THE MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS A Miller, accompanied by

THE MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS
LE MEUNIER, SON FILS ET LEUR ÂNE
A Miller, accompanied by his young Son, was driving his Ass to market in hopes of finding a purchaser for him. On the road they met a troop of girls, laughing and talking, who exclaimed, "Did you ever see such a pair of fools ? To be trudging along the dusty road when they might be riding !" The Miller thought there was sense in what they said ; so he made his Son mount the Ass, and himself walked at the side. Presently they met some of his old cronies, who greeted them and said, "You'll spoil that Son of yours, letting him ride while you toil along on foot ! Make him walk, young lazybones ! It'll do him all the good in the world." The Miller followed their advice, and took his Son's place on the back of the Ass while the boy trudged along behind. Un meunier, accompagné de son jeune fils, conduisait son âne au marché dans l'espoir de lui trouver un acheteur. En route ils croisèrent un groupe de jeunes filles qui bavardaient en riant. Elles s'exclamèrent : « Quelle paire d'imbéciles ! Marcher dans la poussière alors qu'ils pourraient se faire porter ! »
Le meunier trouva qu'elles n'avaient pas tort, fit monter son fils sur l'âne et chemina à ses côtés. They had not gone far when they overtook a party of women and children, and the Miller heard them say, "What a selfish old man ! He himself rides in comfort, but lets his poor little boy follow as best he can on his own legs !" So he made his Son get up behind him. (212 words)
Ils rencontrèrent ensuite un groupe de vieux copains qui lui dirent au passage : « Tu gâtes trop ton fils bien­aimé en le laissant se faire porter alors que tu peines à pied !
Laisse­le marcher, ce paquet d'os paresseux ! Cela lui fera le plus grand bien. » Le meunier suivit leur avis et prit la place de son fils sur le dos de l'âne, laissant le garçon traîner la patte à l'arrière.
A quelques pas de là ils rattrapèrent un groupe de femmes et d'enfants ; le meunier les entendit dire : « Quel vieil égoïste ! Lui chevauche confortablement en tête et laisse ce pauvre garçon le suivre comme il peut de toute la force de ses petites jambes ! » Aussi fit­il grimper son fils derrière lui.
(208 mots)
Further along the road they met some travellers, who asked the Miller whether the Ass he was riding was his own property, or a beast hired for the occasion.
He replied that it was his own, and that he was taking it to market to sell. "Good heavens!" said they, "with a load like that the poor beast will be so exhausted by the time he gets there that no one will look at him. Why, you'd do better to carry him !" "Anything to please you," said the old man, "we can but try." So they got off, tied the Ass's legs together with a rope and slung him on a pole, and at last reached the town, carrying him between them. This was so absurd a sight that the people ran out in crowds to laugh at it, and chaffed the Father and Son unmercifully, some even calling them lunatics. Un peu plus loin sur la route, ils croisèrent des voyageurs qui demandèrent au meunier si l'âne qu'il chevauchait lui appartenait ou s'il l'avait loué pour l'occasion.
Il répondit que c'était le sien et qu'il allait au marché pour le vendre. « Grands dieux ! » lui dirent­ils, « avec pareille charge, la pauvre bête sera si épuisée à l'arrivée que personne n'en voudra. Vraiment, vous feriez mieux de le porter ! »
« Comme il vous plaira, répondit le vieux, il suffit d'essayer. »
Ils descendirent donc de l'âne, lui attachèrent les pattes avec une corde et le suspendirent à une perche. C'est ainsi qu'ils finirent par arriver en ville, le portant à deux entre eux.
Le spectacle était tellement ridicule que les gens se précipitèrent en foule pour se moquer d'eux, ils taquinaient sans pitié le père et le fils, certains les traitaient même de fous.
They had then got to a bridge over the river, where the Ass, frightened by the noise and his unusual situation, kicked and struggled till he broke the ropes that bound him, and fell into the water and was drowned. Ils atteignirent ensuite un pont qui passait au­dessus d'une rivière quand l'âne, effrayé par le bruit et cette position inhabituelle, se mit à ruer et à se débattre jusqu'à ce qu'il brise les cordes qui le retenaient et tombe à l'eau où il se noya.
Sur ce, le malheureux meunier, vexé et honteux, fit de son mieux pour rentrer chez lui, persuadé qu'en essayant de plaire à tous il n'avait satisfait personne … et perdu son âne dans l'affaire.
(227 mots)
Whereupon the unfortunate Miller, vexed and ashamed, made the best of his way home again, convinced that in trying to please all he had pleased none, and had lost his Ass into the bargain.
(226 words)
Version anglaise des fables d'Ésope de VERNON JONES, illustrée par Arthur Rackham, publiée à Londres en 1912
source : http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11339
enregistrement en anglais avec le logiciel « Raconte­Moi »
http://raconte­moi.abuledu.org/w/2887­the_miller_his_son_their_ass­2
http://raconte­moi.abuledu.org/w/3096­aesop_by_walter_crane
Quelques pistes
http://www.ien­aulnay1.ac­creteil.fr/spip/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=593 : Arts plastiques et écriture en CM2, tableau comparatif du déroulement de la fable de La Fontaine (p.8) et d' Ésope (p.9)
Les fables d'Ésope en français, en anglais et en latin : http://www.amiens.iufm.fr/amiens/cahier/biblio/Fontaine/defesope.htm
http://www.ebooksgratuits.com/ebooks.php?auteur=%C9sope
une autre version en anglais
The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey
A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said : " You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon ? " So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said : " See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides. " So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other : " Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along. " Well, the Man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers­by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said : " Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yoursu and your hulking son ? " The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore­feet being tied together he was drowned.
" That will teach you, " said an old man who had followed them :
" Please all, and you will please none.