Mother Holle (Grimm)
Short summary
A widow favored her ugly, lazy daughter over her pretty, industrious stepdaughter. The stepdaughter had to work constantly, spinning by a well until her fingers bled.
When her bloody shuttle fell into the well, she jumped in after it and found herself in a magical meadow. She helped bread crying to be removed from an oven and shook ripe apples from a tree. She then met an old woman with large teeth who offered her work.
The stepdaughter served Mother Holle well, shaking her bed so feathers flew like snow. When homesick, she asked to leave.
The door was opened, and just as the maiden was standing beneath the doorway, a heavy shower of golden rain fell, and all the gold remained sticking to her.
The lazy daughter tried to copy her success but refused to help the bread or apples and worked poorly for Mother Holle. She received pitch instead of gold, which stuck to her for life.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The stepdaughters hardships and fall into the well
A widow lived with her two daughters, treating them very differently. One daughter was pretty and industrious, while the other was ugly and idle. However, the widow favored the ugly and lazy daughter because she was her biological child, while the hardworking girl was merely a stepdaughter who was forced to do all the household work like Cinderella.
Every day the poor girl had to sit by a well, in the highway, and spin and spin till her fingers bled.
One day, the shuttle became stained with her blood, so she dipped it in the well to wash it clean. Unfortunately, the shuttle slipped from her hands and fell to the bottom. When she tearfully told her stepmother about the accident, the cruel woman showed no mercy.
The magical realm and faithful service to Mother Holle
Since you have let the shuttle fall in, you must fetch it out again.
Desperate and not knowing what else to do, the girl returned to the well and jumped in to retrieve the shuttle. She lost consciousness during the fall, but when she awoke, she found herself in a beautiful meadow filled with sunshine and thousands of flowers. As she walked through this magical realm, she encountered talking bread in an oven that begged to be taken out before it burned.
The kind girl helped the bread, removing all the loaves with a bread-shovel. She continued on her path until she came to an apple tree whose ripe apples called out for her to shake them down.
Again, she willingly helped, shaking the tree until all the apples fell like rain and gathering them into a heap. Finally, she reached a small house where an old woman with large teeth appeared. Though initially frightened, the girl stayed when the woman spoke kindly to her.
Only you must take care to make my bed well, and shake it thoroughly till the feathers fly—for then there is snow on the earth. I am Mother Holle.
The girl agreed to serve Mother Holle and worked diligently, always shaking the bed so vigorously that feathers flew about like snowflakes. She lived pleasantly there, never hearing an angry word and enjoying good food every day. However, after some time, homesickness overcame her despite her comfortable life.
Golden reward and joyful homecoming
When the girl expressed her longing to return home, Mother Holle was pleased with her honesty and faithful service. She led the girl to a large door, and as the maiden stood beneath the doorway, a heavy shower of golden rain fell upon her, covering her completely with gold. Mother Holle explained that this was her reward for being so industrious and returned the shuttle that had originally fallen into the well.
The door closed, and the girl found herself back on earth near her mother's house. As she entered the yard, a cock standing by the well announced her return, crowing about the golden girl's homecoming.
Both her mother and sister welcomed her warmly when they saw her covered in gold. After hearing how the girl had acquired such wealth, the mother became eager to obtain the same fortune for her lazy biological daughter.
The lazy daughters failed attempt and punishment
The mother instructed her lazy daughter to sit by the well and spin. To stain her shuttle with blood, the girl deliberately pricked her finger on a thorn bush, then threw the shuttle into the well and jumped in after it. Like her stepsister, she found herself in the beautiful meadow and walked the same path.
However, when the bread begged to be taken out, she refused, saying she had no wish to make herself dirty. Similarly, when the apple tree asked to be shaken, she declined, fearing an apple might fall on her head. She reached Mother Holle's house without fear, having already heard about the old woman's large teeth, and immediately hired herself out.
Initially, she forced herself to work diligently, thinking of the gold she would receive. But on the second day she became lazy, and by the third day she refused to get up at all. She neglected to make Mother Holle's bed properly or shake it to make the feathers fly. Mother Holle soon grew tired of this behavior and dismissed her. When the lazy girl stood beneath the great door expecting golden rain, instead a big kettleful of pitch was emptied over her. The pitch stuck fast to her and could never be removed, marking her laziness forever.