Mother Hulda

Author: The Brothers Grimm

Age3–7
Reading time10 min
LevelBeginner

Introduction

Mother Hulda (in German, Frau Holle) is more than a fairy-tale character — she comes from old Germanic myth, a goddess connected with the weather. The story even explains where snow comes from: when Mother Hulda shakes out her feather bed and the feathers fly, it snows down in our world. In parts of Germany people still say, when it snows, that 'Frau Holle is shaking her bed.' The tale itself is one of the most widespread story types on earth — folklorists call it 'the kind and the unkind girls' (ATU 480): two girls in turn enter the same magic world and meet the same requests along the way (bread about to burn, an apple tree bent with fruit). The kind, hard-working girl helps and is showered with gold; the lazy, selfish one thinks only of herself and ends up covered in pitch that never washes off. The reward and the punishment are not handed out at random — the girls' own choices along the way decide them. As you read, ask your child: the lazy girl even knew how her sister won the gold, so why did she still fail?

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A widow had two daughters; one was pretty and industrious, the other was ugly and lazy. And as the ugly one was her own daughter, she loved her much the best, and the pretty one was made to do all the work, and be the drudge of the house. Every day the poor girl had to sit by a well on the high road and spin until her fingers bled.

Now it happened once that as the spindle was bloody, she dipped it into the well to wash it; but it slipped out of her hand and fell in. Then she began to cry, and ran to her step-mother, and told her of her misfortune; and her stepmother scolded her without mercy, and said in her rage: "As you have let the spindle fall in, you must go and fetch it out again!" Then the girl went back again to the well, not knowing what to do, and in the despair of her heart she jumped down into the well the same way the spindle had gone.

After that she knew nothing; and when she came to herself she was in a beautiful meadow, and the sun was shining on the flowers that grew round her. And she walked on through the meadow until she came to a baker's oven that was full of bread; and the bread called out to her: "Oh, take me out, take me out, or I shall burn; I am baked enough already!" Then she drew near, and with the baker's peel she took out all the loaves one after the other.

And she went farther on till she came to a tree weighed down with apples, and it called out to her: "Oh, shake me, shake me, we apples are all of us ripe!" Then she shook the tree until the apples fell like rain, and she shook until there were no more to fall; and when she had gathered them together in a heap, she went on farther.

At last she came to a little house, and an old woman was peeping out of it, but she had such great teeth that the girl was terrified and about to run away, only the old woman called her back. "What are you afraid of, my dear child? Come and live with me, and if you do the house-work well and orderly, things shall go well with you. You must take great pains to make my bed well, and shake it up thoroughly, so that the feathers fly about, and then in the world it snows, for I am Mother Hulda."

As the old woman spoke so kindly, the girl took courage, consented, and went to her work. She did everything to the old woman's satisfaction, and shook the bed with such a will that the feathers flew about like snow-flakes: and so she led a good life, had never a cross word, but boiled and roast meat every day. When she had lived a long time with Mother Hulda, she began to feel sad, not knowing herself what ailed her; at last she began to think she must be home-sick; and although she was a thousand times better off than at home where she was, yet she had a great longing to go home.

At last she said to her mistress: "I am homesick, and although I am very well off here, I cannot stay any longer; I must go back to my own home." Mother Hulda answered: "It pleases me well that you should wish to go home, and, as you have served me faithfully, I will undertake to send you there!" She took her by the hand and led her to a large door standing open, and as she was passing through it there fell upon her a heavy shower of gold, and the gold hung all about her, so that she was covered with it. "All this is yours, because you have been so industrious," said Mother Hulda; and, besides that, she returned to her her spindle, the very same that she had dropped in the well. And then the door was shut again, and the girl found herself back again in the world, not far from her mother's house; and as she passed through the yard the cock stood on the top of the well and cried: "Cock-a-doodle doo! Our golden girl has come home too!"

Then she went in to her mother, and as she had returned covered with gold she was well received. So the girl related all her history, and what had happened to her, and when the mother heard how she came to have such great riches she began to wish that her ugly and idle daughter might have the same good fortune. So she sent her to sit by the well and spin; and in order to make her spindle bloody she put her hand into the thorn hedge. Then she threw the spindle into the well, and jumped in herself.

She found herself, like her sister, in the beautiful meadow, and followed the same path, and when she came to the baker's oven, the bread cried out: "Oh, take me out, take me out, or I shall burn; I am quite done already!" But the lazy-bones answered: "I have no desire to black my hands," and went on farther. Soon she came to the apple-tree, who called out: "Oh, shake me, shake me, we apples are all of us ripe!" But she answered: "That is all very fine; suppose one of you should fall on my head," and went on farther.

