तं होवाच यथा सोम्य महतो ऽभ्याहितस्यैको ऽङ्गारः खद्योतमात्रः परिशिष्टः स्यात् । तेन ततो ऽपि न बहु दहेत् । एवं सोम्य ते षोडशानां कलानाम् एका कला अतिशिष्टा स्यात् । तयैतर्हि वेदान् नानुभवसि । अशान । अथ मे विज्ञास्यसीति
taṃ hovāca yathā somya mahato 'bhyāhitasyaiko 'ṅgāraḥ khadyotamātraḥ pariśiṣṭaḥ syāt | tena tato 'pi na bahu dahet | evaṃ somya te ṣoḍaśānāṃ kalānām ekā kalā atiśiṣṭā syāt | tayaitarhi vedān nānubhavasi | aśāna | atha me vijñāsyasīti
Devanagari rendered by HREEM from the edition's roman (IAST) text; the IAST is the edition's own.
The father said to him: 'As of a great lighted fire one coal only of the size of a firefly may be left, which would not burn much more than this (i.e. very little), thus, my dear son, one part only of the sixteen parts (of you) is left, and therefore with that one part you do not remember the Vedas. Go and eat!
Translated by F. Max Müller