The next morning, when the two girls got up, there stood before theman's daughter milk for her to wash in and wine for her to drink, butbefore the woman's daughter stood water to wash herself with and waterfor drinking. On the second morning, stood water for washing and waterfor drinking before the man's daughter as well as before the woman'sdaughter. And on the third morning stood water for washing and water fordrinking before the man's daughter, and milk for washing and wine fordrinking, before the woman's daughter, and so it continued. The womanbecame bitterly unkind to her step-daughter, and day by day did her bestto treat her still worse. She was also envious because her step-daughterwas beautiful and lovable, and her own daughter ugly and repulsive.
Once, in winter, when everything was frozen as hard as a stone, andhill and vale lay covered with snow, the woman made a frock of paper,called her step-daughter, and said, "Here, put on this dress and goout into the wood, and fetch me a little basketful of strawberries,—-Ihave a fancy for some." "Good heavens!" said the girl, "no strawberriesgrow in winter! The ground is frozen, and besides the snow has coveredeverything. And why am I to go in this paper frock? It is so cold outsidethat one's very breath freezes! The wind will blow through the frock,and the thorns will tear it off my body." "Wilt thou contradict meagain?" said the stepmother, "See that thou goest, and do not showthy face again until thou hast the basketful of strawberries!" Thenshe gave her a little piece of hard bread, and said, "This will lastthee the day," and thought, "Thou wilt die of cold and hunger outside,and wilt never be seen again by me."
Then the maiden was obedient, and put on the paper frock, and wentout with the basket. Far and wide there was nothing but snow, and nota green blade to be seen. When she got into the wood she saw a smallhouse out of which peeped three dwarfs. She wished them good day, andknocked modestly at the door. They cried, "Come in," and she enteredthe room and seated herself on the bench by the stove, where she beganto warm herself and eat her breakfast. The elves said, "Give us, too,some of it." "Willingly," she said, and divided her bit of bread intwo and gave them the half. They asked, "What dost thou here in theforest in the winter time, in thy thin dress?" "Ah," she answered,"I am to look for a basketful of strawberries, and am not to go homeuntil I can take them with me." When she had eaten her bread, theygave her a broom and said, "Sweep away the snow at the back door withit." But when she was outside, the three little men said to each other,"What shall we give her as she is so good, and has shared her breadwith us?" Then said the first, "My gift is, that she shall every daygrow more beautiful." The second said, "My gift is, that gold piecesshall fall out of her mouth every time she speaks." The third said,"My gift is, that a king shall come and take her to wife."
The girl, however, did as the little men had bidden her, swept away thesnow behind the little house with the broom, and what did she find butreal ripe strawberries, which came up quite dark-red out of the snow! Inher joy she hastily gathered her basket full, thanked the little men,shook hands with each of them, and ran home to take her step-mother whatshe had longed for so much. When she went in and said good-evening,a piece of gold at once fell from her mouth. Thereupon she relatedwhat had happened to her in the wood, but with every word she spoke,gold pieces fell from her mouth, until very soon the whole room wascovered with them. "Now look at her arrogance," cried the step-sister,"to throw about gold in that way!" but she was secretly envious of it,and wanted to go into the forest also to seek strawberries. The mothersaid, "No, my dear little daughter, it is too cold, thou mightest dieof cold." However, as her daughter let her have no peace, the mother atlast yielded, made her a magnificent dress of fur, which she was obligedto put on, and gave her bread-and-butter and cake with her.