When she came to Mother Hulda's house she did not feel afraid, as she knew beforehand of her great teeth, and entered into her service at once. The first day she put her hand well to the work, and was industrious, and did everything Mother Hulda bade her, because of the gold she expected; but the second day she began to be idle, and the third day still more so, so that she would not get up in the morning. Neither did she make Mother Hulda's bed as it ought to have been made, and did not shake it for the feathers to fly about.

So that Mother Hulda soon grew tired of her, and gave her warning, at which the lazy thing was well pleased, and thought that now the shower of gold was coming; so Mother Hulda led her to the door, and as she stood in the doorway, instead of the shower of gold a great kettle full of pitch was emptied over her. "That is the reward for your service," said Mother Hulda, and shut the door. So the lazy girl came home all covered with pitch, and the cock on the top of the well seeing her, cried: "Cock-a-doodle doo! Our dirty girl has come home too!" And the pitch remained sticking to her fast, and never, as long as she lived, could it be got off.

Vocabulary from "Mother Hulda"

12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.

widowB2

/ˈwɪdəʊ/n.

A woman whose husband has died.

寡妇；遗孀。

A widow had two daughters; one was pretty and industrious, the other was ugly and lazy.
一个寡妇有两个女儿；一个漂亮且勤劳，另一个则丑陋又懒惰。

drudgeC1

/drʌdʒ/n.

A person made to do hard, dull, tiring work.

做苦工的人；苦力；仆役。

The pretty one was made to do all the work, and be the drudge of the house.
让漂亮的女儿承担所有的家务，成了家里的苦力。

scolded(scold)B2

/skəʊldɪd/v.

Told someone off angrily for doing something wrong.

责骂；训斥。

Her stepmother scolded her without mercy, and said in her rage.
继母无情地责骂她，愤怒地吼道。

despairB2

/dɪˈspeə/n.

A feeling of having lost all hope.

绝望；失望。

In the despair of her heart she jumped down into the well the same way the spindle had gone.
在绝望中，她顺着梭子落下的方向，跳进了井里。

ripeB1

/raɪp/adj.

Fully grown and ready to be picked and eaten.

成熟的；熟了的。

Oh, shake me, shake me, we apples are all of us ripe!
噢，摇摇我，摇摇我，我们苹果全都熟透了！

terrifiedB1

/ˈterɪfaɪd/adj.

Very frightened.

极度害怕的；吓坏的。

She had such great teeth that the girl was terrified and about to run away.
婆婆的牙齿很大，女孩被吓坏了，正想逃跑。

industriousC1

/ɪnˈdʌstriəs/adj.

Hard-working and diligent.

勤劳的；勤奋的。

All this is yours, because you have been so industrious, said Mother Hulda.
这些都是你的，因为你一直很勤劳，霍勒大妈说。

homesickB1

/ˈhəʊmsɪk/adj.

Sad because you are away from home and miss it.

想家的；思乡的。

I am homesick, and although I am very well off here, I cannot stay any longer.
我由于思乡，尽管这里很好，我也不能再待下去了。

faithfullyB2

/ˈfeɪθfəli/adv.

In a loyal, trustworthy way.

忠实地；忠诚地。

As you have served me faithfully, I will undertake to send you there!
既然你忠诚地服侍我，我将亲自送你回去！

idleB2

/ˈaɪdl/adj.

Lazy; avoiding work.

懒惰的；无所事事的。

She began to wish that her ugly and idle daughter might have the same good fortune.
便希望她那丑陋慵懒的女儿也能拥有同样的好运。

pitchB2

/pɪtʃ/n.

A black, sticky substance like tar.

沥青；柏油。

Instead of the shower of gold a great kettle full of pitch was emptied over her.
迎头浇下的不是金雨，而是一大锅沥青。

rewardB1

/rɪˈwɔːd/n.

Something given in return for good (or bad) behaviour.

回报；奖赏。

That is the reward for your service, said Mother Hulda, and shut the door.
'这就是对你服务的奖赏，'霍勒大妈说完便关上了门。

Reading Together & Learning More

The Moral

Hard work and kindness will be rewarded, while laziness and selfishness will be punished; good deeds are the path to happiness.

Educational Value

Helps children understand the different consequences of diligence and laziness, cultivating responsibility and helpfulness.

Tips for Parents

Discuss with your child: Why did the sisters have different endings? What's the meaning of helping others? Why is diligence important?

Talk About It

Along the way, the hard-working sister and the lazy sister met the same requests (the bread, the apple tree) but made completely different choices. What made them different?
The lazy sister knew perfectly well that her sister won gold by helping and working hard, so why did she still fail?
Mother Hulda never gave a face-to-face 'test,' yet she seemed to know everything. Can the way a person usually behaves really be hidden?
The story says snow is Mother Hulda shaking her feather bed. Can you invent a fun explanation for another bit of weather — thunder, rain, or a rainbow?