He who does not work, does not eat
When the matchmakers came for Galinka, her mother began to instruct them:"Take good care of her. She is my one and only, not accustomed to hard work. Don't give her a broom, don't make her sweep the yard, or else heaven forbid the dust might get in her eyes. Don't send her for water—her shoulders are weak, she won't manage full buckets. Put a down pillow under her head, she's used to sleeping on something soft."
The old matchmakers exchanged glances but said nothing.
"Promise you'll never say a harsh word to her. She's not used to hearing foul language."
"Don't worry—in our house, we don't swear," replied the old matchmaker and climbed into the cart. Next to him sat the mother-in-law, behind them sat the groom and bride, and off they went to their village. The village was far away, so they had to travel all day. They arrived only by evening, and before they even entered the house, the mother-in-law rolled up her sleeves, kneaded dough for a pie, slaughtered a rooster, cooked it, went down to the cellar, and drew wine from the barrel. Meanwhile, Galinka sat on the bench, arms crossed, thinking:
"Oh, what a quick and capable mother-in-law I have, just like my own mother. We'll live splendidly here."
They had supper and went to bed. The night passed. In the morning, the old father-in-law rose at dawn and woke everyone.
"Get up!" he shouted. "Get ready for the fields."
"And what will we do there?" Galinka rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned sweetly.
"We'll hoe the corn."
"With a hoe?" asked the pampered daughter.
"Of course, with a hoe," replied the father-in-law.
"I won't go."
"Why not?" asked the young husband.
"Because the hoe is heavy, and I can't lift heavy things."
"Alright," said the father. "Let her stay, clean the house, and prepare supper. We need someone here too."
Everyone went to the fields, and the young bride stayed home. Until noon, she lounged in bed, until hunger got the better of her. The pampered daughter got up and began peeking into the pots, but found nothing.
"They left me nothing, they forgot about me," thought Galinka, stretched, and went to the garden to admire the flowers. "Oh, how beautiful!" she exclaimed and began picking and smelling the flowers.
Little bees buzzed merrily, flitting from flower to flower.
"Why are they in such a hurry!" thought Galinka and leisurely headed to the nearest cherry tree.
She lay down under the tree, then, without getting up, picked a few cherries to slightly ease her hunger, and began yawning and stretching sweetly. The whole day passed like this.
In the evening, the three workers returned from the fields tired and hungry. They looked around and saw: the house was untidy, the buckets empty, the hearth cold, and the chickens perched hungry.
The mother-in-law set the hoe aside and first brought full buckets of water from the well. Then she lit the fire, put potatoes in the pot, kneaded bread, and quickly prepared supper. Galinka watched her, sitting on the bench and swinging her legs.
When supper was ready, the mother-in-law called everyone to the table.
Galinka sat down first. The father-in-law took the bread and broke it into three pieces. He gave one to his wife, another to his son, and kept the third for himself.
"And what about the bride?" the mother-in-law wondered.
"She's not hungry. Those who don't work don't eat."
Galinka bit her lip, frowned, got up from the table, went to her room, and burst into tears. She couldn't sleep all night—she was so hungry.
The next day, the same thing happened. The three workers went to the garden, and Galinka again refused to go with them.
"The sun is too strong," she said. "My face will get dark."
And again, they left her at home. This time, the pampered daughter didn't lift a finger. She found a stale crust under the bowl, left for the dog, ate it, and again lay in the garden until evening. And the beautiful flowers wilted because she was too lazy to fetch water and water them.
Late in the evening, the tired workers returned home. The mother-in-law frowned but kneaded the bread, and when they sat down to eat, the father-in-law again divided the bread into three pieces. Galinka got nothing.
"Why aren't you giving the bride any bread?" asked the mother-in-law.
"Because those who don't work don't eat!" replied the father-in-law.
All night, the hungry Galinka tossed and turned, thinking. She dozed off at dawn. As soon as the third rooster crowed, she jumped up, looked for the mother-in-law and husband, but they were already gone, having left for the fields before dawn. Then Galinka rolled up her sleeves, rushed about, fetched water from the well, lit the fire, cooked supper, kneaded dough in the kneading trough, and baked bread. After finishing the housework, she took the spinning wheel and sat spinning on the porch. In the evening, the tired workers saw how hard the young bride had worked for them and were very pleased. Galinka set the table, handed the bread to the old father-in-law, and anxiously waited to see what he would do. The father-in-law took the bread and broke it into four pieces. He gave the largest piece to Galinka and said:
"Eat, child, you've earned this bread because you worked hard today." Galinka took the bread and began to eat. Never before had she tasted such delicious bread.
More fairy tales
