The Milkmaid and Her Pail
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
A milkmaid daydreams about the riches her milk will bring until her wishful thinking costs her everything.
A farmer's daughter had been out to milk the cows, and was returning to the dairy carrying her pail of milk upon her head. As she walked along, she fell a-musing after this fashion: "The milk in this pail will provide me with cream, which I will make into butter and take to market to sell. With the money I will buy a number of eggs, and these, when hatched, will produce chickens, and by and by I shall have quite a large poultry-yard."
A filha de um fazendeiro tinha ido ordenhar as vacas e voltava para o laticínio carregando na cabeça o balde de leite. Enquanto caminhava, começou a divagar assim: "O leite deste balde me dará creme, que transformarei em manteiga e levarei ao mercado para vender. Com o dinheiro comprarei uma porção de ovos, e estes, quando chocarem, produzirão pintinhos, e logo terei um belo galinheiro."
"Then I shall sell some of my fowls, and with the money which they will bring in I will buy myself a new gown, which I shall wear when I go to the fair; and all the young fellows will admire it, and come and make love to me, but I shall toss my head and have nothing to say to them."
— Depois venderei algumas das minhas aves, e com o dinheiro que renderem comprarei para mim um vestido novo, que usarei quando for à feira; e todos os rapazes vão admirá-lo e vir me cortejar, mas eu vou balançar a cabeça e não ligar para eles.
Forgetting all about the pail, and suiting the action to the word, she tossed her head. Down went the pail, all the milk was spilled, and all her fine castles in the air vanished in a moment!
Esquecendo-se completamente do balde, e agindo conforme dizia, ela balançou a cabeça. Lá se foi o balde, todo o leite se derramou, e todos os seus belos castelos no ar desapareceram num instante!
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
Não conte com os pintinhos antes de saírem do ovo.
