The Brothers Grimm Volume II by Jacob Grimm

Author:Jacob Grimm [Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781607108559
Publisher: Thunder Bay Press

51. The Twelve Idle Servants

Twelve servants who had done nothing all the day would not exert themselves at night either, but laid themselves on the grass and boasted of their idleness. The first said, “What is your laziness to me, I have to concern myself about my own? The care of my body is my principal work, I eat a lot and drink still more. When I have had four meals, I fast a short time until I feel hunger again, and that suits me best. To rise early is not for me; when it is getting near midday, I already seek out a resting place for myself. If the master calls, I do exactly as if I had not heard him, and if he calls for the second time, I wait awhile before I get up, and go to him very slowly. In this way life is endurable.”

The second said, “I have a horse to look after, but I leave the bit in his mouth, and if I do not want to do it, I give him no food, and I say he has had it already. I, however, lay myself in the oat chest and sleep for four hours. After this I stretch out one foot and move it a couple of times over the horse’s body, and then he is combed and cleaned. Who is going to make a great business of that? Nevertheless work is too tiring for me.”

The third said, “Why plague oneself with work? Nothing comes of it! I laid myself in the sun, and fell asleep. It began to rain a little, but why should I get up? I let it rain on in God’s name. At last came a splashing shower, so heavy indeed, that it pulled the hair out of my head and washed it away, and I got a hole in the skull; I put a plaster on it, and then it was all right. I have already had several injuries of that kind.”

The fourth said, “If I am to undertake a piece of work, I first lay about for an hour that I may save up my strength. After that I begin quite slowly, and ask if someone could help me. Then I let him do the chief of the work, and in reality only look on; but that also is still too much for me.”

The fifth said, “What does that matter? Just think, I am to take away the manure from the horse’s stable, and load the cart with it. I let it go on slowly, and if I have taken anything on the fork, I only half-raise it up, and then I rest just a quarter of an hour until I throw it in. It is enough and to spare if I take out a cartful in the day. I have no fancy for killing myself with work.”

The sixth said, “Shame on ye; I am afraid of no work, but I lie down for three weeks, and never once take my clothes off.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.