Once upon a time there was a guy in the world, and his name was Jack. He lived with his old mother in a vacant lot. An old woman spun yarn and sold it at the market. But you won't get rich from this. And Jack was a lazy person, like few of them. He did absolutely nothing, just bask in the sun in hot weather and sit near the fire in the winter.
That's why everyone nicknamed him: Lazy Jack.
Finally his mother got tired of it, and she told him:
“It’s time for you to earn your own living, otherwise I’ll throw you out onto the street, and then live as you please!”
And it happened on Monday. His mother's words seemed to resonate with Jack, and the next morning he went and hired himself out to a farmer for a penny a day. Worked for the day, got my penny and went home. But when crossing the stream, I lost the coin.
After all, he had never before held money in his hands.
- Oh, you stupid guy! - his mother told him. “You should have put the penny in your pocket.”
“I’ll do that another time,” Jack replied. On Wednesday Jack left and took a job with a shepherd. The shepherd gave Jack a jug of milk for his work. Jack put the jug in his pocket, but didn't get halfway there when the milk all spilled out.
- Oh God! - the mother gasped. - Yes, you should carry it on your head!
“I’ll do that another time,” Jack replied. And so on Thursday Jack again hired himself out to the farmer.
The farmer promised to give Jack cream cheese for his work. In the evening, Jack put the cheese on his head and set off on his way back. But again he didn’t bring anything home: the cheese spread and stuck to his hair.
- What a fool! - said the mother. “You should have carried it carefully in your hands.”
“I’ll do that another time,” Jack replied. On Friday, Jack hired himself to a baker, and he gave him a cat for his work. Jack took the cat and carefully carried him in his arms. But the cat began to scratch so much that he had to be released. And Jack returned home again with nothing.
- What kind of idiot are you! - the mother got angry. “You should have led the cat on a string.”
“I’ll do that another time,” Jack replied.
And so on Saturday Jack hired himself to the butcher. He generously rewarded him - he cut off a whole leg of lamb. Jack tied a string around the leg of lamb and dragged it behind him through the mud. You can imagine what kind of dinner this lamb would make!
This time the mother lost her temper. After all, on Sunday she had nothing for lunch except cabbage.
- Oh, you dumbass! - she told her son. “You had to carry her on your shoulder.”
“I’ll do that another time,” Jack replied. On Monday Jack left home again and went to work for a cattle dealer. He gave him a donkey for his work. It was difficult to lift the donkey onto his shoulders, but in the end Jack succeeded, and he slowly trudged with his reward to the house.
And just on his way stood the house of a rich man. This rich man had an only daughter, very pretty, but deaf and dumb, and besides, she couldn’t laugh. And the doctors said that she would not speak until someone made her laugh.
And it just had to happen that when Jack walked past with a donkey on his shoulders, the girl just looked out the window. She saw a big fool with a donkey on his shoulders and laughed. And as soon as she laughed, she immediately spoke and began to hear everything.
The rich man was so happy that he married his daughter to Jack, and Lazy Jack suddenly became rich. The young couple settled in a big house, and Jack’s mother went with them, and they all lived in complete contentment and happiness until the end of their days - so they say, but it’s hard to believe.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru