Der var engang en doven pige, som slet ikke gad spinde, og det nyttede ikke, hvor meget hendes mor så skændte på hende. Men en dag tabte hun tålmodigheden og gav pigen en på øret, så hun gav sig til at tudskråle. Dronningen kørte netop forbi, og da hun kunne høre, at der var nogen, som græd inde i huset, gik hun derind og spurgte moderen, hvorfor hun slog sin datter, så man kunne høre hende skrige helt ud på gaden. Moderen skammede sig over at skulle fortælle, hvor doven hendes datter var, og sagde derfor: "Jeg kan ikke få hende til at holde op med at spinde, og jeg er så fattig, at jeg ikke kan skaffe alt det hør, hun skal bruge." - "Jeg holder så meget af, at nogen spinder," sagde dronningen da, "jeg ved ikke noget morsommere end at se hjulene snurre rundt. Lad hende komme hjem til mig, jeg har hør nok, og så kan hun spinde, så meget hun har lyst." Det var moderen meget tilfreds med, og pigen kørte af sted med dronningen. Da de var kommet til slottet, viste dronningen hende tre værelser, der fra loft til gulv var fulde af den fineste hør. "Kan du spinde al den hør op," sagde hun, "så skal du giftes med min ældste søn. Jeg bryder mig ikke om, at du er fattig. Din flid vejer det rigelig op." Pigen blev forfærdet, for om hun så havde spundet i tre hundrede år fra morgen til aften, var hun ikke blevet færdig. Da dronningen var gået, gav hun sig til at græde, og bestilte ikke en smule i tre dage. Da dronningen kom igen og så, at hun aldeles ikke havde taget fat på arbejdet, blev hun meget forundret, men pigen undskyldte sig med, at hun havde længtes sådan efter sin mor, at hun slet ikke havde kunnet bestille noget. Det syntes dronningen jo nok, der kunne være mening i. "Men i morgen tager du fat," sagde hun, da hun gik.
Pigen vidste slet ikke, hvad hun skulle gøre, men stod bedrøvet og kiggede ud af vinduet. Da så hun, at der kom tre kvinder gående. Den første var platfodet, den andens underlæbe var så tyk, at den hang ned over hagen, og den tredie havde en meget stor tommelfinger. De standsede nedenfor vinduet og spurgte pigen, hvad der var i vejen. Hun klagede sin nød for dem, og de tilbød da at hjælpe hende og sagde: "Hvis du vil indbyde os til brylluppet, og ikke skamme dig ved os, men sige, at vi er dine kusiner, så skal vi i en fart spinde det hør op." - "Ja det lover jeg jer," sagde pigen, "kom kun herind og begynd." De tre løjerlige kvinder kom så op og satte sig i den første stue og begyndte at spinde. Den ene trak tråden og trådte hjulet, den anden vædede den, den tredie snoede den og slog den mod bordet med fingrene, og for hver gang, hun gjorde det, faldt der et fed garn ned, og det kunne ikke være spundet finere. Når dronningen kom, gemte pigen de tre spindersker og viste hende alt det garn, der var spundet, og hun kunne ikke finde rosende ord nok til pigen. Inden ret mange dage var alle tre værelser tømt. Så sagde de tre kvinder farvel. "Men glem nu ikke, hvad du har lovet os," sagde de, og så gik de.
Da pigen viste dronningen alt garnet, begyndte hun at træffe forberedelser til brylluppet, og kongesønnen var glad, fordi han fik sådan en flink kone. "Jeg har tre kusiner," sagde pigen, "som har været meget gode imod mig. Må jeg ikke nok indbyde dem til brylluppet." - " Jo, hvorfor ikke," svarede dronningen og hendes søn. Ved festens begyndelse kom de tre kvinder ind i nogle løjerlige dragter, og bruden sagde til dem: "Velkommen, kære kusiner." - "Hvordan kan du dog være i familie med de sære kvindfolk?" sagde brudgommen. Derpå gik han hen til den ene og spurgte hende, hvorfor hun var platfodet. "Det er jeg blevet af at træde rokken," svarede hun. Han spurgte så den anden, hvordan hun havde fået den tykke underlæbe. "Af at væde garnet," svarede hun. "Hvordan har I fået den brede tommelfinger," spurgte han nu den tredie. "Af at dreje tråden," svarede hun. "Min dejlige brud må aldrig mere røre en rok," sagde prinsen helt forfærdet, og sådan slap hun for at spinde.
