Mother Hulda last she came to a little house, and an old
woman was peeping out of it, but she had
A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm such great teeth that the girl was terrified
8.5/10 - 1033 votes
and about to run away, only the old
A widow had two daughters; one was woman called her back. "What are you
pretty and industrious, the other was ugly afraid of, my dear child? Come and live
and lazy. And as the ugly one was her with me, and if you do the house-work
own daughter, she loved her much the well and orderly, things shall go well with
best, and the pretty one was made to do you. You must take great pains to make
all the work, and be the drudge of the my bed well, and shake it up thoroughly,
house. Every day the poor girl had to sit so that the feathers fly about, and then in
by a well on the high road and spin until the world it snows, for I am Mother
her fingers bled. Now it happened once Hulda." As the old woman spoke so
that as the spindle was bloody, she kindly, the girl took courage, consented,
dipped it into the well to wash it; but it and went to her work. She did everything
slipped out of her hand and fell in. Then to the old woman's satisfaction, and
she began to cry, and ran to her step- shook the bed with such a will that the
mother, and told her of her misfortune; feathers flew about like snow-flakes: and
and her stepmother scolded her without so she led a good life, had never a cross
mercy, and said in her rage: "As you have word, but boiled and roast meat every
let the spindle fall in, you must go and day. When she had lived a long time with
fetch it out again!" Then the girl went back Mother Hulda, she began to feel sad, not
again to the well, not knowing what to do, knowing herself what ailed her; at last she
and in the despair of her heart she began to think she must be home-sick;
jumped down into the well the same way and although she was a thousand times
the spindle had gone. After that she knew better off than at home where she was,
nothing; and when she came to herself yet she had a great longing to go home.
she was in a beautiful meadow, and the At last she said to her mistress: "I am
sun was shining on the flowers that grew homesick, and although I am very well off
round her. And she walked on through the here, I cannot stay any longer; I must go
meadow until she came to a baker's oven back to my own home." Mother Hulda
that was full of bread; and the bread answered: "It pleases me well that you
called out to her: "Oh, take me out, take should wish to go home, and, as you have
me out, or I shall burn; I am baked served me faithfully, I will undertake to
enough already!" Then she drew near, send you there!" She took her by the hand
and with the baker's peel she took out all and led her to a large door standing open,
the loaves one after the other. And she and as she was passing through it there
went farther on till she came to a tree fell upon her a heavy shower of gold, and
weighed down with apples, and it called the gold hung all about her, so that she
out to her: "Oh, shake me, shake me, we was covered with it. "All this is yours,
apples are all of us ripe!" Then she shook because you have been so industrious,"
the tree until the apples fell like rain, and said Mother Hulda; and, besides that, she
she shook until there were no more to fall; returned to her her spindle, the very same
and when she had gathered them that she had dropped in the well. And then
together in a heap, she went on farther. At the door was shut again, and the girl
found herself back again in the world, not have been made, and did not shake it for
far from her mother's house; and as she the feathers to fly about. So that Mother
passed through the yard the cock stood Hulda soon grew tired of her, and gave
on the top of the well and cried: her warning, at which the lazy thing was
"Cock-a-doodle doo! well pleased, and thought that now the
Our golden girl has come home too!" shower of gold was coming; so Mother
Then she went in to her mother, and as Hulda led her to the door, and as she
she had returned covered with gold she stood in the doorway, instead of the
was well received. shower of gold a great kettle full of pitch
was emptied over her. "That is the reward
So the girl related all her history, and what for your service," said Mother Hulda, and
had happened to her, and when the shut the door. So the lazy girl came home
mother heard how she came to have such all covered with pitch, and the cock on the
great riches she began to wish that her top of the well seeing her, cried:
ugly and idle daughter might have the "Cock-a-doodle doo!
same good fortune. So she sent her to sit Our dirty girl has come home too!"
by the well and spin; and in order to make And the pitch remained sticking to her
her spindle bloody she put her hand into fast, and never, as long as she lived,
the thorn hedge. Then she threw the could it be got off.
spindle into the well, and jumped in
herself. She found herself, like her sister,
in the beautiful meadow, and followed the
same path, and when she came to the
baker's oven, the bread cried out: "Oh,
take me out, take me out, or I shall burn; I
am quite done already!" But the lazy-
bones answered: "I have no desire to
black my hands," and went on farther.
Soon she came to the apple-tree, who
called out: "Oh, shake me, shake me, we
apples are all of us ripe!" But she
answered: "That is all very fine; suppose
one of you should fall on my head," and
went on farther. When she came to
Mother Hulda's house she did not feel
afraid, as she knew beforehand of her
great teeth, and entered into her service
at once. The first day she put her hand
well to the work, and was industrious, and
did everything Mother Hulda bade her,
because of the gold she expected; but the
second day she began to be idle, and the
third day still more so, so that she would
not get up in the morning. Neither did she
make Mother Hulda's bed as it ought to
