Once upon a time, there was a man named Harry, whom everyone called “Lazy Harry.” He wasn’t sick, nor was he weak—he just really didn’t like to move.
His job was simple: every day, he’d drive two sheep up the hillside to graze, then bring them back in the evening. That was all there was to it, yet he sighed and groaned every single day.
“This job is exhausting!” he’d declare, flopping into his chair as soon as he got home. “Shepherding year-round is so boring! Autumn’s bearable—at least I get a few days off. If only I could just lie around sleeping all day!”
But he knew he couldn’t actually lie down. Because the sheep would wander off—
They might nibble on saplings,
or slip through the fence into someone else’s garden,
or even get lost.
So he had to keep watch, never taking a proper nap.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got. He sat down on the ground, staring blankly, his mind racing: “Is there any way I could never have to tend these sheep again?”
He pondered for a long time, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he slapped his thigh: “Got it!”
He came up with a “brilliant idea”: marry a wife to do the work
Harry sat bolt upright: “Right! Doesn’t that plump woman, Terina, in the village have a sheep too? She goes out to tend it every day without ever slacking off.”
He continued his train of thought: “If I marry her, she’ll have to help me tend the sheep, right? Sheep together won’t be much extra work for her. That way, I won’t have to leave the house—I can just lie around all day!”
The more he thought about it, the happier he became, convinced this was a brilliant idea.
The next day, he rose slowly, dragging his feet all the way to Terina’s house.
He addressed her parents directly: “I wish to marry your daughter and make her my wife.”
Terina’s parents exchanged glances. They thought: “These two are a perfect match—one lazy as sin, the other too fat to move. They’ll suit each other just fine.”
Without asking many questions, they agreed.
And so, the plump Trina married Harry.
After the wedding, she had to tend four sheep
Life changed after the wedding.
Trina used to only tend her own sheep, but now? She had to take Harry’s two sheep out too. Herding all four together was quite tiring by the end of the day.
But Harry? He never had to leave the house again. He spent his days lying around, basking in the sun, napping, eating—doing absolutely nothing.
Sometimes he’d tag along to herd the sheep, but he’d say, “I just go occasionally to stretch my legs. Otherwise, lying around all day makes you stiff.”
Truthfully, he was there to supervise Terina, afraid she’d slack off.
Another “Brilliant Idea”: Trading Sheep for Bees
One day, Terina grew weary too. She said to Harry, “What’s the point of herding sheep day after day? It’s exhausting! And every morning, those sheep bleat nonstop—it’s keeping us from sleeping.”
Harry nodded. “Yeah, it’s unbearably noisy.”
Terina suggested, “Why don’t we give the sheep to our neighbor and trade for a hive of bees?”
Harry asked, “Bees? Can you eat those?”
Terina explained, “You can’t eat them directly, but bees collect nectar from flowers and turn it into honey. We just need to place the hive in a sunny spot behind the house. No need to chase them out or watch over them—they’ll fly around on their own.”“
Harry thought this was a brilliant idea: ”Right! Honey lasts forever and tastes way better than sheep’s milk!“
They immediately went to the neighbor and traded two sheep for a hive of bees.
The neighbor was overjoyed—sheep could be sheared for wool and sold for meat, making them far more practical for him. He never imagined the couple just wanted ”less work.”
The Bees Worked While They Reaped the Rewards
After moving into their new home, the bees flew out daily to gather nectar, busily at work. They needed no supervision or feeding.
By autumn, the hive was filled with golden honey.
Harry opened the hive, took out a large jar, poured all the honey inside, and placed it on the shelf beside their bedroom bed.
Terrena said, “We need to guard against mice and thieves. What if they steal it?”
So she fetched a thick hazel branch and placed it beside the bed, declaring, “If I hear any noise at night, I can grab it with one hand and whack any mice away!”
Now they felt even more at ease—they didn’t even need to worry about thieves.
Sleeping till noon is the good life
Harry had a saying: “Rising early hurts your health.” So every day he slept until the sun was high in the sky.
One day, with the sun already high overhead, he was still lying in bed.
He looked at Terina and said, “You always crave sweets. I’m afraid you’ll sneakily eat all the honey by yourself. Why don’t we trade the honey for a mother goose? She’ll lay eggs, and the goslings will be good to eat when they grow up.”
Terina disagreed: “Trade for a goose? Who’s going to tend it? We don’t have children. Are you going to tend the goose? That’s such a hassle!”
Harry retorted, “Kids? Kids these days don’t listen. Tell him to tend the cattle, he goes off chasing birds; tell him to come home, he’s still playing in the mud.”
At this, Terina’s temper flared. “Who dares act like that? If my child ever misbehaved like that, I’d beat him soundly with a stick!”
