Once there was a widow who had two daughters. One girl was gentle and hardworking. She liked to help and tried her best. The other girl was often lazy and did not like to work. The mother cared most for the lazy girl and often gave the hard jobs to the kind sister. Each day the kind girl sat by a well near the road and spun thread on her spindle. She worked and worked until her hands were sore and tired. One day the spindle slipped from her fingers and fell into the deep well. The girl was very upset and did not know what to do. She went home and told her mother, who said, If you dropped it, you must go and fetch it.
So the girl went back to the well. She looked into the water and felt worried, but she also felt brave. She took a deep breath and jumped into the well. She did not feel afraid for long, because she soon landed softly in a bright green meadow. The sun was shining, and colorful flowers were all around her. The girl stood up and walked along a little path. After a while she came to a bake oven full of warm bread. The bread called out, Take me out, take me out, or I will get too hard. I am baked enough already. The girl took the baker's long wooden peel and gently lifted out each loaf, setting them in a neat row so they could cool. Then she went on.
Soon she came to an apple tree full of round, red apples. The tree called, Shake me, shake me, my apples are all ripe. The girl laughed softly, shook the tree, and the apples fell like gentle rain. She picked them up and set them in a tidy pile under the tree. Then she walked on until she came to a little house. An old woman with kind eyes was looking out. She had large teeth, and at first the girl felt a little afraid, but the old woman smiled warmly and called, Do not be scared, my dear child. Come and stay with me. If you help me with the housework and do everything with care, it will go well with you. You must take special care of my bed.
You must shake it well each day so that the feathers fly. When the feathers fly, snow falls in the world. I am Mother Hulda. The girl felt safe with Mother Hulda and agreed to stay. She helped sweep the floors, cook simple, tasty meals, and make the bed fresh and soft. Each day she shook the bed with all her might so that the feathers flew about like snowflakes in the sky. Mother Hulda never spoke unkindly to her. The girl had warm food and a cozy bed and a gentle friend. Time passed, and the girl was happy, but at last she began to feel a little homesick. She thought about her home and her sister and wished to see them again, even though life there had been harder.
One day she said, Dear Mother Hulda, I am very grateful for everything, but I am starting to miss my home. May I go back? Mother Hulda smiled and said, It is good that you speak your true feelings. You have served me well and with a faithful heart. I will gladly send you home. She took the girl by the hand and led her to a large open gate. As the girl walked through, a soft shower of gold dust and golden coins fell all around her. It covered her dress and hair in a gentle, shining coat. Mother Hulda said, This is your reward because you are kind and hardworking. She also gave the girl back her spindle. Then the gate closed, and the girl found herself once more near the well by her mother's house.
As she walked into the yard, the rooster on the fence flapped his wings and crowed, Cock-a-doodle-doo, our golden girl has come home to you. The mother and the other sister saw the girl covered in gold and were very surprised. The kind girl told them all that had happened and how Mother Hulda had treated her. The mother wanted the lazy sister to have the same good luck. She sent her to sit by the well and spin. But the lazy girl did not like to work. She only wanted the reward. She let the spindle fall into the well on purpose and jumped in after it. Like her sister, she landed in the green meadow and walked along the path. She came to the bake oven, and the bread called, Take me out, take me out, or I will get too hard.
I am baked enough already. But the girl answered, I do not want to get my hands dirty, and walked on. Then she came to the apple tree, which called, Shake me, shake me, my apples are all ripe. The girl answered, One of you might fall on my head, and walked on without helping. At last she came to Mother Hulda's little house. She was not afraid, because she already knew about the old woman and her big teeth. She went in at once and asked to stay so she could help. The first day she tried to work, but she did not put her heart into it. The second day she became lazy again, and the third day she did not want to get up early or make the bed properly. She never shook it enough for the feathers to fly like snow.
Mother Hulda soon saw that the girl did not truly wish to help. After a while she said, You may go home now. The lazy girl was glad. She thought, Now my shower of gold will come. Mother Hulda led her to the same big gate. But as the girl stepped through, instead of gold there came a splash of thick, sticky mud that covered her dress and hair. Mother Hulda said gently, This is the reward for a lazy heart. Then the gate closed, and the girl found herself back by the well. As she walked into the yard, the rooster on the fence called out, Cock-a-doodle-doo, our muddy girl has come home to you. The muddy girl tried to wipe herself clean, but the stain did not come off quickly. Everyone could see how she had behaved.
