The Lazy Gurie

Once upon a time, there was a woman. She had only one daughter, and her name was Guri. This Guri was so lazy, so idle, and so pampered that all she did all day was nothing:

"Why should I work?
Why should I toil?
This will never be of use to me.
All these worries are of no concern,
They won’t earn me happiness.
If it were up to me, I’d stroll around.
If it were up to me, I’d dance.
I’d sit on a bench,
And swing my legs!
I’d eat and drink
Whatever I please.
And I’d sleep—
Whenever sleep takes me."

For such behavior, the neighbors nicknamed the girl "Lazy Guri." Only her own mother praised her idle daughter to everyone:

"My daughter is skilled at all kinds of work,
My little craftswoman:
She knits and spins,
She cuts and sews,
She cooks deliciously,
And warms with kind words.
And whoever marries her—
Will surely never go astray!"

A young merchant heard these words and thought, "This is exactly the kind of girl I would marry." He went to Guri’s home and proposed to her. They got married, and he brought his young wife to his house.

After some time, he brought a large bale of cotton and asked Guri to fluff it, comb it, and spin it into yarn while he went away on his merchant business. He told Guri that he would take the yarn she spun with him to other countries and sell it there.
"If we’re lucky, we might even get rich," he said and left.

After his departure, Guri went back to her favorite pastime: doing nothing.
One day, she was strolling along the riverbank. Suddenly, she heard frogs croaking:
"Ribbit, ribbit..."
"Hey, little frogs!" shouted Lazy Guri. "If I bring you a bale of cotton, maybe you could comb it and spin it into thread?"
"Ribbit, ribbit..."
The frogs' croaking sounded like agreement to Guri. Delighted that she had found someone to do her work for her, she ran home.

Guri returned to the riverbank with the bale of cotton her husband had left her and threw it into the water.
"Here’s your work: comb this cotton and spin it into yarn. I’ll come back in a few days, take the thread, and sell it at the market."
A few days passed. Guri came back to the frogs. The frogs, of course, were still croaking:
"Ribbit, ribbit..."
"What’s with all this 'ribbit, ribbit,' little frogs? Where’s my thread?"

The frogs just kept croaking in response. Guri looked around and noticed green slime and algae on the stones by the shore.
"Oh! What have you done! Not only did you comb my cotton and spin it into yarn, you even wove yourself a carpet!"
Guri clasped her rosy cheeks with her hands and began to cry.
"Fine, let it be: keep the carpet for yourselves, but give me the money for the cotton."

She shouted, demanding money from the frogs, and got so carried away that she waded into the water.
Suddenly, her foot hit something hard. She bent down and picked up a golden nugget from the riverbed. Guri thanked the frogs, took the gold, and went home.
The merchant returned from his trip. He looked around and saw a large piece of gold lying on the shelf at home. Surprised, he asked:
"Listen, wife! How did this piece of gold end up on our shelf?"

Then Guri told him how she had sold the cotton to the frogs and how she had gotten gold in return.
Her husband was overjoyed. In his delight, he invited his mother-in-law over, gave her many gifts, and began praising and thanking her for raising such a clever and skilled daughter.

But the mother-in-law was a shrewd woman. She immediately sensed that something was off and quickly figured out what had really happened. She was afraid that her son-in-law might give her daughter more work, and the truth would come out. Just then, a beetle flew into the room where the celebration in honor of Guri was taking place. It buzzed loudly, flying back and forth over the heads of the people. The mother-in-law suddenly stood up and greeted the beetle:
"Hello, hello, dear auntie! My poor auntie, always busy with work and chores, toiling without rest. Why do you do all this, why?"

Her son-in-law was struck as if by lightning:
"Mother, are you all right? What are you saying? How can this beetle be your aunt?"
The mother-in-law replied:
"Listen to me, son. You know I have no secrets from you; you’re like a son to me. Believe it or not, this beetle is indeed my aunt. The thing is, she had to work day after day. And the more work she had, the harder she toiled, the smaller she became, until she turned into a beetle. This can happen to anyone in our family; we are very hardworking. But those of us who overwork become small and turn into beetles."

When the son-in-law heard this, he immediately forbade his wife from doing any work, lest she, God forbid, turn into a beetle like her aunt.

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The Lazy Gurie

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