University of Virginia Library

XII.—THE GOLDEN SPINSTER.

Far away somewhere beyond the Red Sea, there was a
certain young lord. When he had grown up in body and
mind, he bethought himself that indeed it would not be a
bad thing to look round him in the world and seek out a
nice wife for himself, and a good mistress for his household.
Well, as he determined, so he did. He went out into the
world, but could not find such a one as he would have
liked. At last he went somehow into the house of a
widow, who had three daughters, all maidens. The two
elder were as active as wasps for work, but the youngest,
who was named Hanka, was like a leaden bird for everything
that wanted doing. When the young lord came to them
at spinning time he was astounded. `How is it,' thought
he, `that Hanka can be sleeping in the chimney-corner, while
the other spinsters are hard at work at their tasks?' He
said to their mother: `But, old lady, tell me, why don't
you make that one, too, take a distaff? She is quite a
grown-up girl, and would amuse herself by work.' `Ah!

young sir,' replied the mother, `I would allow her to spin
with all my heart; I would fill her distaff myself; but what
then? She is such a spinster, that by herself she would by
morning spin up not only all our spinning materials, but all
the thatch from the roof, and that into golden threads; nay,
at last she would betake herself to my gray hairs; I am
obliged, therefore, to give her a holiday.' `If this be so,'
said the delighted suitor, `and if it is God's will, you can
give her to me to wife. You see, I have a nice establishment—flax,
hemp, whole heaps of the finer and commoner
kinds of tow; she could spin away to her heart's content.'
At such language the old woman did not take long for
consideration, and Hanka woke from her slumbers. They
brought the bridegroom expectant a handsome olive-coloured
handkerchief out of the clothes-chest, adorned him with
periwinkles, and performed the marriage ceremony that very
evening. The other spinsters were somewhat mortified at
Hanka's good fortune, but finally were content at it, hoping
that they, too, would get rings on their fingers,[3] now that
the idle hand, as they nicknamed Hanka, had obtained a
husband. The next day our young bridegroom ordered his
horses to be harnessed, and when all was ready, placed the
tearful bride beside him in a handsome carriage, gave his
hand to his mother-in-law, called out `Farewell!' to the
bride's sisters, and they left the village at a gallop.

For better or worse! Poor Hanka sat by her youthful
husband mournful and tearful, just as if the chickens had
eaten up all her bread. He talked to her enough, but
Hanka was as mute as a fish. `What's the matter with
you?' said he. `Don't be frightened. At my house,
indeed, there will be no going to sleep for you. I shall give
you all that your heart desires. You will have flax, hemp,
fine and coarse tow enough for the whole winter, and I

have got in a store of apples for spittle.' But our Hanka
became more sorrowful the further they went. Thus they
arrived in the evening at the young lord's castle, got down
from the carriage, and, after supper, the future lady was
conducted into a large room, in which, from top to bottom,
lay nothing but spinning materials. `Well,' said he, `here
you have distaff, spindle, and spindle-ring, and rosy apples
and a few peas for spittle—spin away! If you spin all this,
by morning, into golden threads, we shall be man and wife
at once; if not, I shall cause you to be put to death without
further ado.' Thereupon the young lord went out and left
the spinster to spin. When Hanka was left alone, she
didn't seat herself under the distaff, for she didn't even know
how to twirl the threads, but began sorrowfully to exclaim:
`Oh God! God! here I am come out to vile disgrace!
Why did not my mother teach me to work and spin like
my two sisters? I might then have reposed in peace at
home; but, as it is, sinful creature that I am, I must perish
miserably.' As she was thus expressing her feelings, the
wall suddenly opened, and a little mannikin stood before
the terrified Hanka, with a red cap on his head and an
apron girt round his waist; before him he pushed a little
golden hand-cart. `Why have you your eyes so tearful?'
inquired he of Hanka. `What has happened to you?'
`As if, sinful soul that I am, I should not weep,' said she;
`only think, they have ordered me to spin all these spinning
materials into golden threads by morning, and if I don't do
so, they will have me put to death without any ceremony.
Oh God! God! what shall I do, forlorn in this strange
world?' `If that is all,' said the mannikin, `don't be
frightened. I will teach you to spin golden threads cleverly;
but only on this condition, that I find you this time next
year in this very place. Then, if you do not guess my
honourable name, you will become my wife, and I shall
convey you away in this cart. But, if you guess it, I shall
leave you in peace. But this I tell you: if you choose to
hide yourself anywhere this time next year, and if you fly ever
so far beneath the sky, I shall find you, and will wring your
neck. Well, have you agreed to this?' It was not, sooth to
say, very satisfactory to Hanka; but what could the poor
thing do? At length she bethought herself: `Let it be
left to God, whether I perish this way or that! I agree.'
The mannikin, on hearing this, made three circuits round
her with his golden cart, seated himself under the distaff,
and repeating:
taught and instructed her to spin golden threads. After
this, as he came, so he departed, and the wall closed up
of itself behind him. Our damsel, from that time forth a
real golden spinster, sat under the distaff, and seeing how
the spinning materials decreased and the golden threads
increased, spun and spun away, and by morning had not
only spun up all, but had had a good sleep into the bargain.
In the morning, as soon as the young lord awoke, he dressed
himself and went to visit the golden spinster. When he
entered the room he was all but blinded by the glitter, and
wouldn't even believe his eyes, that it was all gold. But
when he had satisfied himself that so it was, he began to
embrace the golden spinster, and declared her his true and
lawful wife. Thus they lived in the fear of God, and if our
young lord had previously loved his Haniczka for the
golden spinning, he then loved her a thousand times more
for the beautiful son that she in the meantime bore him.

