Once upon a time, there was a widow who had two daughters. The elder daughter was so much like her mother in temper and face that anyone who looked upon one saw the other. They were both so disagreeable and so proud that no one could live with them. The younger daughter, who was the very picture of her father for courtesy and sweetness of temper, was also one of the most beautiful girls ever seen. The mother doted upon her elder daughter and had a terrible aversion to the younger one. She made the poor child eat in the kitchen, work from morning to night, and twice a day walk a great distance to the forest spring to fetch a large pitcher of water.
One day, as the younger daughter stood at the spring filling her pitcher, a poor old woman came to her and begged for a drink of water. "Of course, good mother," said the sweet girl. She rinsed the pitcher clean, filled it at the clearest part of the spring, and held it up to the old woman herself, so that she might drink with ease. When the old woman had finished drinking, she smiled and said, "You are so beautiful, so good, and so kind that I cannot help giving you a gift." For this was no ordinary old woman, but a fairy who had taken the form of a poor village woman to see how kind the girl truly was. "I give you this gift," said the fairy. "At every word you speak, there shall come out of your mouth either a flower or a jewel." The girl thanked her with wonder in her eyes, not quite believing what she had heard.
When the girl arrived home and told her mother about the old woman at the spring, two roses, two pearls, and two large diamonds fell from her lips as she spoke. "What do I see?" cried her mother in astonishment. "I believe that flowers and jewels are dropping from your mouth! How has this happened, child?" The poor girl told the whole story, and as she spoke, pearls and rubies and daisies tumbled from her lips and scattered upon the kitchen floor. "Well!" said the mother, staring at the treasure. "I must send my other daughter to the spring at once. Come here, Fanchon! Look at what falls from your sister's mouth when she speaks. Would you not like to have the very same gift? All you need do is go to the spring and give water to a poor old woman who will ask you for a drink." "What a fine idea!" said the elder daughter. "I shall certainly go."
The elder daughter set out, but she grumbled the whole way, for she thought it beneath her to carry a pitcher to a spring. She took the finest silver flask from the cupboard, meaning to show that she was a person of quality. No sooner had she reached the spring than a beautifully dressed lady stepped out from behind the trees and asked her for a drink of water. This was the very same fairy, but now she had taken the form of a princess to see what the elder daughter would do. "Do you think I have come all this way just to give you a drink?" snapped the elder daughter. "Fetch your own water. I have brought this silver flask for myself alone." "You are not very kind," said the fairy, quite calmly. "Since you are so rude and ungrateful, I give you this gift: at every word you speak, a snake or a toad shall fall from your mouth." The elder daughter did not believe a word of it and marched home in a terrible huff.
"Well, daughter?" cried the mother eagerly, the moment the elder daughter walked through the door. "Well, Mother!" answered the girl — and as she spoke, two vipers and two toads sprang from her mouth and wriggled upon the floor. "Oh heavens!" shrieked the mother, leaping upon a chair. "What is this? This is your sister's doing!" And she ran to find the younger daughter, meaning to beat her soundly. But the poor younger girl had already fled into the forest, afraid of her mother's fury. She wandered among the tall trees, weeping quietly, not knowing where to go or what would become of her.
As it happened, the king's son was riding home from a hunt through that very forest. He came upon the beautiful girl sitting beneath an old oak tree, tears upon her cheeks. "Why do you weep, dear maiden?" asked the prince. "My mother has turned me out of doors, sir," she answered — and as she spoke, five pearls and five roses tumbled from her lips into the soft grass. The prince was amazed. He asked her to tell him the whole story, and as she did, a shower of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and fresh blossoms piled up around her feet. The prince fell deeply in love with her, for kindness is worth more than any dowry. He took her to his father's palace, where they were married with great joy. As for the elder sister, she became so hateful that even her own mother turned her away. She wandered from place to place, but no one would take her in. And to this very day, when people are rude without reason or kind without reward, folk in that land will say — "Remember the fairies at the well."
