THERE WAS ONCE A WIDOW with two daughters. The first was beautiful and hard-working, whereas the second was lazy and ugly. Yet she truly loved only the second, who was her biological daughter and was very much like her. So, the beautiful daughter was forced to do all the hard work and chores in the house, and was the Cinderella of the household.

The poor girl sat every day by the well, and knit for so long that her fingers bled. One day that the spool became red with blood, she went to wash it, accidentally dropping it inside the well. She cried, and then went straight to her step mother to tell her what had happened. Instead of calming her down, she scolded her, telling her: “Since you let it fall inside the well, it's you who must go and get it back”.

And so, the girl went to the well, but as she found no rope, she accidentally fell inside. As soon as she found herself at the bottom she lost her senses, only to wake up a few hours later in a valley filled with beautiful roses. She walked and walked, until she came across an oven, inside which many loafs of bread were to be found. “Take us out, we’re burning!”, they shouted at her. So, she took the baker’s shovel and saved the loafs from the fire, placing them in a box nearby.

A few minutes’ walk later she found a tree filled with red apples. “Throw us to the ground!”, they shouted at her. “We are apples, and we’ll rot on the tree unless someone picks us from its branches”. And so, she shook the tree until all the trees fell to the ground. After picking them up, she cleaned them from the dirt, and put them in a basket.

She then walked further, until she found a river filled with clean, gurgling water and a tree in the thick shadow of which a monk was to be found resting. When he saw her, he told her: “In a moment, a good lady will pass. Give her something to eat and drink, and she will reward you extra”.

So it happened. The beautiful girl took out a clean cup that she always kept with her, and after washing it, she filled it with gurgling water. A couple of minutes later a good lady appeared, Frau Hole, who asked for food and water. The girl then gave her from the fresh loafs of bread, the bright red apples and the clean water she had collected. After thanking her, she told her:

“I will give you a very special seed, which you will plant in a pot and then water it. A couple of hours later, your reward will sprout”.

And so, the beautiful girl took the seed and planted it. She then watered it with the water of the river and waited until, a couple of hours later, a small plant was to be found in the same place. The plant was so beautiful that it’s leaves and blossom were made of pure gold. She then picked the flowers one by one, then asked the monk for the way back home.

The monk showed her a big gate, which would lead her back to the village and her home. She walked through it, then found herself in the village where she bought a brand-new spool, as her pockets were full of gold leaves and flowers from the plant.

When she got back home, her stepmother got angry at her for being so late. When she showed her the spool and the golden flower pedals and explained to her what had happened, so jealous did she get that she thought of sending her other daughter so as to prove she could have an equally big reward.

And so, the ugly daughter went to the well, taking a piece of bread and cheese with her, as well as water in a bottle, just like her sister had done. After reaching the bottom of the well and fainting, she woke up in the valley. She walked, and walked until she eventually found the oven inside which the loafs of bread were screaming: “Save us, save us! We are burning!”.

She ignored them and moved forward, until she found the apple tree with the bright red apples. They shouted at her: “Pick us from the tree, as otherwise we will rot!”. Not only did she not pick them from the tree, but she also ignored those that were already on the ground and could be easily taken, as she was very lazy and the sheer thought of doing work made her weary.

A few minutes’ walk later she found the river with the crystal clear, gurgling water and the monk that was sitting under its shadow. He told her: “A lady will pass in a moment. Give her something to eat and drink, and she will reward you accordingly”.

So, it happened. After a while, Frau Hole appeared, who was tired from the road and who sat to rest. But the ugly, lazy daughter only had a slice of bread and cheese with her, which had also caught mold all those days she was carrying it with her, as well as some water in a bottle which was filled with worms, as all of the clothes and belongings had gotten dirty.

Frau Hole accepted them, then told her: “With the seed you will plant, you will get your reward. However, you will have to put it in a pot, and water it until it grows”.

Having neither a pot nor the patience required to do so, she took the seed and put it in her pockets, then asked the monk to show her the road back home. He showed her the big Gate which the other daughter had previously passed through.

When she reached home, she explained to her old mother what had happened, then told her to water the seed together so they could see what sort of fruit it would bear. Overhearing the conversation, the diligent daughter hid in a corner to observe what would happen. So, after they both planted the seed in a pot, they threw plenty of water so that it would start to grow. A disgusting plant grew after a while, which had a smell as foul as the terror its sight caused, along with flowers which looked like closed mouths.

The lazy daughter found it strange, as her sister had returned home carrying pedals of pure gold. So, she plucked up courage and used a pole to open the mouths of the flowers. They then sprouted both on the face with a brown, filthy liquid that smelled awful and that was extremely difficult to clean.

The hard-working daughter on the other hand, who was watching everything from her corner, burst into laughter as they had both taken their lesson.