At length she said, "Dear Mother Frost, you have been very kind to me, but I should like to go home to my friends."
"I am pleased to hear you say that you wish to go home," said Mother Frost. "You have worked for me so well that I will show you the way myself."
She took the maiden by the hand and led her to a broad gateway.
The gate was open, and as she went through a shower of gold fell over the maiden.
It clung to her clothes, so that she was dressed in gold from her head to her feet.
"That is your pay for having worked so hard," said the old woman. "And here is your spindle that fell into the spring."
Then the gate was closed, and the maiden found herself once more in the world.
She was not far from her own home, and as she came into the farmyard, a cock on the roof cried loudly:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Our golden lady has come home, too."