_In which a kind hearted and obedient girl found reward._
Once a woman had two daughters. One was her own daughter and the
other was her step-daughter. She was good to her own daughter, but
she made her step-daughter sit by the roadside and spin all day.
One day while she was spinning she picked the blood out of her
finger with the spindle. She told her step-mother, and her
step-mother said: “You go to the well and wash the blood off, and
go back to work. You pick your finger to keep from working.”
While the little girl was washing her finger she dropped the
spindle down in the well. Her step-mother was very angry and told
her to go down in the well and get it.
The child was afraid, but she was compelled to go. So she closed
her eyes and jumped in. She went down and down. Finally she opened
her eyes and found that she was in a beautiful meadow.
She began walking and came to an apple tree. The tree said to her:
“Little girl, shake me, I am so full of apples.” So the little girl
shook the tree and walked on.
She came to some bread in an oven. The bread said: “Little girl,
take me out; I am about to burn up.” So she took the bread out of
the oven and walked on.
Finally she came to an ugly old woman whose name was Mother Frost.
She said: “Little girl, come and live with me; you will not have
anything to do but make my bed. It will have to be made well every
morning.” The little girl said she would be glad to live with her.
She stayed with Mother Frost a long time, but after a while she
decided to go home. Mother Frost led her to a gate. On one post was
a bucket of gold, on the other a bucket of tar. When the little
girl passed through the gate, the bucket of gold fell and covered
her all over with gold.
When she reached her own yard an old rooster on the fence said:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo, our golden girl has come home.”
The woman’s own daughter decided she wanted some gold, too. So
she went out and began spinning. She picked her finger with the
spindle, threw it in the well and jumped in after it.
She came to the apple tree and refused to shake it; she came to the
oven and refused to take the bread out; she met Mother Frost and
lived with her a little while, but would not make her bed.
When she decided to go home, Mother Frost led her to the same gate.
When she passed through the bucket of tar fell and covered her all
over with tar.
When she reached her own yard, the old rooster on the fence said:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo, our tar girl has come home.”