But what? There's no footpath without an end, neither
could the joy of our wedded pair endure for ever. Day
passed after day, till finally the appointed time approached

within a span. Now our Hanka began to be more sorrowful
from moment to moment; her eyes were as red as if they
were baked, and she did nothing but creep like a shadow
from room to room. And, indeed, it was a serious thing for
a young mother to have to lose all at once her good husband
and her beautiful son! Hitherto her poor husband knew
nought about anything, and comforted his wife as well as
he could; but she would not be comforted. When she
bethought herself what a nasty dwarf she was going to obtain
instead of her shapely husband, she all but dashed herself
against the walls from excessive agony. At last she managed
to overcome herself, and revealed everything to her husband
as it had occurred to her on that first night. He became,
from horror, as pale as a whitewashed wall, and caused proclamation
to be made throughout the whole district that, if
anyone knew of such a dwarf, and should make known his
real name, he would give him a piece of gold as large as his
head. `Ah! what a windfall such a piece of gold as that
would be!' whispered neighbour to neighbour, and they dispersed
on all sides, examined all corners, all but looked into
the mouseholes, searched and searched as for a needle, but,
after all, couldn't find anything out. Nobody knew and
nobody had seen the dwarf, and as for his name, no living
soul could guess it. Under such circumstances the last day
arrived; nothing had been seen or heard of the mannikin,
and our Hanka, with her boy at her breast, was wringing
her hands at the prospect of losing her husband. Her
unhappy husband, whose eyes were almost exhausted from
weeping, in order, at any rate, to escape from beholding the
agony of his wife, took his gun on his shoulder, fastened his
faithful hounds in a leash, and went out hunting. After
hunting time—it was about the hour of afternoon luncheon
—it began to lighten on all sides and in all directions, rain
poured so that it would have been a shame to turn a dog
out into the roads, and in this tempest all our young lord's
servants sought shelter where they could, and got so lost
that he remained with only one on a densely wooded
unknown hill, and that as soaked and dripping as a rat.
Where were they to seek shelter before the ever-increasing
storm? where to dry themselves? where to obtain harbour
for the night? The unlucky pair, master and servant, looked
round on all sides to see whether they couldn't espy a
shepherd's hut or a cattle-shed; but where nothing is, there
is nothing. Finally, when they had almost strained their
eyes out of the sockets, they saw where, out of the hole of
the side shaft of a mine, puffs of smoke were rolling, as from
a limekiln. `Go, lad,' said the young lord to the servant,
`look whence this smoke issues; there must be people
there. Ask them whether they will give us lodging for the
night.' The servant went off and returned in a jiffy with
the intelligence that neither door, nor shed, nor people were
there. `Fie, you're only a duffer!' said the lord to his
servant with chattering teeth. `I'll go myself; you, for a
punishment, shall drip and freeze.' Well, the noble lord
took the job in hand, but neither could he espy anything,
save that in one place smoke kept continually issuing out of
the side shaft. At last in disgust he said: `Whatever devil
on devil may bring, know I must whence all this smoke
comes.' So he went to the hole itself, knelt beside it and
peeped in. As he was thus peeping, he espied, somewhere
under ground, where food was cooking in a kitchen, and
covers were laid for two on a stone table. Round this table
ran a little mannikin in a red cap with a golden hand-cart
before him, and from time to time, after making the circuit,
he sang:
And again he ran like mad round the table and shouted:
The young lord wanted nothing more; he ran as fast as
his legs could carry him to his servant, and, as it now cleared
up a little, they were fortunate enough to find a path, by
which they hastened home. He found his wife at home in
agony, in misery, streaming with tears; for she thought she
would not be able even to take leave of her husband, as he
was so long away. `Don't afflict yourself, my wife,' were
the young lord's first words when he entered the room. `I
know what you require; his name is Martynko Klyngas.'
And then he, without delay, recounted to her everything,
where he had gone and what had happened to him. Hanka
could scarcely keep on her feet for joy, embraced and kissed
her husband, and betook herself joyfully into the room, in
which she had spent the first night, to finish spinning the
golden threads. At midnight the wall opened, and the
mannikin with the red cap came in, as he had done that
time last year, and running round her with the golden cart
shouted with the utmost power of his lungs:
`I'll have a try to guess,' said Hanka; `your name is
Martynko Klyngas.' As soon as she had uttered this, the
little dwarf seized his cart, threw his cap on the ground, and
departed as he had come; the wall closed, and Hanka
breathed in peace. From that time forth she spun no more
gold, and, indeed, neither was it necessary for her so to do,
for they were rich enough. She and her husband lived
happily together, their boy grew like a young tree by the
water's side; and they bought a cow, and on the cow a bell,
and here's an end to the tale I tell.'

[This story may be compared with `Rumpelstiltskin' in
Grimm. The principle is the same; but, I think, the
variation in the details is much in favour of the Slavonic
tale.]