Once there was a girl, as there are many to-day, and she was a good
needle-worker, and could make a beautiful cloak in one day. And that
[there] girl loved a gentleman very much; but one day her sweetheart
was shut up in prison, and when she heard it she hastened and went to
the king, and begged him humbly to let her love go free. And the king
promised her if she would make him a fine cloak,—one every day for a
week, seven cloaks for seven days,—he would forgive him, and give him
leave to go free. The young lady hastened to do it, and for six days
she worked hard [lit. pulled away] cheerfully at it, and always in the
evening she sent a cloak to the king. But it came [happened] one day
that she was tired, and said [that] she did not wish to work because it
was rainy, and she could not dry or bleach the cloth [?] in the
sunlight. Then the king said that if she could not work seven days to
get her lover the gentleman must remain imprisoned, for she did not
love him as she should [did not let love enough on him]. And the maid
was so angry and vexed in her heart [or soul] that she died of grief,
and was changed into a spider. And to this day she spreads out her
threads when the sun shines, and the dew-drops which you see on them
are the tears which she has wept for her lover.
If you remain idle one summer day you may lose a whole week's work,
my dear. You say that you would like to hear more stories! All right. I
will tell you a nice story about lazy people. {317b} Remember all I
tell you, as I remembered it from my grandfather.