Mother Holle

There was once a widow who had two daughters. One of them was pretty and hardworking, while the other was ugly and lazy. But the widow was far fonder of the ugly, lazy one, because she was her own child, and so the other, who was only a stepdaughter, had to do all the work and be the drudge of the house. Every single day the poor girl had to sit by a well beside the great highway, and spin and spin until the blood sprang from her fingers.

Now it happened one day that the spindle grew all bloody, so she leaned over the well to wash it clean. But the spindle slipped from her hand and fell to the bottom. She began to cry, and ran to her stepmother, and told her what had happened. But her stepmother scolded her harshly and was so hard-hearted that she said, "Since you let the spindle fall in, you can just fetch it out again."

So the girl went back to the well, and did not know what to do. In the sorrow of her heart she leaped into the well to bring up the spindle. She lost her senses, and when she woke and came to herself again, she found herself in a lovely meadow, where the sun was shining and many thousands of flowers were growing. She walked on across this meadow until she came to an oven full of bread. The bread called out, "Oh, take me out! Take me out, or I shall burn—I have been baked long enough!" So she went to it and took out every loaf, one after another, with the bread-shovel. Then she walked on and came to a tree hung all over with apples, which called out to her, "Oh, shake me! Shake me—we apples are all ripe together!" So she shook the tree until the apples fell down like rain, and she went on shaking until not a single one was left above. Then she gathered them into a neat heap and went on her way.

At last she came to a little house, and out of it peeped an old woman. But she had such enormous teeth that the girl grew frightened and turned to run away.

The old woman called after her, "What are you afraid of, dear child? Stay with me. If you will do all the work in the house properly, it shall go well with you. Only you must take care to make my bed nicely, and shake it thoroughly until the feathers fly—for then it snows in the world. I am Mother Holle."

Because the old woman spoke so kindly, the girl took heart, agreed, and entered her service. She saw to everything to her mistress's satisfaction, and she always shook the bed so mightily that the feathers flew about like snowflakes. In return she had a fine life with Mother Holle, never a cross word, and boiled meat and roast meat every day.

She stayed some time with Mother Holle, but then she grew sad. At first she did not even know what was wrong with her, but at last she realized it was homesickness. Even though she was many thousand times better off here than at home, she still longed to be there. At last she said to the old woman, "I have such a longing for home, and though I am so well off down here, I cannot stay any longer. I must go back up to my own people." Mother Holle said, "It pleases me that you long for home again, and because you have served me so faithfully, I will bring you up again myself." Then she took her by the hand and led her to a great door. The door was opened, and just as the girl was standing beneath it, a mighty shower of gold came falling down, and all the gold clung to her, so that she was covered with it from head to foot.

"That is yours because you have been so hardworking," said Mother Holle, and at the same time she gave her back the spindle that had fallen into the well. Then the door closed, and the girl found herself up above on the earth, not far from her mother's house.

And as she came into the yard, the cock was sitting on the well and crowed—

"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Our golden girl's come home to you!"

So she went in to her mother, and because she arrived all covered with gold, she was warmly welcomed, both by her and by her sister.

The girl told everything that had happened to her, and as soon as her mother heard how she had come by such great riches, she wanted to win the very same good fortune for the ugly, lazy daughter. The girl had to seat herself by the well and spin, and to make her spindle bloody, she pricked her finger and thrust her hand into a thorn hedge. Then she threw the spindle into the well and jumped in after it.

Like the other, she came to the beautiful meadow and walked along the very same path. When she reached the oven, the bread cried out again, "Oh, take me out! Take me out, or I shall burn—I have been baked long enough!" But the lazy girl answered, "As if I'd want to get myself dirty!" and she went on. Soon she came to the apple tree, which cried, "Oh, shake me! Shake me—we apples are all ripe together!" But she answered, "A fine idea—one of you might fall on my head!" and she walked on.

When she came to Mother Holle's house, she was not afraid, for she had already heard about the big teeth, and she hired herself out at once. The first day she forced herself to work hard and did whatever Mother Holle told her, for she was thinking of all the gold she would be given. But on the second day she began to be lazy, and on the third day lazier still, and she would not even get up in the morning. She did not make Mother Holle's bed as she should, and did not shake it to make the feathers fly. Mother Holle soon grew tired of this and dismissed her from service. The lazy girl was glad enough to go, thinking that now the shower of gold would come. Mother Holle led her to the great door as well, but as she stood beneath it, instead of gold a great kettleful of pitch was poured over her. "That is the reward for your service," said Mother Holle, and she shut the door.

So the lazy girl went home, but she was covered all over with pitch, and the cock on the well, as soon as he saw her, crowed out—

"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Our filthy girl's come home to you!"

And the pitch stuck fast to her, and would not come off as long as she lived.

That is why, in Hesse, when it snows, people say that Mother Holle is making her bed.