felt in his pockets and sought for money, but he found nothing but eight farthings, as the Jew had said. Then he took him up and carried him behind a clump of trees, and went onwards to seek work. After he had traveled about a long while, he got work in a town with a master who had a pretty daughter, with whom he fell in love, and he married her, and lived in good and happy wedlock.
After a long time when he and his wife had two children, the wife's father and mother died, and the young people kept house alone. One morning, when the husband was sitting on the table before the window, his wife brought him his coffee, and when he had poured it out into the saucer, and was just going to drink, the sun shone on it and the reflection gleamed hither and thither on the wall above, and made circles on it.Then the tailor looked up and said,“Yes, it would like very much to bring it to light, and cannot!”The woman said,“Oh, dear husband, and what is that, then?”“What do you mean by that?”He answered,“I must not tell you.”But she said,“If you love me, you must tell me,”and used her most affectionate words, and said that no one should ever know it, and left him no rest. Then he told her how years ago, when he was travelling about seeking work and quite worn out and penniless, he had killed a Jew, and that in the last agonies of death, the Jew had spoken the words,“The bright sun will bring it to light.”And now, the sun had just wanted to bring it to light, and had gleamed and made circles on the wall, but had not been able to do it. After this, he again charged her particularly never to tell this, or he would lose his life, and she did promise. When however, he had sat down to work again, she went to her great friend and confided the story to her, but she was never to repeat it to any human being, but before three days were over, the whole town knew it, and the tailor was brought to trial, and condemned. And thus, after all, the bright sun did bring it to light.
一個裁縫伙計在各處漫游,靠自己的手藝為生。有一次他找不到活干,窮得一文不名,吃不上飯。這時他在路上碰見一個猶太人,他想,猶太人身上一定帶著很多錢,便把上帝拋到九霄云外,徑直朝那猶太人走過去,說:“拿錢出來,不然打死你?!蹦仟q太人說:“饒了我吧,我沒錢,我身上總共只有八分錢。”裁縫說:“你有錢,還不拿出來!”然后對猶太人拳腳交加,一頓痛打,直打得猶太人氣息奄奄,眼看就要沒命了。猶太人臨死的時候,說了最后一句話:“明亮的太陽會揭露這件事的!”說完,他就死了。裁縫伙計翻他的口袋找錢,真像猶太人說的,他身上只有八分錢。他把那猶太人提起來,扛到一叢灌木后面,又繼續(xù)漫游,干他的手藝活謀生去了。他旅行了很久,后來來到一座城市,在一個師傅那兒干活。師傅有個漂亮的女兒,他愛上了她,同她結(jié)了婚,他們的婚姻美好而幸福。
很久以后,他們已經(jīng)有了兩個孩子,岳父岳母雙雙去世,他們自己理家。一天早晨,丈夫坐在窗前桌子旁,妻子給他端來咖啡,他把咖啡倒在小碟上,正要喝的時候,太陽照在咖啡上,反光在墻上來回閃動,變幻成小圈圈。裁縫看著它說:“是啊,它很想揭露,可是不能夠!”女人說:“唉,親愛的丈夫,你說什么呀?你這話是什么意思?”他回答說:“我不能告訴你?!迸擞终f:“如果你還愛我,就得告訴我?!彼f了許多好話勸他,說這事決不會讓別人知道,她鬧得他很不安寧。終于,他向她講了:許多年以前,他在漫游途中如何窮困潦倒,一文不名,打死了一個猶太人,那個猶太人在臨死的痛苦中說,明亮的太陽會揭露這件事的!現(xiàn)在太陽似乎很想揭露,在墻上閃動,變化出小圈圈,但是它做不到。之后,他又特意請求妻子千萬不要告訴別人,否則他就沒命了。他的妻子也答應了。可是,他一埋頭干活,她就跑去找她的教母,悄悄告訴她這件事,又叮囑她不要再告訴別人;不到三天時間,全城都知道了這件事情。裁縫上了法庭,被判處死刑。明亮的太陽畢竟還是揭露了這件事情。