The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The godmothers death and the girls inheritance
A young girl lost both her parents while still a small child and went to live with her godmother in a tiny house at the village's edge. The elderly woman supported herself through spinning, weaving, and sewing, and she taught the orphaned child these same skills while raising her with love and care.
When the girl reached fifteen years of age, her godmother fell gravely ill. Calling the child to her bedside, the dying woman bequeathed her the small house and her three precious tools - a spindle, shuttle, and needle - with which she could earn her living. The godmother blessed her ward with final words:
Only preserve the love of God in thy heart, and all will go well with thee. Thereupon she closed her eyes, and when she was laid in the earth, the maiden followed the coffin
After the funeral, the maiden lived alone and worked diligently at her crafts. The godmother's blessing seemed to work magic - her flax multiplied mysteriously, and she always found eager buyers who paid her well for her cloth, carpets, and shirts.
The princes quest and first encounter
Around this time, the king's son traveled throughout the country searching for a bride. He had set himself an unusual requirement for his future wife:
She shall be my wife who is the poorest, and at the same time the richest. When he came to the village where the maiden dwelt, he inquired... who was the richest and also the poorest
The villagers directed him first to the richest girl, who sat in splendor before her house and curtsied deeply when he approached. The prince looked at her silently and rode on without a word. When he reached the poor maiden's house, she was not waiting outside but sitting at her spinning wheel in her small room. Through the bright window, he watched her work. She looked up, saw him watching, and blushed deeply before returning to her spinning. The prince eventually rode away, but the maiden opened her window and watched him until his white feathers disappeared from sight.
The magic of the spindle, shuttle, and needle
Returning to her work, the maiden remembered an old saying her godmother used to repeat and sang it aloud:
Spindle, my spindle, haste, haste thee away,
And here to my house bring the wooer, I pray. And what do you think happened? The spindle sprang out of her hand in an instant
The spindle danced merrily out the door and across the countryside, trailing a shining golden thread behind it. The maiden watched in amazement until it vanished from sight. Taking up her shuttle, she began to weave and sang:
Shuttle, my shuttle, weave well this day,
And guide the wooer to me, I pray. Immediately the shuttle sprang out... and began to weave a carpet which was more beautiful than the eyes
The shuttle wove a magnificent carpet before her threshold, decorated with lilies and roses on both sides, green branches in the center where hares, rabbits, stags, and deer appeared, and brightly colored birds perched above. Meanwhile, the spindle had reached the prince, who exclaimed that it wanted to show him the way and followed the golden thread back. Taking up her needle, the maiden sang a third verse:
Needle, my needle, sharp-pointed and fine,
Prepare for a wooer this house of mine. Then the needle leapt out... It was just as if invisible spirits were working
The needle flew about the room like lightning, covering tables and benches with green cloth, chairs with velvet, and hanging silken curtains at the windows. Just as the needle finished its work, the maiden saw the prince's white feathers through the window.
The princes return and the wedding
The prince alighted from his horse, stepped over the beautiful carpet, and entered the transformed house. There he found the maiden standing in her poor garments, yet she seemed to glow from within.
There stood the maiden in her poor garments, but she shone out from within them like a rose surrounded by leaves. Thou art the poorest and also the richest, said he to her
He asked her to be his bride, and though she did not speak, she gave him her hand. After kissing her, he lifted her onto his horse and took her to the royal castle where their wedding was celebrated with great joy. The magical spindle, shuttle, and needle were preserved in the royal treasure chamber and held in great honor forever after.