Seth Smith was reckoned the laziest man in town． Sotired had the authorities become of contributing to his supportthat they decided¹ to consign² him to a living tomb． Accordinglyhe was prepared for burial． The hearse was an old ramshacklecountry wagon³．

As the strange cortege moved along some old residentasked，“Who is it？”

“Why，Seth Smith， who is too lazy to get anything to liveon， so we are going to bury him alive．”

“I'll give him a bushel of corn，” said one．“And I will，”said another．

Slowly raising his head， Seth asked：“Is the corn shelled，neighbor？”

“No，you must do that yourself．”

Gently replacing his head， he said：“ Drive on， boys，drive on．”

塞思·史密斯被公认为镇上头号懒人。长官们实在懒得 再供养他，便决定把他送进一个天然坟墓里去。于是他被准备着去埋葬，灵车是一辆摇摇晃晃的乡下旧马车。

正当这列奇怪的送葬队伍在行进时，一些老街坊问道：“这是谁啊？”

“唉，塞思·史密斯，他懒得没法活了，我们这就去把他活埋。”

“我来给他一蒲式耳谷子吧，”一个人说。“我也给，”另一个说。

塞思慢慢抬起头来问道：“谷子脱粒了吗，街坊？”

“没有，你得自己来。”

他缓缓把头放回原处说：“接着走吧，孩子们，接着走吧。”