And in the sorrow of her heart she jumped into the well to get the shuttle. She lost her senses. And when she awoke and came to herself again, she was in a lovely meadow where the sun was shining and many thousands of flowers were growing. Across this meadow she went, and at last came to a baker's oven full of bread, and the bread cried out, oh, take me out. Take me out. Or I shall burn. I have been baked a long time. So she went up to it, and took out all the loaves one after another with the bread-shovel.
After that she went on till she came to a tree covered with apples, which called out to her, oh, shake me. Shake me. We apples are all ripe. So she shook the tree till the apples fell like rain, and went on shaking till they were all down, and when she had gathered them into a heap, she went on her way.
At last she came to a little house, out of which an old woman peeped. But she had such large teeth that the girl was frightened, and was about to run away. But the old woman called out to her, what are you afraid of, dear child. Stay with me.
If you will do all the work in the house properly, you shall be the better for it. 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.
As the old woman spoke so kindly to her, the girl took courage and agreed to enter her service. She attended to everything to the satisfaction of her mistress, and always shook her bed so vigorously that the feathers flew about like snow-flakes. So she had a pleasant life with her. Never an angry word. And to eat she had boiled or roast meat every day.
She stayed some time with mother holle, before she became sad.
At first she did not know what was the matter with her, but found at length that it was home-sickness. Although she was many thousand times better off here than at home, still she had a longing to be there. At last she said to the old woman, I have a longing for home, and however well off I am down here, I cannot stay any longer. I must go up again to my own people. Mother holle said, I am pleased that you long for your home again, and as you have served me so truly, I myself will take you up again. Thereupon she took her by the hand, and led her to a large door. 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 clung to her, so that she was completely covered over with it.
You shall have that because you have been so industrious, said mother holle, and at the same time she gave her back the shuttle which she had let fall into the well. Thereupon the door closed, and the maiden found herself up above upon the earth, not far from her mother's house.
And as she went into the yard the cock was sitting on the well, and cried -cock-a-doodle-doo.
Your golden girl's come back to you.
So she went in to her mother, and as she arrived thus covered with gold, she was well received, both by her and her sister.
The girl told all that had happened to her, and as soon as the mother heard how she had come by so much wealth, she was very anxious to obtain the same good luck for the ugly and lazy daughter.
She had to seat herself by the well and spin. And in order that her shuttle might be stained with blood, she stuck her hand into a thorn bush and pricked her finger. Then she threw her shuttle into the well, and jumped in after it.
She came, like the other, to the beautiful meadow and walked along the very same path. When she got to the oven the bread again cried, oh, take me out. Take me out. Or I shall burn. I have been baked a long time. But the lazy thing answered, as if I had any wish to make myself dirty. And on she went. Soon she came to the apple-tree, which cried, oh, shake me. Shake me. We apples are all ripe. But she answered, I like that. One of you might fall on my head, and so went on. When she came to mother holle's house she was not afraid, for she had already heard of her big teeth, and she hired herself to her immediately.
The first day she forced herself to work diligently, and obeyed mother holle when she told her to do anything, for she was thinking of all the gold that she would give her. But on the second day she began to be lazy, and on the third day still more so, and then she would not get up in the morning at all. Neither did she make mother holle's bed as she ought, and did not shake it so as to make the feathers fly up. Mother holle was soon tired of this, and gave her notice to leave. The lazy girl was willing enough to go, and thought that now the golden rain would come. Mother holle led her also to the great door, but while she was standing beneath it, instead of the gold a big kettleful of pitch was emptied over her.
That is the reward for your service, said mother holle, and shut the door.
So the lazy girl went home, but she was quite covered with pitch, and the cock on the well, as soon as he saw her, cried out -cock-a-doodle-doo.
Your dirty girl's come back to you.
But the pitch clung fast to her, and could not be got off as long as she lived.
There was once a man who had seven sons, and still he had no daughter, however much he wished for one. At length his wife again gave him hope of a child, and when it came into the world it was a girl. The joy was great, but the child was sickly and small, and had to be privately baptized on account of its weakness. The father sent one of the boys in haste to the spring to fetch water for the baptism. The other six went with him, and as each of them wanted to be first to fill it, the jug fell into the well. There they stood and did not know what to do, and none of them dared to go home. As they still did not return, the father grew impatient, and said, they have certainly forgotten it while playing some game, the wicked boys. He became afraid that the girl would have to die without being baptized, and in his anger cried, I wish the boys were all turned into ravens. Hardly was the word spoken before he heard a whirring of wings over his head, looked up and saw seven coal-black ravens flying away.
