There was once on a time a maiden¹ who was pretty, but idle（懒惰的） and negligent²（疏忽的）. When she had to spin she was so out of temper that if there was a little knot in the flax（亚麻）, she at once pulled out a whole heap of it, and strewed³ it about on the ground beside her. 

 

Now she had a servant who was industrious⁴（勤勉的）, and gathered together the bits of flax which were thrown away, cleaned them, span them fine, and had a beautiful gown made out of them for herself. A young man had wooed the lazy girl, and the wedding was to take place. On the eve of the wedding, the industrious one was dancing merrily about in her pretty dress, and the bride said,- 

 

"Ah, how that girl does jump about, dressed in my odds⁵ and ends." 

 

The bridegroom heard that, and asked the bride what she meant by it? Then she told him that the girl was wearing a dress make of the flax which she had thrown away. When the bridegroom heard that, and saw how idle she was, and how industrious the poor girl was, he gave her up and went to the other, and chose her as his wife.

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