The Three Spinners
Introduction
This tale comes from the Brothers Grimm, and at its heart is a playful folk dream: endless spinning work swept away overnight by three strange helpers. We have retold it as a fable because a fable does one thing superbly — it points at a single truth with a short story and a quiet ending. The truth here matches an old Chinese saying: 'Every foot has its short inch, and every inch its long foot' — that is, everyone has both weaknesses and strengths. The girl is lazy at the wheel; that is her weakness. But she is quick-witted, good at finding help, and true to her word; those are her strengths. The fable does not praise laziness. It praises the art of using what you have: do not fight your weakness head-on, think your way around it, and never break a promise to those who stood by you. In the old Grimm tale, as in our retelling, the three helpers ask for nothing but a place at the wedding table, which makes their kindness feel warm and human. As you read with your child, ask them to watch the girl's one shining choice: she never forgets, and never is ashamed of, the three odd helpers. That faithfulness is the true source of her luck.
Vocabulary from "The Three Spinners"
12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.
Twisting fibres into thread with a wheel.
纺线；把纤维捻成线。
Long ago there lived a girl who hated spinning.
古时候有个姑娘，最恨纺线。
Spoke angrily to someone because they did something wrong.
责骂；数落。
Her mother begged and scolded, but nothing worked.
母亲又劝又骂，全不管用。
Feeling bad or embarrassed about something you did.
羞愧的；不好意思的。
The mother was too ashamed to admit the truth.
母亲不好意思说出实话。
A plant whose fibres are spun into linen thread.
亚麻（其纤维可纺成麻线）。
My castle has flax in plenty.
我的城堡里亚麻多的是。
Filled something very full.
塞满；填满。
From floor to ceiling, every room was stuffed with fine flax.
从地板到天花板，每间屋子都塞满了上好的亚麻。
Money or goods a bride brings into her marriage.
嫁妆。
Your hard work is dowry enough.
你的勤快就是最好的嫁妆。
The state of being very poor.
贫穷。
I care nothing for your poverty.
你穷我一点都不在乎。
A foot pedal that turns a machine such as a spinning wheel.
踏板（纺车等机器的脚踏部件）。
The first drew the thread and worked the treadle.
头一个抽出线头，脚踩踏板。
A messy pile of things.
一堆（杂乱堆放的东西）。
Every tap dropped a heap of fine yarn to the floor.
每敲一下，就有一堆细纱落到地上。
Extremely happy.
欣喜若狂的；欢喜不尽的。
The prince was overjoyed to have so clever and hard-working a bride, and praised her to the skies.
王子欢喜不尽，直夸自己娶了个又能干又勤快的妻子，把她夸上了天。
People in your family, such as aunts and cousins.
亲戚。
"Oh," said the prince, "how do you have such ugly relatives?"
「哎呀，」王子说，「你怎么有这样丑陋的亲戚？」
Stepping or pressing down with the foot.
踩；踏。
"From treading," she said, "from treading."
「踩踏板踩的，」她答，「踩的。」
Reading Together & Learning More
The Moral
Laziness is nothing to be proud of, but a quick mind can make up for it. The girl was lazy with her hands yet clever with her head; she used her strengths, kept her word, and turned her weakness into a gift.
Educational Value
Children learn that everyone has weak spots, that clever thinking can beat stubborn effort, and that we must keep our promises to those who help us and never be ashamed of them.
Tips for Parents
As you read, ask your child whether the girl is truly 'hard-working,' then list her strengths and weaknesses together and talk about using them wisely. You could also ask: what if the three spinners had broken their word? Use that to talk about why keeping promises matters.
Talk About It
- The girl is lazy and cries easily, yet she ends up with a good life. Was it luck or brains that saved her?
- The three spinners looked very strange, but the girl was not ashamed of them and kept her promise. What would you have done?
- What does 'using your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses' mean? Can you find one strength and one weakness of the girl in the story?
- After learning how spinning changed the spinners' looks, the prince stopped his bride from spinning. Was he caring for his wife, or afraid she might become ugly too?
- If the girl had broken her word and not invited the three spinners, how might the story have ended?