As she spoke, she grabbed the hazelwood rod by the bed meant for scaring off mice, swung it, and shouted, “This hard!”
But she was too excited and swung wide—thud!—hitting the honey jar on the shelf!
The jar flew off the shelf, smashed against the wall, and shattered with a crash.
Golden honey spilled everywhere, coating the floor in a sticky, sweet mess.
The Honey’s Gone, Yet They Say “This is Good News”
Harry stared at the honey-covered floor, paused for a few seconds, then laughed. “Well, this is just great!”
Terrina asked, “Good? All the honey’s gone!”
Harry said, “Don’t you get it? Now we don’t have to worry about the honey getting stolen, or getting up in the middle of the night to chase rats. Look, doesn’t the honey on the floor look like a flock of little geese walking around? The ‘mother geese’ have arrived, and we didn’t even have to release them!”
Terina laughed too. “You’re right! And thank goodness that jar didn’t hit you on the head—that would’ve been terrible. Now we can finally sleep soundly.”
She crouched down, dipped her finger in the honey on the floor, and tasted it. “Mmm, so sweet! We can savor what’s left.”
Harry lay comfortably by the bedside: “What does it matter if we rose late? The day is long enough for us to live through.”
Terrina Told a “Snail Story”
After finishing the honey, Terrina continued: “You know, there was once a snail invited to a wedding.”
Harry asked: “And then?”
She said, “The snail crawled along slowly. By the time it finally arrived, the baby had already been born, and they were about to hold the full-moon banquet!”
Harry laughed, “It must have been scolded.”
Terina shook her head, “No. Just as it reached the door, it accidentally fell off the fence and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m here now, aren’t I?You can’t rush things or you’ll make mistakes.’“
When she finished, they both burst out laughing.
To them, the snail wasn’t slow—it was ”wise.“
The Truth Behind the Story
This story seems comical, depicting how a lazy couple gradually ”escaped work.”
But it actually reveals a very real issue:
Some people aren’t truly tired—they simply refuse to take responsibility.
Harry’s initial task was simple—shepherding two sheep.
But he couldn’t be bothered and sought someone to replace him.
So he married Terina.
Yet Terina also shirked extra labor, so they traded sheep for bees—because bees “work themselves.”
Later, they didn’t even want to manage the honey. When a jar shattered from a single blow, they declared, “Now that’s easier!”
They weren’t poor or incapable; they simply made “doing less” their life goal.
They justified everything with ‘laziness’:
- Sleeping late because “the days are long”;
- Doing nothing because “they feared exhaustion”;
- Failure? “I never wanted it anyway.”
Finally, they even comforted themselves with “the snail’s tale”:
Slow isn’t the problem—others are too impatient.
This mirrors some people in real life:
They refuse work, saying “I need rest”;
They miss chances, claiming “I’m not in a hurry”;
When things go wrong, they shrug, “I never expected anything anyway.”
What lesson does this story teach us?
1. Wanting to do less work may lead to greater exhaustion
Harry thought marrying a wife would bring relief, but she too grew weary, and he never found true ease.
They traded for bees, believing it would simplify things, only to face new troubles like guarding against mice and thieves.
Finally, when the honey spilled, they felt “at peace.”
This shows:
Problems don’t vanish when you avoid them—they just return in different forms.
2. True ease comes from doing things well, not from doing nothing
Some think “lying down is happiness,” but true happiness is:
Finishing tasks, then resting peacefully.
Like bees—they work hard and produce honey;
Harry and Terina did little and left nothing behind.
Productive busyness is more worthwhile than idle leisure.
3. Don’t use “slowness” to mask “hesitation”
The snail says “Haste makes waste,” which sounds wise.
But the truth is: it moves too slowly, missing the most crucial moments.
Life is the same:
Some say “I’ll think about it,” but really they’re afraid to decide;
Others say “I’m not in a hurry,” but truly they fear failure.
Slowness isn’t wisdom; procrastination is the problem.
4. A Happy Life Depends on Action, Not Fantasies
Harry spent all day thinking “How can I avoid work?” but never considered:
- How to get the sheep to have more lambs?
- How to sell the wool for profit?
- How to improve their lives?
He only thought “How to cut corners,” ending up poorer the more he cut, and more troubled the lazier he got.
Only action brings change.
5. Making excuses is easy; taking responsibility is hard
This couple always finds reasons when they mess up:
- Spilled honey? “Perfect excuse to ignore it!”
- Slept in? “The day’s still young!”
- No kids? “Kids these days are unruly!”
They never admit: “We’re just too lazy.”
Yet in life, only by acknowledging “I should get started” can you truly begin.
Final thought:
You can rest, but don’t spend your whole life waiting to begin. True freedom isn’t doing nothing— it’s completing what needs to be done, then lying down with peace of mind to say: “Today, I deserve this rest.”
