ONCE on a time there was a widower, who had a son and a daughter by his
first marriage.
Both were good children, and loved each other dearly. Some time after
the man married a widow, who had a daughter by her first husband, and
she was both ugly and bad, like her mother. So from the day the new wife
came into the house there was no peace for her step-children in any
corner; and at last the lad thought he’d best go out into the world, and
try to earn his own bread. And when he had wandered a while he came to a
king’s palace, and got a place under the coachman, and quick and willing
he was, and the horses he looked after were so sleek and clean that
their coats shone again.
But the sister who staid at home was treated worse than bad; both her
step-mother and stepsister were always at her, and wherever she went,
and whatever she did, they scolded and snarled so, the poor lassie
hadn’t an hour’s peace. All the hard work she was forced to do, and
early and late she got nothing but bad words, and little food besides.
So one day they had sent her to the burn to fetch water; and what do you
think? up popped an ugly, ugly head out of the pool, and said,—
“Wash me, you lassie.”
“Yes, with all my heart I’ll wash you,” said the lassie.
So she began to wash and scrub the ugly head; but truth to say, she
thought it nasty work.
“Well, as soon as she had done washing it, up popped another head out of
the pool, and this was uglier still.
“Brush me, you lassie,” said the head.
“Yes, with all my heart I’ll brush you.”
And with that she took in hand the matted locks, and you may fancy she
hadn’t very pleasant work with them.
But when she had got over that, if a third head didn’t pop out of the
pool, and this was far more ugly and loathsome than both the others put
together.
“Kiss me, you lassie.”
“Yes, I’ll kiss you,” said the lassie, and she did it too, though she
thought it the worst work she had ever had to do in her life.
Then the heads began to chatter together, and each asked what they
should do for the lassie who was so kind and gentle.
“That she be the prettiest lassie in the world, and as fair as the
bright day,” said the first head.
“That gold shall drop from her hair, every time she brushes it,” said
the second head.
“That gold shall fall from her mouth every time she speaks,” said the
third head.
So when the lassie came home looking so lovely, and beaming as the
bright day itself; her step-mother and her stepsister got more and more
cross, and they got worse still when she began to talk, and they saw how
golden guineas fell from her mouth. As for the step-mother, she got so
mad with rage, she chased the lassie into the pig-sty. That was the
right place for all her gold stuff, but as for coming into the house,
she wouldn’t hear of it.
Well, it wasn’t long before the step-mother wished her own daughter to
go to the burn to fetch water. So when she came to the water’s edge with
her buckets, up popped the first head.
“Wash me, you lassie,” it said.
“The Deil wash you,” said the stepdaughter. So the second head popped
up.
“Brush me, you lassie,” it said.
“The Deil brush you,” said the stepdaughter.
So down it went to the bottom, and the third head popped up.
“Kiss me, you lassie,” said the head.
“The Deil kiss you, you pig’s-snout,” said the girl.
Then the heads chattered together again, and asked what they should do
to the girl who was so spiteful and cross-grained; and they all agreed
she should have a nose four ells long, and a snout three ells long, and
a pine bush right in the midst of her forehead, and every time she
spoke, ashes were to fall out of her mouth.