The girl went into the forest and straight up to the little house. Thethree little elves peeped out again, but she did not greet them, andwithout looking round at them and without speaking to them, she wentawkwardly into the room, seated herself by the stove, and began to eather bread-and-butter and cake. "Give us some of it," cried the littlemen; but she replied, "There is not enough for myself, so how can Igive it away to other people?" When she had done eating, they said,"There is a broom for thee, sweep all clean for us outside by theback-door." "Humph! Sweep for yourselves," she answered, "I am not yourservant." When she saw that they were not going to give her anything,she went out by the door. Then the little men said to each other, "Whatshall we give her as she is so naughty, and has a wicked envious heart,that will never let her do a good turn to any one?" The first said,"I grant that she may grow uglier every day." The second said, "I grantthat at every word she says, a toad shall spring out of her mouth." Thethird said, "I grant that she may die a miserable death." The maidenlooked for strawberries outside, but as she found none, she went angrilyhome. And when she opened her mouth, and was about to tell her motherwhat had happened to her in the wood, with every word she said, a toadsprang out of her mouth, so that every one was seized with horror of her.
Then the step-mother was still more enraged, and thought of nothing buthow to do every possible injury to the man's daughter, whose beauty,however, grew daily greater. At length she took a cauldron, set it onthe fire, and boiled yarn in it. When it was boiled, she flung it onthe poor girl's shoulder, and gave her an axe in order that she mightgo on the frozen river, cut a hole in the ice, and rinse the yarn. Shewas obedient, went thither and cut a hole in the ice; and while she wasin the midst of her cutting, a splendid carriage came driving up, inwhich sat the King. The carriage stopped, and the King asked,"My child,who are thou, and what art thou doing here?" "I am a poor girl, and I amrinsing yarn." Then the King felt compassion, and when he saw that shewas so very beautiful, he said to her, "Wilt thou go away with me?" "Ah,yes, with all my heart," she answered, for she was glad to get away fromthe mother and sister.
So she got into the carriage and drove away with the King, and whenthey arrived at his palace, the wedding was celebrated with great pomp,as the little men had granted to the maiden. When a year was over, theyoung Queen bore a son, and as the step-mother had heard of her greatgood-fortune, she came with her daughter to the palace and pretendedthat she wanted to pay her a visit. Once, however, when the King hadgone out, and no one else was present, the wicked woman seized theQueen by the head, and her daughter seized her by the feet, and theylifted her out of the bed, and threw her out of the window into thestream which flowed by. Then the ugly daughter laid herself in thebed, and the old woman covered her up over her head. When the Kingcame home again and wanted to speak to his wife, the old woman cried,"Hush, hush, that can't be now, she is lying in a violent perspiration;you must let her rest to-day." The King suspected no evil, and did notcome back again till next morning; and as he talked with his wife andshe answered him, with every word a toad leaped out, whereas formerlya piece of gold had fallen out. Then he asked what that could be, butthe old woman said that she had got that from the violent perspiration,and would soon lose it again. During the night, however, the scullionsaw a duck come swimming up the gutter, and it said,
"King, what art thou doing now?
Sleepest thou, or wakest thou?"
And as he returned no answer, it said,
"And my guests, What may they do?"
The scullion said,
"They are sleeping soundly, too."
Then it asked again,
"What does little baby mine?"
He answered,
"Sleepeth in her cradle fine."
Then she went upstairs in the form of the Queen, nursed the baby, shookup its little bed, covered it over, and then swam away again down thegutter in the shape of a duck. She came thus for two nights; on the third,she said to the scullion, "Go and tell the King to take his sword andswing it three times over me on the threshold." Then the scullion ranand told this to the King, who came with his sword and swung it thriceover the spirit, and at the third time, his wife stood before him strong,living, and healthy as she had been before. Thereupon the King was fullof great joy, but he kept the Queen hidden in a chamber until the Sunday,when the baby was to be christened. And when it was christened he said,"What does a person deserve who drags another out of bed and throws him inthe water?" "The wretch deserves nothing better," answered the old woman,"than to be taken and put in a barrel stuck full of nails, and rolleddown hill into the water." "Then," said the King, "Thou hast pronouncedthine own sentence;" and he ordered such a barrel to be brought, andthe old woman to be put into it with her daughter, and then the top washammered on, and the barrel rolled down hill until it went into the river.
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