Lean Lisa (Brothers Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
Lisas industrious nature and ambitious cow-buying plan
Lean Lisa lived a life completely opposite to that of lazy Harry and fat Trina, who valued their peace above all else.
Her relentless work ethic drove her to clean obsessively, and she burdened her husband with enormous amounts of labor.
She scoured everything with ashes, from morning till evening, and burdened her husband, Long Laurence, with so much work that he had heavier weights to carry than an ass
Despite all their efforts, their hard work brought them nothing, and they remained poor. One night, as Lisa lay exhausted in bed, barely able to move from weariness, her mind remained active with ambitious schemes. She thrust her elbows into her husband's side and shared her elaborate plan for acquiring wealth. Lisa explained that if she could find one florin and receive another as a gift, she would borrow a third and ask her husband for a fourth.
if I were to find one florin and one was given to me, I would borrow another to put to them, and thou too shouldst give me another, and then...I would buy a young cow
With these four florins combined, she planned to purchase a young cow.
The husbands agreement and growing conflict over milk rights
Long Laurence found his wife's plan appealing and agreed to support her scheme. Though he admitted he did not know where he would obtain the florin she requested from him, he encouraged her to proceed if she could gather the necessary money. He expressed pleasure at the prospect of owning a cow, particularly hoping that it would have a calf so he could occasionally enjoy fresh milk to refresh himself. However, Lisa immediately rejected this notion, declaring firmly that the milk was not intended for him.
The milk is not for thee, we must let the calf suck that it may become big and fat, and we may be able to sell it well.
Long Laurence agreed with her reasoning but suggested they could still take a little milk without causing harm. This reasonable request infuriated Lisa, who responded with increasing hostility. She questioned his knowledge of cow management and declared that regardless of whether it caused harm or not, she would absolutely forbid it. Even if he were to stand on his head, she proclaimed, he would not receive a single drop of milk. Lisa accused him of being insatiable and complained bitterly about his desire to consume what she earned through such tremendous difficulty.
Dost thou think, because there is no satisfying thee, Long Laurence, that thou art to eat up what I earn with so much difficulty?
The argument escalated rapidly as tensions reached a breaking point between the exhausted couple over their imaginary cow's milk.
The violent argument and forced resolution
Long Laurence, finally losing patience with his wife's unreasonable behavior, threatened her with physical violence, warning that he would strike her mouth if she did not quiet down. This threat only enraged Lisa further, and she responded with furious indignation.
Wife, said the man, be quiet, or I will give thee a blow on thy mouth! What! cried she, thou threatenest me, thou glutton, thou rascal, thou lazy Harry!
Lisa began to grab at her husband's hair in her fury, but Long Laurence had reached his limit. He rose from the bed, seized both of his wife's withered arms in one powerful hand, and used his other hand to press her head down into the pillow. He held her firmly in this position, allowing her to continue scolding while restraining her physically, until she finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. The tale concluded with the narrator's admission of uncertainty about what happened the following morning - whether Lisa continued her quarreling upon waking or whether she actually went out to search for the florin she claimed she would find to begin her ambitious cow-purchasing scheme.