The Elves and the Servant Girl
Introduction
'The Elves and the Servant Girl' is the second of three short 'elf legends' within Grimm's tale no. 39 (the other two being the famous 'Elves and the Shoemaker' and the brief 'Changeling'). It tells of a hard-working poor servant-girl invited by the elves to be a 'godmother,' who enters their splendid hollow mountain, stays three happy days, and returns to find that seven years have passed in the human world. This notion that 'time in the fairy realm runs differently from time among mortals' is one of the most enchanting motifs in the folk tales of the whole world: America has Rip Van Winkle, who sleeps for twenty years; Ireland has the hero Oisín, who follows a fairy to the 'Land of the Ever-Young' and finds three hundred years gone the moment he looks back; Japan has Urashima Tarō, home from the dragon palace to a changed world — and dearest of all to Chinese readers is 'Wang Zhi and the Rotted Axe-Handle': a woodcutter goes into the mountains to watch immortals play Go, and before a single game ends, his axe-handle has rotted and generations have passed in his village. The same thought — 'a few days in the mountains, a thousand years in the world' — sprang up independently in the legends of East and West alike. This little story hides a gentle lesson too: the girl is treated kindly and sent home laden with reward precisely because she is diligent, clean, and knows that 'one must not be rude and refuse an invitation.' As you read, wonder together: why do the happy times always pass so quickly?
Vocabulary from "The Elves and the Servant Girl"
12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.
Hard-working and diligent.
勤勉的；勤劳的。
There was once a poor servant-girl, who was industrious and cleanly, and swept the house every day.
从前有一个贫穷的女佣，她勤劳又爱干净，每天都会清扫房屋。
A brush with a long handle, used for sweeping floors.
扫帚。
As she could not read, she put her broom in the corner, and took the letter to her master and mistress.
因为她不识字，于是她把扫帚放在角落里，把信拿给她的主人和主母看。
A Christian ceremony in which a baby is named and baptised.
洗礼（命名）仪式。
It was an invitation from the elves, who asked the girl to hold a child for them at its christening.
这竟然是小精灵们的邀请函，他们请这个女孩在洗礼仪式上为他们的孩子做教母。
The act of making someone agree to do something by giving reasons.
劝说；说服。
The girl did not know what to do, but at length, after much persuasion, she consented.
女孩不知所措，但在多番劝说下，她最终同意了。
Led or guided someone to a place.
引领；带领。
Then three elves came and conducted her to a hollow mountain, where the little folks lived.
接着，三个小精灵走过来，领着她走进了一座空心山，那是小矮人们居住的地方。
Graceful and stylish in appearance.
优雅的；精美的。
Everything there was small, but more elegant and beautiful than can be described.
那里的一切都很小巧，却比言语所能描述的还要优雅和美丽。
A hard, heavy, black wood.
乌木；黑檀木。
The baby's mother lay in a bed of black ebony ornamented with pearls.
婴儿的母亲躺在装饰着珍珠的黑檀木床上。
The hard, white substance of elephants' tusks.
象牙。
The cradle was of ivory, the bath of gold.
摇篮是象牙做的，浴盆则是纯金的。
A woman who promises to help care for a child at its christening.
教母（在洗礼上承诺照看孩子的女性）。
The girl stood as godmother, and then wanted to go home again.
女孩担任了教母，随后想回家去。
Asked someone earnestly or anxiously to do something.
恳求；央求。
The little elves urgently entreated her to stay three days with them.
小精灵们急切地恳求她在那里住上三天。
A cheerful, lively mood; merriment.
欢乐；愉快。
So she stayed, and passed the time in pleasure and gaiety, and the little folks did all they could to make her happy.
于是她留了下来，在愉快和欢乐中度过了这段时光，小矮人们竭尽全力让她开心。
Belonging to an earlier time; previous.
从前的；先前的。
She had not, as she thought, been three days with the little men in the mountains, but seven years, and in the meantime her former masters had died.
原来她并非像自己以为的那样在山里待了三天，而是整整过了七年，在这期间，她原来的主人已经去世了。
Reading Together & Learning More
The Moral
The industrious, clean, and courteous servant-girl ends up with pockets full of the elves' reward — good character is repaid in the end, and that is the story's plainest meaning. But it quietly hides a deeper one: in the mountain the girl feels only three happy days have passed, yet she returns to the human world seven years later, everything changed. It seems to whisper a reminder: happy times always fly by, and the real world we live in keeps moving forward and won't stop to wait for anyone — all the more reason to treasure the people and days right in front of us.
Educational Value
Good for talking with children about two things: first, that good character is rewarded — the girl is treated kindly because she is hard-working, clean, and knows that 'it isn't polite to refuse an invitation'; and second, that wonderful 'time gap' — three days in the mountain, seven years in the world. The latter is a fine exercise for the imagination, letting a child feel that 'time' does not run at the same speed everywhere, and opening a chat about 'why time seems to fly when we're happy.' The exquisite elf-palace (ebony bed, ivory cradle, solid-gold bath) also helps a child gather a string of English words for describing splendour.
Tips for Parents
This one is warm and bright, with almost nothing frightening, and suits younger children well. Here's a fun fact especially nice for Chinese families to share: the idea that 'a few days in the mountains can be a thousand years in the world' is not strange to us — China has the legend of 'Wang Zhi and the Rotted Axe-Handle' (the woodcutter Wang Zhi goes into the mountains to watch immortals play a game of Go; before a single game ends, the wooden handle of his axe has rotted away, and back in his village decades or centuries have passed). This elf story tells the very same motif. Afterwards, compare with your child: the fairy hill's 'three days = seven years' and Rotted-Axe Mountain's 'one game of Go = many decades' — aren't they remarkably alike? You might also ask: if you spent a long time somewhere especially happy, might you too lose track of the time outside?
Talk About It
- The girl feels only three days pass in the elf mountain, yet returns home seven years later. Why do you think time seems to fly when we're happy?
- Why do the elves choose this particular servant-girl to be godmother? What good qualities in her make her deserving of this good fortune?
- The girl hesitates at the elves' invitation, and only goes because others tell her 'it's rude to refuse.' Do you think that's a good enough reason? Would you have gone?
- Many countries have stories of 'three days in a magic land = many years in the world' (like China's Wang Zhi and the rotted axe-handle). Why do you think people all over the world dreamed up such similar tales?
- If you could spend three days in the elf mountain and come back to find seven years had passed, what is the very first thing you'd want to do?
