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.”