There lived a husband and wife. The husband went far into the field to work, and the wife stayed at home and took care of the house. So time passed. But one day the husband, angry with his wife over a trifle, said:
“I work in a distant field, I go behind the plow all day and come back tired. And you sit at home under an umbrella all day and do nothing. I'm tired of this kind of injustice!
That's what my husband said. He was very angry. To this his wife replied:
“Oh, my husband, don’t be angry, let’s switch: I’ll do your work, and you start doing mine.” So we'll check whose job is harder.
My husband liked this offer.
“Okay,” he replied, laughing. - Now it’s my turn to sit at home, hiding from the sun under an umbrella, but you try to do my job! Go work in the field and experience the weight of the plow!
“I agree,” answered the wife. - Do your homework for me. Of all my household chores, one will be enough for you! In the morning, when it dawns, you get up, bring water, sweep the house, open the barn, take out the cows and calves, milk the cows, drive the herd out to graze. And at six o’clock, prepare the food and bring it to the field where I will work.
“And you do my job,” the husband replied. - Harness the oxen to the plow and cultivate the field, and I’m not afraid of your work!
Having thus agreed, they each set about their own business. The wife took the plow and drove the oxen.
Arriving at the field, she deftly harnessed them to the plow and began to plow.
And the husband took up housework: he brought water, swept the house, then went to the barn and milked the cows. But when he left, he absent-mindedly left the door to the barn open. Cows entered the garden and crushed the bushes, goats climbed into the cabbage and ruined the beds.
Meanwhile, the owner sat at home and cooked meat. Suddenly he saw that all the cattle had come out of the barn and were grazing in the garden and vegetable garden. With the help of a neighbor, he somehow gathered his cows and goats and drove them into the barn.
But while he was chasing the cattle around the garden, the dogs stole the meat from the fire and ate it, the cats knocked over a pot of milk, and the water boiling in the cauldron ran away and flooded the fire.
The peasant is more tired than ever from all this. He didn't have the strength to start all the work over again. So he locked the cattle in the stable, sat down with folded hands, and waited for his wife.
And the mistress finished her work in the field and drove the bulls home.
- Why are you sitting at home with your hands folded? Why didn’t you bring me food in the field and what did you eat yourself? – she asked her husband.
“You’re right,” he answered, getting up from his seat. – I couldn’t cope with your work.
And he asked his wife for forgiveness. She put everything in order in the house and in the garden, and her husband helped her feed the cattle locked in the barn. Now he was not angry with her.
The next day, the husband, as before, went to work in the field, and the wife began to do housework. From that day on, they began to help each other in their work and thus lived their lives in mutual love and harmony.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru