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I often heard this fable from old people.

 It tells of a pretty young girl who lived with her parents in a village. She possessed all the merits one could think of: she had a cheerful disposition, was always polite and respectful to elders. Her parents had a great helper in her because she did the chores quickly and properly without waiting to be reminded. After a day’s work she went to the usual gatherings of the local youth and was as fresh as a daisy and first in singing and dancing.

Angels in the sky looked at her lovingly. One of the angels asked the God:”Tell us, Almighty, who will be the husband for this worthy maiden?” The God looked down and said :”Do you see there in the garden a lad sleeping under a tree? He is meant for that girl.”

The angel looked down and shuddered. There in the shadow, with his mouth open and saliva dropping, the laziest man from that village was sleeping in the middle of the day while his fellow villagers were all busy working in their fields. Flies were buzzing around him attracted by the smell of alcohol from his breath. His old parents were working in the field, this time they failed again to make him go to work.

The angel cried:” Oh, my God! Why such injustice? Doesn’t she deserve a better match?” The God replied:” The balance between good and bad should be kept, so it has to be this way.”

It was that story that people kept in mind when they looked at Olga and Valery. It was hard to think of any other explanation to what had brought these two young people together except the trivial “Love is blind”.

Olga was the youngest daughter of the manager of the biggest shop in the neighbourhood. She was a quiet, well-bred girl, slim and beautiful. A typical girl from a good family, you’d say.

Though Valery’s family wasn’t poor, they weren’t respected for they all were ill-tempered. He wasn’t a popular guy despite his good looks because he was quarrelsome, his talk was empty babbling mixed with swearing.

Nobody knew  how they got attracted to each other but the fact remained: they were in love. They were an exemplary couple- walking along the streets with absent looks and noticing none but each other. Holding  each other’s hands was the only thing that they allowed themselves. Indeed, Olga was a credit to her parents. Valery seemed to become more quiet and his manners changed for the better. Maybe seeing this and being indulgent parents that could refuse nothing to their daughter made Olga’s parents agree to their getting married.

The wedding was a grand one according to the village standards. All relatives from far and near came, and each neighbor and numerous villagers were invited. There is a Russian superstition that it is lucky to break a dish or a glass at an event, so at wedding people often throw down their glasses to bring more luck for the newly-weds. Well, at this wedding the guests broke dozens of costly crystal wine glasses in their wish to ensure happiness for Olga and Valery. The wedding was really grand.

The more shocking was the next day’s news which quickly fled through the village. Olga, who had been the happy bride on the previous day, fled home to her parents at dawn to never come near Valery again.

Some two or three years later Olga married a man and had two kids by him. They didn't have a wedding party, just got a marriage certificate.

Valery  didn't get married. His father shot him one day after they had quarrelled over a light woman.He said in the court that he had no remorse after having committed it.