In a sunny little village, not too far from here, lived a girl named Lisa. Everyone called her Lean Lisa because, well, she wasn't very wide! She worked for a kind farmer, and so did a tall young man named Lenz. People called him Long Lenz because he was, you guessed it, very tall!

Lean Lisa and Long Lenz liked each other very much. "One day," said Lenz, "we shall get married, Lisa!"
"Oh, that would be lovely, Lenz!" said Lisa.

One bright morning, Long Lenz had to go to the fields to cut hay. Before he left, the farmer’s wife gave Lisa a big jug of cool, fizzy cider. "This is for Lenz when he comes back," she said. "He'll be very thirsty."

Lisa put the jug in the cellar to keep it cool. But as she started to prepare lunch, she thought, "Mmm, that cider must be very refreshing. I wonder what it tastes like?"
She tiptoed down to the cellar. "Just one tiny sip," she told herself, and poured a little into a cup. "Oh, that's good!"
She took another sip. "So bubbly!"
And another. "Just a little more won't hurt."
Before she knew it, sip by sip, the jug was empty! "Oh dear," Lisa giggled, feeling a bit wobbly. "All gone!"

The cider made her feel very sleepy. "I'll just rest my eyes for a moment before Lenz comes back," she thought, and curled up for a nap.

Soon, Long Lenz returned from the fields, hot and thirsty. "Lisa! I'm back! Where's my lunch and that nice cool cider?"
But the kitchen was empty. The fire was out. No food was ready.
He looked around and found Lisa fast asleep, snoring softly.
"Well!" huffed Lenz, feeling quite cross. "Sleeping instead of cooking! And where's my cider?" He saw the empty jug. "She drank it all herself!"
Lenz was so disappointed. He picked up his long scythe, the tool he used for cutting hay, and said, "I don't need a lazy wife like that!" And off he stomped, back towards the fields, planning to find work somewhere else.

A little later, Lisa woke up. "Oh my!" she cried, suddenly remembering everything. "The cider! Lenz's lunch!"
She ran to the window and saw Long Lenz far away, walking across the fields with his scythe over his shoulder.
"Lenz! Oh, Lenz!" she shouted as loudly as she could. "Wait for me! I'll cook for you now!"
But Lenz was too far away to hear her properly. He heard some shouting and looked back. He was still a bit grumpy. He waved his hand, as if to say, "Too late!" and kept walking.
Lisa saw him wave, and she saw the shiny scythe. Because she felt so guilty and muddled from the cider and her nap, she thought he was angry and waving the scythe at her!
"Oh no!" she whispered, her eyes wide with fright. "He's going to... to... use that scythe!"
She got such a scare that she turned and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her, in the opposite direction from Lenz. She ran and ran, over hills and through forests, and she never came back to that village again.

And so, because of a jug of cider and a big misunderstanding, Lean Lisa ran away, and Long Lenz never did get to marry her. What a pity!

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