A certain father had two sons, the elder of whom was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger was stupid and could neither learn nor understand anything, and when people saw him they said, "There's a fellow who will give his father some trouble!" When anything had to be done, it was always the elder who was forced to do it; but if his father bade him fetch anything when it was late, or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard, or any other dismal place, he answered "Oh, no, father, I'll not go there, it makes me shudder!" for he was afraid. Or when stories were told by the fire at night which made the flesh creep, the listeners sometimes said "Oh, it makes us shudder!" The younger sat in a corner and listened with the rest of them, and could not imagine what they could mean. "They are always saying 'it makes me shudder, it makes me shudder!' It does not make me shudder," thought he. "That, too, must be an art of which I understand nothing."

Now it came to pass that his father said to him one day "Hearken to me, thou fellow in the corner there, thou art growing tall and strong, and thou too must learn something by which thou canst earn thy living. Look how thy brother works, but thou dost not even earn thy salt." - "Well, father," he replied, "I am quite willing to learn something - indeed, if it could but be managed, I should like to learn how to shudder. I don't understand that at all yet." The elder brother smiled when he heard that, and thought to himself, "Good God, what a blockhead that brother of mine is! He will never be good for anything as long as he lives. He who wants to be a sickle must bend himself betimes." The father sighed, and answered him "thou shalt soon learn what it is to shudder, but thou wilt not earn thy bread by that."

有位父亲，膝下有两个儿子。 大儿子聪明伶俐，遇事都能应付自如；小儿子呢，却呆头呆脑，啥也不懂，还啥也不学，人们看见他时都异口同声地说："他父亲为他得操多少心哪！"
遇到有什么事儿要办的时候，总得大儿子出面去办；不过，要是天晚了，或者深更半夜的时候，父亲还要他去取什么东西的话，而且要路过墓地，或者其它令人毛骨悚然的地方，他就会回答说："啊，爸爸，我可不去，我害怕！"他是真的害怕。
晚上，一家人围坐在火炉旁讲故事，讲到令人毛发悚立的时候，听故事的人里就会有人说："真可怕呀！"小儿子在这种时候，总是一个人坐在屋角里听他们说话，却怎么也不明白他们说的是什么意思，于是他常常大声地说："他们都说，'我害怕！我害怕！'可我从来不害怕。我想这一定是一种本领，是一种我完全弄不懂的本领。"
有一天，父亲对他说："你就呆在角落里，给我听好了。你已经是一个强壮的小伙子了，也该学点养活自己的本事了。你看你哥哥，多么勤奋好学；你再看看你自己 ，好话都当成了耳边风。 "
"爸爸，你说的没错，"小儿子回答说，"我非常愿意学点本事。要是办得到的话，我很想学会害怕，我还一点儿也不会害怕呢。"
哥哥听了这话，哈哈大笑起来，心想，"我的天哪，我弟弟可真是个傻瓜蛋；他一辈子都没什么指望了。三岁看小，七岁看老嘛。"父亲叹了一口气，对小儿子回答说："我保证，你早晚能学会害怕；不过，靠害怕是养活不了自己的。"