Mother Holle

A widow had two daughters: one beautiful and hardworking, the other ugly and lazy. The hardworking girl had to do all the work and was treated cruelly. One day while spinning by the well, she pricked her finger and the spindle fell into the water. Her stepmother ordered her to fetch it.

She jumped into the well and found herself in a beautiful meadow. She came to an oven full of bread that cried 'Pull me out or I'll burn,' and she did. Then she came to an apple tree that said 'Shake me, my apples are ripe,' and she shook it. Finally she reached the house of Mother Holle, who promised her a good life if she would shake the feather bed until the feathers flew like snow. She worked diligently, and when it was time to leave, a shower of gold fell upon her as reward.