懶漢海利
Harry was so lazy that although he had nothing else to do but drive his goat out to graze every day, he still heaved many a sigh when he got back home in the evening after completing his day's labors. "What a weary job it is," he would say, "what a terrible burden, year after year, driving that goat out into the fields every day till Michaelmas! If I could even lie down and take a nap while she feeds! But no, I've got to keep my eyes open or she'll damage the young trees, or squeeze through a hedge into someone's garden, or even run away altogether. What sort of a life is that? No peace of mind, no relaxation. " He sat down and collected his thoughts and tried to work out some way of getting this burden off his back. For a long time all his ponderings were in vain, then suddenly the scales seemed to fall from his eyes. "I know what I'll do!" he exclaimed. "I'll marry Fat Katie; she's got a goat as well, so she can take mine out with hers and I won't have to go on wearing myself to a shadow like this."
So Harry got up, set his weary limbs in motion and walked right across the street, for it was no further than that to where Fat Katie's parents lived; and there he asked for the hand of their hard-working, virtuous daughter. Her parents didn't stop to think twice, "Like to like makes a good match," they remarked, and gave their consent. So now Fat Katie became Harry's wife and drove both the goats out to graze. Harry spent his days very pleasantly, with nothing more strenuous to recover from than his own idleness. He only went out with her now and then, saying, "I'm just doing this so that I'll enjoy my bit of a rest afterwards all the more; you lose all your appreciation of it otherwise."
But Fat Katie was no less idle than Harry. "Harry dear," she said one day, "Why should we needlessly make our lives a misery like this and spoil the best years of our youth? Those two goats wake us out of our best morning sleep anyway with their bleating: wouldn't it be better to give them both to our neighbor and get a beehive from him in exchange? We'll put up the beehive in a sunny place behind the house and just leave it to look after itself. Bees don't need to be minded and taken out to graze: they'll fly out and find their own way home and make honey, without our having to raise a finger." "You're a very sensible girl," answered Harry, "and we'll do as you suggest right away. What's more, honey's tastier than goat's milk and it does you more good and you can store it for longer."
The neighbor willingly gave them a beehive in exchange for their two goats. The bees flew in and out tirelessly from early in the morning till late in the evening and filled the hive with the finest honey, so that in the autumn Harry was able to collect a whole jar of it.
They stood the jar on a shelf that was fixed to the wall above their bed; and fearing that someone might steal it or the mice mighty get at it, Katie fetched in a sturdy hazel rod and put it at the bedside, so that she wouldn't have to bestir herself unnecessarily but just reach for it and drive away any unwelcome visitors without having to get up.
Lazy Harry didn't like to rise before midday: "Too soon out of bed and you'll soon be dead," he would remark. So there he was one morning, still lolling among the feathers in broad daylight, having a good rest after his long sleep, and he said to his wife: "Women have a sweet tooth, and you've been at that honey again; I think our best plan, before it all gets eaten up by you, would be to give it in exchange for a goose and a young gander." "But not till we have a child to mind them!" replied Fat Katie. "You don't suppose I'd want to be bothered with young goslings, needlessly wearing out my strength?" "And do you suppose," said Harry, "that the boy will look after geese? Nowadays children don't do what they're told any more, they do just as they please, because they think they're cleverer than their parents, just like that farmhand who was sent to fetch a cow and started chasing three blackbirds." "Well then," answered Katie, "this one had better look out if he doesn't do as I tell him. I'll take a stick to him and give his hide a real good tanning. Watch me, Harry!" she exclaimed in her excitement, seizing the stick she kept to drive away the mice, "watch me beat the backside off him!" She lifted the stick, but unfortunately struck the honey jar above the bed. The jar was knocked against the wall and fell to smithereens, and all that fine honey went trickling over the floor. "Well, so much for the goose and the young gander," said Harry, "we shan't have to mind them now. But it's a bit of luck that the jar didn't fall on my head; we've every cause to be content with our lot." And seeing that some honey was still left in one of the fragments, he reached out and picked it up and said cheerfully: "Wife, let's enjoy the little that's left over here, and then take a bit of a rest after the fright we've had. What does it matter if we get up a little later than usual, the day's still long enough." "Oh yes," answered Katie, "better late than never. You know the one about the snail that was invited to the wedding? It set out and got there in time for the christening. And just outside the house it fell from the top of a fence, and said to itself: 'More haste, less speed.'"