There was once a girl who was lazy and would not spin, and her mother could not persuade her to it, do what she would. At last the mother became angry and out of patience, and gave her a good beating, so that she cried out loudly. At that moment the Queen was going by; as she heard the crying, she stopped; and, going into the house, she asked the mother why she was beating her daughter, so that every one outside in the street could hear her cries. The woman was ashamed to tell of her daughter's laziness, so she said, "I cannot stop her from spinning; she is for ever at it, and I am poor and cannot furnish her with flax enough." Then the Queen answered, "I like nothing better than the sound of the spinning-wheel, and always feel happy when I hear its humming; let me take your daughter with me to the castle - I have plenty of flax, she shall spin there to her heart's content." The mother was only too glad of the offer, and the Queen took the girl with her.
When they reached the castle the Queen showed her three rooms which were filled with the finest flax as full as they could hold.
"Now you can spin me this flax," said she, "and when you can show it me all done you shall have my eldest son for bridegroom; you may be poor, but I make nothing of that - your industry is dowry enough." The girl was inwardly terrified, for she could not have spun the flax, even if she were to live to be a hundred years old, and were to sit spinning every day of her life from morning to evening. And when she found herself alone she began to weep, and sat so for three days without putting her hand to it. On the third day the Queen came, and when she saw that nothing had been done of the spinning she was much surprised; but the girl excused herself by saying that she had not been able to begin because of the distress she was in at leaving her home and her mother. The excuse contented the Queen, who said, however, as she went away, "Tomorrow you must begin to work."
When the girl found herself alone again she could not tell how to help herself or what to do, and in her perplexity she went and gazed out of the window. There she saw three women passing by, and the first of them had a broad flat foot, the second had a big under-lip that hung down over her chin, and the third had a remarkably broad thumb. They all of them stopped in front of the window, and called out to know what it was that the girl wanted. She told them all her need, and they promised her their help, and said, "Then will you invite us to your wedding, and not be ashamed of us, and call us your cousins, and let us sit at your table; if you will promise this, we will finish off your flax-spinning in a very short time."
"With all my heart," answered the girl; "only come in now, and begin at once."
Then these same women came in, and she cleared a space in the first room for them to sit and carry on their spinning. The first one drew out the thread and moved the treddle that turned the wheel, the second moistened the thread, the third twisted it, and rapped with her finger on the table, and as often as she rapped a heap of yarn fell to the ground, and it was most beautifully spun. But the girl hid the three spinsters out of the Queen's sight, and only showed her, as often as she came, the heaps of well-spun yarn; and there was no end to the praises she received. When the first room was empty they went on to the second, and then to the third, so that at last all was finished. Then the three women took their leave, saying to the girl, "Do not forget what you have promised, and it will be all the better for you."
So when the girl took the Queen and showed her the empty rooms, and the great heaps of yarn, the wedding was at once arranged, and the bridegroom rejoiced that he should have so clever and diligent a wife, and praised her exceedingly.
"I have three cousins," said the girl, "and as they have shown me a great deal of kindness, I would not wish to forget them in my good fortune; may I be allowed to invite them to the wedding, and to ask them to sit at the table with us?" The Queen and the bridegroom said at once, "There is no reason against it."
So when the feast began in came the three spinsters in strange guise, and the bride said, "Dear cousins, you are welcome."
"Oh," said the bridegroom, "how come you to have such dreadfully ugly relations?" And then he went up to the first spinster and said, "How is it that you have such a broad flat foot?"
"With treading," answered she, "with treading." Then he went up to the second and said, "How is it that you have such a great hanging lip?"
"With licking," answered she, "with licking."
Then he asked the third, "How is it that you have such a broad thumb?"
"With twisting thread," answered she, "with twisting thread." Then the bridegroom said that from that time forward his beautiful bride should never touch a spinning-wheel. And so she escaped that tiresome flax-spinning.