31. How many days did the gardener work?

- I want to give you a task, - said the Griffin. - Usually it is solved using algebra, but if you use my method, you will do wonderfully without it!

Once the King hired one of the spade suit gardeners for twenty-six days to do some work in the garden. The King set the condition that the gardener would receive three gingerbread cookies for each day he worked diligently, and if he slacked off, he would not only receive nothing but would also owe one gingerbread cookie.

- And what if the gardener turns out to be a lazybones and slacks off so many days that by the end of twenty-six days, he would owe several gingerbread cookies? - asked Alice. - What then?
- Then his head will certainly be cut off.
- I seem to recall someone telling me about executions that "they never had such a thing" *.
- Of course, his head will remain intact, the Griffin grinned. - All these executions are pure fiction, but everyone is happy.

But let's get back to our problem. When the gardener finished his work, it turned out that the King owed him sixty-two gingerbread cookies.

How many days did the gardener work diligently and how many did he slack off?

- You are clearly fond of gingerbread! - said Alice, looking intently at the Griffin.
- If you are hinting at the trial, miss, - objected the Griffin, - then I repeat, I never stole any gingerbread. They all made it up, that I stole gingerbread!
- I don't understand how you managed to avoid imprisonment, - remarked Alice.
- After the trial, I managed to have a private conversation with the King, - explained the Griffin.

Such an explanation did not fully satisfy Alice.

- I think it's time to change the subject, suggested the Griffin. - We've talked enough about gingerbread. By the way, I know a good problem about the royal clocks.
31. How many days did the gardener work? Working diligently, the gardener can earn a maximum of $3 \cdot 26=78$ pretzels. He earned only 62 pretzels. Therefore, he did not receive 16 pretzels because he was slacking off. Each day the gardener slacked off, he lost 4 pretzels (the difference between the 3 pretzels he could have earned for diligent work and the 1 pretzel that is deducted for idleness). Therefore, the gardener slacked off for 4 days and worked diligently for 22 days.

Verification. For 22 days of diligent work, the gardener earned 66 pretzels. For 4 days of slacking off, the gardener returned 4 pretzels.

Thus, he received a total of 62 pretzels.