The Three Spinners

A mother compels her lazy daughter to spin, beating her for idleness. A queen, passing by and hearing the beating, inquires why the girl is struck. The mother, ashamed of her daughter's laziness, lies: the girl spins so much that she cannot find enough flax. The queen, delighted at the prospect of such industry, takes the girl to her castle and locks her in a room with three large piles of flax. "Spin this all into thread," the queen commands, "and you shall marry my son. Fail, and you shall die." The girl, desperate and unable to spin a single thread, weeps. Three ugly old women appear, claiming they can help. The first has an enormous lip from working the spinning wheel. The second has a thumb thick and flat from rolling thread. The third has a lower lip extended from dampening flax. All are hideous from their labor. They offer to spin the flax if the girl will invite them to the wedding and call them her aunts. The girl agrees. By morning, all the flax is spun into the finest thread. The queen is amazed and delighted. The wedding proceeds. When the queen inquires about the three aunts, the girl explains their deformities. The queen is horrified, declaring such labor shall never touch her daughter-in-law. The girl is freed from spinning forever. Domestic prudence teaches that work has its place, but excessive labor deforms the soul and body. A wise mother knows balance.