懶漢海利
海利是個懶漢。他除了每天趕著山羊去吃草外，什么事都不干。就這樣，到了傍晚，干完了一天的活計，回家，還總是唉聲嘆氣，說：“這真是累人的活。多么沉重的負擔啊.一年又一年，直到米迦勒節都得趕著山羊到野外去。要是山羊吃草時，我能躺下睡個覺該多好啊！可是不行啊,我還得睜大眼睛看著，別讓山羊傷著小樹，別讓山羊鉆進樹籬笆到別人家的院子去，或者別逃跑了。這是什么生活啊？一刻也不能安靜，不能放松。”他坐下，沉思起來，想怎么才能擺脫著沉重的負擔呢。他絞盡腦汁想了好久，還是想不出好法子。突然，他好像恍然大悟似的，喊起來：“我知道該怎么辦了。我要娶胖子凱迪亞。她也有一只山羊，因此，她可以把我的山羊一起趕出去放。那么，我就用不著這么辛苦了。”
于是，海利起來，活動活動他懶散的身子，橫穿馬路走過去。胖子凱迪亞的爸媽住的地方離這兒并不太遠。他對他們說，他要娶勤苦善良的凱迪亞為妻子。胖子凱迪亞的爸爸沒有多想，說：“魚找魚，蝦找蝦。”他們答應了這一要求。這樣，胖子凱迪亞成了海利的妻子，趕著兩只山羊去放牧。海利每天過著快樂的生活，沒什么勞累，只是歇著他那把懶骨頭。有時，他也陪妻子出去放羊，他說：“這樣我才會感到在休息。要不就連休息的感覺都沒有。”
可是，凱迪亞更加懶惰。一天，她說：“親愛的海利，我們為什么每天不必要地吃這么多苦呢？為什么把我們最好的青春時光白白浪費掉呢？為什么我們不把那每天早上咩咩叫，干擾我們呼呼大睡的兩只山羊，和鄰居換一箱蜜蜂來呢？我們要是把一箱蜜蜂放在房子后邊太陽下，那就用不著照看呀。蜜蜂用不著我們看著，更用不著我們到野外去放養。蜜蜂會自己飛出去，再自己飛回來，釀蜜，用不著我們費事。”海利回答說：“你是個聰明的女人。我們馬上按你的說法辦。再說蜂蜜比山羊奶更好吃，對身體有好處，也便于長期保存。”
鄰居高高興興地用一箱蜜蜂，換兩只山羊。蜜蜂，從早到晚，飛進飛出，勤勤懇懇。蜂箱里裝忙了最好的蜂蜜，因此，到了秋天，海利收獲到了一滿罐蜜蜂。
他們夫婦把這一罐蜂蜜放在臥室墻頭的隔板上。為了防止有人來偷，或老鼠來吃，凱迪亞弄了一根結結實實的榛木棒子，放在床頭。這樣，他們用不著起床就可以拿到棒子，能把那不請自到的“客人”趕跑了。
懶漢海利不到中午不愿起床。他說：“早起的人，將死得很早。”一天早晨，太陽已經升起很高很高，海利還賴在鵝毛被窩里。長時間的睡眠后，得到了充足的休息，他對妻子說：“女人愛吃甜的。你又去吃蜂蜜了。我看我們得在蜂蜜沒讓你吃光之前，用它換一只大鵝和一只小雛鵝。”“可是，得等我生了放鵝的孩子以后才能買。難道讓我為小鵝去傷神費力嗎？”凱迪亞說。海利說：“你以為男孩喜歡放鵝嗎？現在的孩子呀，都不聽話。他們總以為自己比爸爸媽媽要聰明，總要做自己喜歡做的事。像那個農場工人，他被派去找回母牛來，他卻去追趕那三只鳥了。”“不，他要是不聽我的話，他可要小心了。”凱迪亞回答說，“我要拿起手杖，狠狠地揍他。看著，海利，”她興奮地喊著，操起準備趕老鼠的那根木棒子，又說，“看我怎么把他的屁股打爛！”她揚起棒子，真糟糕，正碰著床上的蜂蜜罐子。罐子撞著墻，碎得稀里嘩啦往下掉，甜甜的蜂蜜淌在地板上，“好了，再也不要談論鵝的事了，”海利說，“我們根本不用放鵝了。幸運的是罐子沒落在我頭上，我們有理由說我們的運氣好。”海利看那破罐碎片上還有一些蜂蜜，伸手就去拿，高興地說：“喂，我們來享受這剩下的一點兒蜂蜜吧。可嚇了這么一大跳以后，該稍稍休息休息了。我們比平常晚一點起來，有什么？日子長著呢。”“是呀，”凱迪亞回答說，“遲做總比不做好。你知道，有回，蝸牛別邀請去參加婚禮的故事。蝸牛動身走了，到人家婚后生下的孩子行洗禮的時候才到。蝸牛從房前的籬笆上落下來，還自言自語地說：'欲速則不達。'”
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