THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER.[1]
ONCE on a time there dwelt a priest and his wife; they had two daughters. The priest hired a labourer, and in the spring he made a pilgrimage; but before setting out he gave his orders to the labourer.
"See, friend," said the priest, "on my return I would find all the garden dug up and the beds set out."
"I hear, little father," answered the labourer.
The labourer dug so ill that the garden went to wrack and ruin, and all the while he enjoyed himself. When the priest returned, he went to the garden and saw that naught had been done.
"Ah, friend," asked the priest of the labourer, "is it possible that thou knowest not how to dig a garden?"
"Assuredly I know not," answered the labourer. "Had I known I would have done it."
"Go, then, into the house, and beg of my daughters to give thee an iron shovel, and I will show thee how to dig."
The labourer sped to the house and sought the daughters.
- ↑ Kruptadia: Heilbronn: Henniger Frères, 1883: Secret Stories from the Russian.
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