The Lazybones

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a peasant named Bastiano. He had a wife, Lina, who was very, very lazy.

One morning, Bastiano prepared to go to the forest to chop wood and said to her:

"Lina, I know you don’t like working much, but please, keep an eye on the field so the chickens don’t peck at the grain."

"Don’t worry, my dear husband. I won’t let those chickens anywhere near the field."

Lina settled comfortably at the edge of the field under a fig tree and began to watch carefully. But the chickens didn’t even think of approaching the field. The sun grew hotter, and Lina decided that nothing bad would happen if she took a short nap. Just one minute. No sooner had she thought this than she fell asleep.

At that moment, a cicada sitting in the fig tree began to sing:

"Lina, Lina, watch the field. If you don’t, the chickens will peck the grain. When Bastiano returns, you’ll be in trouble."

But Lina was dreaming sweet dreams and, of course, didn’t know that the chickens had crept into the field and were greedily pecking at the grain. When she finally woke up, the chickens had eaten so much they could barely move.

"Oh no, the harvest is ruined!" Lina cried in despair. But she quickly consoled herself: "But now the chickens will be big and fat."

She herded the chickens into the coop and lay down to sleep again under the fig tree.

And once more, the cicada sang:

"Lina, Lina, watch the chickens. If you don’t, the fox will eat them. When Bastiano returns, you’ll be in trouble."

But Lina was exhausted from the hard work—herding all the chickens into the coop was no joke—and she slept soundly, hearing nothing. When she woke up, she ran straight to the coop. And what did she see? The fox was finishing the wing of the last chicken.

"You red thief!" Lina shouted and quickly slammed shut the window through which the fox had entered the coop.

"My situation isn’t so bad," Lina thought. "True, the fox ate the chickens. But when I sell the beautiful fox fur, I’ll be able to buy some young chicks. And maybe even a couple of geese as well. It’s actually good that things turned out this way."

Soon she calmed down completely and returned to her beloved fig tree, lay down in the shade, and immediately fell asleep.

And again, the restless cicada sang:

"Lina, Lina, watch the fox. If you don’t, the dog will tear it apart. When Bastiano returns, you’ll be in trouble."

But Lina was dreaming of buying chicks at the market and heard nothing.

She was awakened by a terrible noise coming from the coop. She rushed there as fast as she could. When she looked through the window, she saw a big gray dog chasing the fox. While Lina slept, the dog, having caught the fox’s scent, had dug a hole under the coop and sneaked inside.

"Wait, you nasty dog!" Lina thought. She quietly unlocked the door and grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck. The fox, of course, didn’t waste any time and slipped out the open door, disappearing in an instant. But Lina wasn’t too upset this time either. "No matter, my husband can take this dog hunting and shoot not one but a dozen foxes."

Lina tied the dog to the fence and, as if nothing had happened, lay down under the fig tree.

And once again, the cicada sang:

"Lina, Lina, watch the dog. If you don’t, the boys will steal it. When Bastiano returns, you’ll be in trouble."

But it was in vain: Lina was fast asleep and heard nothing.

Finally, Bastiano returned from the forest. Lina greeted him cheerfully and contentedly.

"Well, my dear wife, is our wheat safe in the field?"

"You see, my dear husband, I only looked away for a second, and those nasty chickens pecked all the grain. But they’ve grown big and fat."

"Nothing can be done," Bastiano sighed. "We’ll have to sell the chickens and buy grain."

"My dear husband, the chickens are gone. A fox ate them. But, you know, I caught the thief and locked her in the coop."

"Well then, we’ll sell the fox fur," said Bastiano.

"Of course, we would have sold it, but the fox escaped. A big dog got into the coop and almost tore her to pieces. It ruined the fur! But don’t be upset, I caught the dog. You can take it hunting and shoot many foxes."

"Alright, let’s go see this dog of yours."

They went to look, but the dog was gone. While Lina was sound asleep under the fig tree, some boys passing by had untied it and run off with it.

They were gone in an instant.

What did Bastiano do then? Can’t guess? Well, Bastiano became very angry!

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The Lazybones

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