Twelve servants who had done nothing all the day would not exert themselves
at night either, but laid themselves on the grass and boasted of their idleness.
The first said, "What is your laziness to me, I have to concern myself about
mine own?  The care of my body is my principal work, I eat not a little and
drink still more.  When I have had four meals, I fast a short time until I feel
hunger again, and that suits me best.  To rise betimes is not for me; when it
is getting near mid-day, I already seek out a resting-place for myself.  If the
master call, I do exactly as if I had not heard him, and if he call for the second
time, I wait awhile before I get up, and go to him very slowly.  In this way life
is endurable."

The second said, "I have a horse to look after, but I leave the bit in his mouth,
and if I do not want to do it, I give him no food, and I say he has had it already.
I, however, lay myself in the oat-chest and sleep for four hours.  After this I
stretch out one foot and move it a couple of times over the horse's body, and
then he is combed and cleaned.  Who is going to make a great business of that?
Nevertheless service is too toilsome for me."

The third said, "Why plague oneself with work?  Nothing comes of it!  I laid
myself in the sun, and fell asleep.  It began to rain a little, but why should I
get up?  I let it rain on in God's name.  At last came a splashing shower, so
heavy indeed, that it pulled the hair out of my head and washed it away, and
I got a hole in the skull; I put a plaster on it, and then it was all right.  I have
already had several injuries of that kind."

The fourth said, "If I am to undertake a piece of work, I first loiter about for an
hour that I may save up my strength.  After that I begin quite slowly, and ask if
no one is there who could help me.  Then I let him do the chief of the work, and
in reality only look on; but that also is still too much for me."

The fifth said, "What does that matter?  Just think, I am to take away the manure
from the horse's stable, and load the cart with it.  I let it go on slowly, and if I have
taken anything on the fork, I only half-raise it up, and then I rest just a quarter of
an hour until I quite throw it in.  It is enough and to spare if I take out a cartful in
the day.  I have no fancy for killing myself with work."

The sixth said, "Shame on ye; I am afraid of no work, but I lie down for three
weeks, and never once take my clothes off.  What is the use of buckling your
shoes on?  For aught I care they may fall off my feet, it is no matter.  If I am
going up some steps, I drag one foot slowly after the other on to the first step,
and then I count the rest of them that I may know where I must rest.

The seventh said, "That will not do with me; my master looks after my work,
only he is not at home the whole day.  But I neglect nothing, I run as fast as
it is possible to do when one crawls.  If I am to get on, four sturdy men must
push me with all their might.  I came where six men were lying sleeping on a
bed besid

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