Mother Holle

Once upon a time, there was a widow who had two daughters. One was her own child, who was lazy and unpleasant. The other was her stepdaughter, who was kind, diligent, and beautiful. The widow favored her own daughter greatly and made her stepdaughter do all the hard work around the house.

Every day, the poor girl sat by the well in the garden, spinning until her fingers bled from the constant work. One day, as she was washing blood from her spinning wheel’s spindle in the well, it slipped from her hands and fell into the deep water.

Tearfully, she ran to her stepmother to confess what had happened.

“You careless girl!” scolded the stepmother harshly. “You dropped the spindle, so you must fetch it out again!”

The frightened girl returned to the well, not knowing what to do. In her desperation, she jumped into the well to retrieve the spindle.

As she fell, she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she found herself in a beautiful meadow filled with sunshine and thousands of colorful flowers. The well had been a gateway to another world.

Standing up, she began walking through the lovely meadow. Soon she came to an oven full of bread. The bread called out, “Oh, take me out! Take me out, or I shall burn! I’ve been baking far too long!”

Without hesitation, the kind girl took a bread paddle and removed all the loaves carefully from the oven, setting them aside to cool.

As she continued her journey, she came to an apple tree heavy with ripe apples. The tree called out, “Oh, shake me! Shake me! My apples are all quite ripe!”

The girl gently shook the tree, causing the apples to fall like rain. She neatly piled them up and continued on her way.

Finally, she came to a small cottage where an old woman with large teeth was looking out the window. The sight frightened the girl at first, but the old woman spoke kindly to her.

“Don’t be afraid, dear child. I am Mother Holle. Would you like to stay with me? If you keep my house well and shake my featherbed diligently so that the feathers fly, then snow will fall in the world above. For I am Mother Holle, who brings the snow to your world.”

“Yes, I would be happy to help you,” the girl replied politely.

So the girl entered Mother Holle’s service. She performed all her duties perfectly, always shaking the featherbed so vigorously that the feathers flew about like snowflakes. In return, Mother Holle treated her well, never spoke harshly to her, and fed her the most delicious meals.

But despite the comfort of her new life, after some time, the girl grew homesick. Although she was a thousand times better off with Mother Holle than at home, she still longed to return to her family.

“I wish to go home,” she finally told Mother Holle. “Even though I am very happy here, I cannot stay any longer. I must return to my own people.”

Mother Holle sighed. “I am pleased that you wish to return home. And because you have served me so faithfully, I shall take you back myself.”

She took the girl by the hand and led her to a large gate. As the gate opened, a shower of gold rained down upon the girl, covering her completely in gold.

“This is your reward for your hard work,” explained Mother Holle, handing her the lost spindle as well.

Then the gate closed, and the girl found herself back in the world, not far from her mother’s house. As she entered the courtyard, a rooster perched on the well called out:

“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Our golden girl has come home too!”

The stepmother and stepsister were astonished to see her covered in gold and to hear her story. The lazy daughter, envious of her stepsister’s good fortune, decided that she too would jump into the well to find Mother Holle and be showered with gold.

She deliberately pricked her finger on the spinning wheel and dropped the bloodied spindle into the well. Then she jumped in after it. Like her stepsister, she awoke in the beautiful meadow and followed the same path.

When she came to the bread oven, the bread called out, “Oh, take me out! Take me out, or I shall burn! I’ve been baking far too long!”

But the lazy girl replied, “As if I would soil my hands on you!” and walked on.

Soon she came to the apple tree, which called, “Oh, shake me! Shake me! My apples are all quite ripe!”

“No indeed!” she answered. “One might fall on my head.” And she continued on her way.

When she arrived at Mother Holle’s cottage, she was not afraid of the old woman’s large teeth, for she had already heard about them from her stepsister. She immediately agreed to serve Mother Holle, and on the first day, she worked diligently because of her greed for gold.

By the second day, however, she began to slack in her duties. By the third day, she didn’t even want to get out of bed. She neglected to shake Mother Holle’s featherbed properly, so no snow fell in the world above.

Mother Holle quickly tired of the lazy girl’s behavior and dismissed her from service. The lazy girl was delighted, thinking she would now receive the shower of gold.

Mother Holle led her to the gate, but as she stood beneath it, instead of gold, a large kettle of pitch was emptied over her.

“That is the reward for your service,” said Mother Holle, and closed the gate.

The lazy girl returned home, completely covered in black pitch. As she entered the courtyard, the rooster on the well called out:

“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Our pitch-black girl has come home too!”

The pitch clung to the lazy girl for as long as she lived, never washing away no matter how hard she tried to clean it off. It served as a constant reminder of her laziness and greed.

Meanwhile, her stepsister, rewarded for her kindness and diligence, lived a life of prosperity and happiness, her golden reward a testament to her good character.

And so it is in life: those who work hard and show kindness to others, even in difficult circumstances, are often rewarded in unexpected ways, while those who are lazy and selfish may find that their character flaws cling to them like pitch.