A LAZY BRIDE

A lazy bride video

Lazy Bride

Bulgarian Folk Tale

Once upon a time there was a pretty girl growing up in a village. Her name was Bogdanka and she was her mother’s only lazy child.

 Bogdanka, grew up to be  a very nice young woman, but she had no skills for work.

Matchmakers soon began  to want Bogdanka for a daughter-in-law. Her mother told to all of them:

- Our Bogdanka is lazy. She doesn’t know how to work.

When the matchmakers heard that, they went away.

Then one day an old man came and said to her mother:

-I hear that you have a pretty girl. I think your daughter would make a good wife for my son.

Her mother told him the same thing:

-Our Bogdanka is very lazy. She never does any work...

-It does not matter, said the old man. At our home nobody is forced to work. If someone wants to work they work. If they do not want to work, they  sit.

After a week or two they were married...

The old man had three sons and two other daughters-in-law. The day after the wedding all of them set off  to work…except for  Bogdanka who wore pretty clothes and did nothing.

Soon it was time for lunch and they all gathered at the table. Bogdanka sat at the table as well.The other daughters-in-law served the meal and placed  the bread in front of the father-in-law.

-The food smells very good and the bread is still warm! he said .Then he took the loaf of bread, cut it  and gave everyone a slice except for Bogdanka.

-Husband, what about  our new bride? asked the mother-in-law.

-Oh, she is not hungry, replied the old man. When one does not work,one does not get hungry.

After lunch all of them started work again, except for the bride. She sat and did nothing.

Later, they all gathered for dinner.

The old man took the loaf of bread and did the same thing again.

-Husband, what about Bogdanka?  wondered the mother-in-law.

-She is not hungry, replied the old man. When one does not work, one does not get hungry.

They had dinner and discussed how they would divide up the work for the next day .Soon they went to sleep.

The bride also tried to sleep, but she was so hungry…

She couldn’t wait till dawn and she got up quietly, washed her face, swept the yard, milked the cows, nursed the piglets and calves.

When the others got up and  they saw what the bride had done,  they looked at each other and smiled.

At noon  the bride prepared the table and sat down with the others to have lunch at last.

The old man cut the loaf of bread, gave the bride a big slice and said:

- Bride, today you worked the most, so this piece of bread is for you!

  Two weeks passed and the bride worked with the family every day.

In the third week the bride’s parents came for a visit.

The family saw them from afar and went out to welcome them.

The bride rushed out of the house, opened the gate, met her parents first and whispered:

- Mum...Dad. Get out of the wagon quickly and start working. At this house, if one does not work, one does not eat!!