Prevod

Lean Liese thought quite differently from Lazy Heinz and Fat Trine, whom nothing could disturb in their peace and quiet. She wore herself out from morning till night and heaped so much work upon her husband, Long Lenz, that he had a heavier load to bear than a donkey carrying three sacks. But it was all in vain: they had nothing and never got anywhere. One evening, as she lay in bed, scarcely able to stir a limb for weariness, her thoughts still would not let her sleep. She nudged her husband in the side with her elbow and said, “Listen, Lenz, do you know what I’ve been thinking? If I found a gulden, and someone gave me another, I would borrow a third, and you would have to give me one too. Then, as soon as I had the four gulden together, I would buy a young cow.” Her husband liked the idea very much. “I don’t know,” he said, “where I’m to get the gulden you want me to give you, but if you do manage to scrape the money together, and you can buy a cow with it, you would do well to carry out your plan.” “I’m glad,” he added, “for when the cow has a calf, I shall at least get a drink of milk now and then to refresh me.” “The milk is not for you,” said his wife. “We’ll let the calf suckle so that it grows big and fat and fetches a good price.” “Of course,” her husband replied, “but we can still take a little milk. That won’t do any harm.” “Who taught you how to tend cows?” said his wife. “Whether it does any harm or not, I won’t have it. You can stand on your head, but you won’t get a drop of milk. You, Long Lenz, with your bottomless belly, think you can gobble up everything I work so hard to earn.” “Wife,” said her husband, “hold your tongue, or I’ll give you a slap across the mouth.” “What!” she cried. “You dare threaten me, you glutton, you scoundrel, you lazy Heinz!” She was about to fly at him and seize him by the hair, but Long Lenz sat up, caught both Lean Liese’s scrawny arms in one hand, and with the other pressed her head down onto the pillow. He let her scold and held her there until, utterly exhausted, she fell asleep. Whether she went on quarrelling when she woke the next morning, or went out to look for the gulden she meant to find, I do not know.