Hungarian Folk Tales: The Lazy Boy
Once upon a time there was a penniless woman.
Her husband had died and all she had left was a lazy son.
Everyone called him Lazy Jack because he hated to work.
The whole year through he did not a bit of work,
simply crouched in the corner in the winter time and dawdled in the shade in the summer time.
One day the poor woman said to him:
Dear son of mine, bring me a can of water from the mighty river
so that I can wash your filthy shirts and trousers.
The lad merely shrugged his shoulders: I would gladly go if I weren't so very lazy.
But the poor woman continued to plead:
Come, my dear boy, if you go, fetch me some water so that I can wash.
What will the world say? That I dress you in a dirty shirt and dirty trousers!
And she kept pestering him until finally he grabbed a can and plodded along to the river.
He dipped the can into the water and was bringing it home.
Well, as it so happens a little fish in the can began to speak:
Listen boy! Set me free! Please, pour me back into the mighty river.
The boy replied: I would gladly pour you back but I am too lazy to go back to the river.
But the tiny fish beseeched him,
and finally the lazy boy turned back and poured the little fish back into the water.
Again the fish spoke: Thank you for your good deed but I would like to repay your kindness.
If ever there is anything you wish, simply say, fish, fish, little fish, come grant me my wish!
And no sooner had he spoken, then he disappeared into the waters of the river.
Lazy Jack took the water home,
and barely had he put down the can when he put his hand on his belly and exclaimed:
Mother, I'm hungry.
If you are hungry, son, go where you might find something to eat.
Suddenly Jack remembered the tiny fish and the promise it had made.
Fish, fish, little fish, come grant me my wish, wine, meat and bread a sumptuous dish.
Hardly had he uttered the words when the table was creaking beneath the weight of food.
Jack and his mother both ate their fill and were barely able to stand up from the bench.
The poor woman began to do the washing up and Jack lay down in a cool spot behind the house.
As he lay there the king's daughter came strolling along.
Ah, Lazy Jack, you have time to be lazy even when others are at work?
Lazy Jack got angry and retorted:
Fish, fish, little fish, come grant me my wish, make this girl meek and mild pregnant with child!
And miracle of miracles, wonder of wonders the princess indeed became pregnant.
Each day her belly grew a little bit bigger, and nine months later she gave birth to a baby boy.
The child was beautiful but in vain, the king was not pleased.
He besieged his daughter with questions, wanting desperately to know who the father was.
But she swore on heaven and earth that never had she once passed a night with any man.
But the boy must have a father! The earth yields no crop if nothing is sown!
Wise men and sages advised the King to gather all the men in the kingdom,
every last one, and make them stand in a line.
Then they told him to put an apple in the child's hand and wait to see which man he gave it to,
for that man must be the child's father.
Well, if it's that simple, I will order this to be done.
And all the men in the kingdom were ordered to assemble.
First came the soldiers, then the reservists, then all the other men.
In vain, in vain. The child didn't give the apple to anyone.
What could be wrong? – wondered the king. Could the wise men have been mistaken?
But the wise men insisted they were not mistaken,
but that the King had clearly failed to summon all the lads of the land.
Again the men were counted, and they realized that they had failed to summon Lazy Jack.
So the king sent his soldiers to fetch him that instant.
But it took half a day for him to come, for Lazy Jack had been asleep in the attic,
and waking him up proved quite a task.
But when they pushed him in through the door, the small child immediately gave him the apple.
And suddenly everything was clear! Lazy Jack was the father of the princess' little boy.
The king, of course, had hoped that the father would be a prince, or a great man
and was not at all pleased at how things had turned out.
You have brought shame upon my old head, and you should be punished!
So the King had his daughter, his grandson and Lazy Jack placed in a barrel and thrown into the river.
The water carried them downstream.
At first the princess sobbed and moaned but soon she realized that although he was lazy,
Jack was a good and honest lad.
She said to him:
Listen, Lazy Jack! This barrel is too small for the three of us.
I would like a palace the likes of which I am accustomed to.
Do something to get us out of this barrel!
I would gladly do something – said Lazy Jack. But I am simply too lazy.
But the princess continued to beseech him and soon Jack grew tired of listening.
Fish, fish, little fish, come grant me my wish, a palace tall with towering walls!
He had barely finished his thought
when the waters of the river suddenly threw the barrel to the banks, where it broke into pieces.
Then they found themselves before the gates of a beautiful palace.
Oh how beautiful! – said the princess. This must be our palace!
It was indeed their palace, thanks to the tiny fish and his magic.
They made it their home and lived together happily.
Lazy Jack slept so much that unless the princess had woken him up he might very well have grown roots.
And that's the end of my tale about Lazy Jack.