The little men said, give us some of it, too. Willingly, she said, and divided her piece of bread in two 'and gave them the half. They asked, what do you here in the forest in the winter time, in your thin dress. Ah, she answered, I am to look for a basketful of strawberries, and am not to go home until I can take them with me. When she had eaten her bread, they gave her a broom and said, sweep away the snow at the back door. But when she was outside, the three little men said to each other, what shall we give her as she is so good, and has shared her bread with us. Then said the first, my gift is, that she shall every day grow more beautiful. The second said, my gift is, that gold pieces shall fall out of her mouth every time she speaks. The third said, my gift is, that a king shall come and take her to wife.
The girl, however, did as the little men had bidden her, swept away the snow behind the little house with the broom, and what did she find but real ripe strawberries, which came up quite dark-red out of the snow. In her joy she hastily gathered her basket full, thanked the little men, shook hands with each of them, and ran home to take her step-mother what she had longed for so much.
When she went in and said good-evening, a piece of gold at once fell out of her mouth. Thereupon she related what had happened to her in the wood, but with every word she spoke, gold pieces fell from her mouth, until very soon the whole room was covered with them. Now look at her arrogance, cried the step-sister, to throw about gold in that way. But she was secretly envious of it, and wanted to go into the forest also to seek strawberries. The mother said, no, my dear little daughter, it is too cold, you might freeze to death. However, as her daughter let her have no peace, the mother at last yielded, made her a magnificent coat of fur, which she was obliged to put on, and gave her bread-and-butter and cake for her journey.
The girl went into the forest and straight up to the little house.
The three little men peeped out again, but she did not greet them, and without looking round at them and without speaking to them, she went awkwardly into the room, seated herself by the stove, and began to eat her bread-and-butter and cake. Give us some of it, cried the little men. But she replied, there is not enough for myself, so how can I give it away to other people. When she had finished eating, they said, there is a broom for you, sweep it all clean in front of the back-door. Sweep for yourselves, she answered, I am not your servant. When she saw that they were not going to give her anything, she went out by the door. Then the little men said to each other, what shall we give her as she is so naughty, and has a wicked envious heart, that will never let her do a good turn to any one. The first said, I grant that she may grow uglier every day. The second said, I grant that at every word she says, a toad shall spring out of her mouth. The third said, I grant that she may die a miserable death. The maiden looked for strawberries outside, but as she found none, she went angrily home.
And when she opened her mouth, and was about to tell her mother what had happened to her in the wood, with every word she said, a toad sprang out of her mouth, so that everyone was seized with horror of her.
Then the step-mother was still more enraged, and thought of nothing but how to do every possible injury to the man's daughter, whose beauty, however, grew daily greater. At length she took a cauldron, set it on the fire, and boiled yarn in it. When it was boiled, she flung it on the poor girl's shoulder, and gave her an axe in order that she might go on the frozen river, cut a hole in the ice, and rinse the yarn. She was obedient, went thither and cut a hole in the ice. And while she was in the midst of her cutting, a splendid carriage came driving up, in which sat the king. The carriage stopped, and the king asked, my child, who are you, and what are you doing here. I am a poor girl, and I am rinsing yarn.
Then the king felt compassion, and when he saw that she was so very beautiful, he said to her, will you go away with me. Ah, yes, with all my heart, she answered, for she was glad to get away from the mother and sister.
So she got into the carriage and drove away with the king, and when they arrived at his palace, the wedding was celebrated with great pomp, as the little men had granted to the maiden. When a year was over, the young queen bore a son, and as the step-mother had heard of her great good-fortune, she came with her daughter to the palace and pretended that she wanted to pay her a visit.
But, when the king had gone out, and no one else was present, the wicked woman seized the queen by the head, and her daughter seized her by the feet, and they lifted her out of the bed, and threw her out of the window into the stream which flowed by. Then the ugly daughter laid herself in the bed, and the old woman covered her up over her head. When the king came home again and wanted to speak to his wife, the old woman cried, hush, hush, that can't be now, she is lying in a violent sweat. You must let her rest to-day. The king suspected no evil, and did not come back again till next morning. And as he talked with his wife and she answered him, with every word a toad leaped out, whereas formerly a piece of gold had fallen. Then he asked what that could be, but the old woman said that she had got that from the violent sweat, and would soon lose it again. During the night, however, the scullion saw a duck come swimming up the gutter, and it said -king, what art thou doing now.
Sleepest thou, or wakest thou.
And as he returned no answer, it said -
and my guests, what may they do.
The scullion said -
they are sleeping soundly, too.
Then it asked again -
what does little baby mine.
He answered -
sleepeth in her cradle fine.