Once upon a time, there lived a miller who had fallen upon hard times. Though he had once been wealthy, his mill produced less and less with each passing year, until he could barely feed his family. One day, as he went to cut wood in the forest behind his mill, he was approached by a strange old man.

“Why do you labor so hard with your axe?” asked the stranger. “I can make you rich again, if only you promise to give me what stands behind your mill.”

The miller thought only of the old apple tree that grew there. “That I can surely promise,” he said eagerly.

The stranger smiled a cold smile. “In three years, I will come to claim what is mine,” he said, and disappeared into the forest.

When the miller returned home, his wife greeted him with astonishment. “Husband, where has this wealth come from? Our chests are suddenly filled with gold, and our storehouse with grain!”

The miller explained about his meeting in the forest, and his wife’s face grew pale. “Oh, you foolish man! That was no ordinary stranger, but the devil himself. And behind our mill, when you made your promise, stood not the apple tree, but our daughter, sweeping the yard!”

The miller’s heart grew heavy with dread, for he loved his daughter dearly. She was a beautiful and pious girl, who lived a pure and blameless life. When he told her what had happened, she said, “Father, I am your child, and you must do what you must. But promise me you will keep my hands clean, so that the devil cannot claim me fully.”

For three years, the miller’s daughter kept herself pure and clean, washing her hands many times each day and shedding tears over them. When the day came for the devil to appear, her hands were so clean that the devil could not approach her.

“Cut off her hands,” the devil commanded the miller, “or I shall take you instead.”

The poor miller was horrified. “How can I cut off my own child’s hands?”

“Father,” said the girl with quiet courage, “do as he asks. I am your daughter, and perhaps through my suffering, we both may be saved.”

Weeping bitterly, the miller did as the devil commanded. But when the devil came to take the girl away, she had washed the stumps of her arms with her tears, and they were still so pure that the devil could not claim her. In his rage, he departed, having lost his prize.

“At least I shall take care of you for the rest of your life,” the miller promised his daughter, but she declined.

“No, father. I must go out into the world and trust in God’s mercy,” she said, and had her arms bound with clean cloths.

As dawn broke, she set out on her journey. By evening, she reached the royal gardens, where pear trees laden with fruit grew. Though she was desperately hungry, she could not pick the fruit without hands. An angel appeared and helped her, bending a branch so she could eat a pear with her mouth.

The gardener saw this but, recognizing divine intervention, remained silent. The next day, the king visited his garden and noticed that a pear was missing. The gardener told him about the mysterious girl and the bent branch. That night, the king waited with the gardener and his priest, and when the angel appeared again to help the girl, they approached her.

“Who are you?” asked the king, moved by her beauty and her plight. “And how came you to lose your hands?”

The girl told her story, and the king was so touched that he said, “I shall take care of you all the days of my life.” He had silver hands made for her and took her to his palace, where they were soon married.

A year passed, and the king had to go to war in a distant land. Before leaving, he entrusted his wife, now heavily pregnant, to the care of his mother. “Write to me when our child is born,” he instructed.

In time, the queen gave birth to a healthy son. The king’s mother wrote to him with the joyful news, but on the way, the messenger stopped to rest. The devil, still angry at having lost the girl, replaced the letter with one saying that the queen had given birth to a monster.

When the king read this, he was shocked but wrote back, “Care for my wife and child until I return.” Again, the devil intercepted the letter and replaced it with an order to kill both the queen and her child.

The king’s mother was horrified when she received this false command. Instead of obeying it, she said to the young queen, “I cannot kill you. Take your child and flee into the world. Never return here.”

Tying her child to her back, the queen set out once more. After walking for many hours, she came to a great forest. Lost and afraid, she knelt to pray. The same angel who had helped her with the pear appeared and led her to a small cottage, where a sign read: “Here all may dwell freely.”

A snow-white maiden emerged from the cottage. “Welcome, Queen,” she said. “I am sent by heaven to care for you and your child.”

For seven years, the queen lived peacefully in the cottage, cared for by the maiden. Her son grew strong and handsome. Through God’s grace and her own piety, her hands began to grow back.

Meanwhile, the king had returned from war and discovered the deception. Heartbroken, he set out to find his wife and child, refusing to eat or drink properly for seven years.

God guided his path to the same forest cottage. The snow-white maiden welcomed him and invited him to rest. As he slept, she brought in his wife and son. When the boy saw the stranger, he grew angry. “Mother,” he said, “that is not my father. My father is in heaven.”

“Hush, dear child,” his mother said. “That is your earthly father, given to you by God.”

When the king awoke, the maiden told him, “You have a wife and son,” and brought them to him. The king saw the beautiful hands of his wife and asked, “How did your hands grow back?”

“God’s grace has restored what human cruelty took away,” she answered.

The snow-white maiden disappeared, her task complete, and the royal family returned to their kingdom, where they lived in happiness and peace for the rest of their days, their faith in God and in each other stronger than any devilish scheme.