Prevod

Once upon a time a man and a woman married, and each had a daughter. The woman’s daughter was lazy and idle and never willing to do a thing, while the man’s daughter was able and willing; yet she could never please her stepmother, and both the woman and her daughter wished to be rid of her. One day the two girls were to sit by the well and spin. The woman’s daughter was to spin flax, but the man’s daughter was given nothing but bristles. “You’re always so clever and so handy,” said the woman’s daughter, “but even so, I’m not afraid to race you at spinning.” So they agreed that the first one whose thread broke should go into the well. Before long the man’s daughter’s thread broke, and into the well she had to go.

But when she reached the bottom, she saw a beautiful green meadow stretching far and wide around her, and she had not hurt herself at all. She walked a little way and came to a brushwood fence, which she had to climb over. “Oh, don’t tread too heavily on me,” said the fence, “and I’ll help you another time.” So she made herself as light as she could and stepped so carefully that she scarcely touched it.

She went a little farther and came to a brindled cow with a milk bowl hanging from her horns. She was a fine, handsome cow, and her udder was full and round. “Oh, please be so kind as to milk me,” said the cow, “for I’m bursting with milk. Drink as much as you like, and pour the rest over my hooves, and I’ll help you in return.”

The man’s daughter did as the cow asked. As soon as she took hold of the teats, the milk spurted into the bowl. Then she drank her fill, poured the rest over the cow’s hooves, and hung the bowl back on her horns.

When she had gone a little farther, she met a great ram whose wool was so long and thick that he dragged it along the ground behind him. From one horn hung a large pair of shears. “Oh, shear me, please,” said the ram, “for here I am panting under all this wool, and it’s so hot I’m almost suffocating.

Take as much as you like, and wind the rest around my neck, and I’ll help you in return.” She was willing at once, and the ram lay down of his own accord in her lap. He lay quite still, and she sheared him so neatly that she did not give his skin so much as a scratch. Then she took as much wool as she wanted and wound the rest around the ram’s neck.

A little farther on she came to an apple tree so laden with apples that all its branches bowed to the ground. Beside the trunk stood a little pole. “Oh, please be so kind as to pick my apples,” said the tree, “so that my branches can straighten again, for it hurts to stand so bent. But do strike gently, so you don’t damage me. Eat as much as you like, and lay the rest at my roots, and I’ll help you in return.” So she picked all she could reach, then took the pole and gently knocked down the other apples. She ate her fill and laid the rest neatly at the roots.

Then she walked a long, long way and came to a large farm where a troll-woman lived with her daughter. She went in and asked whether she might have a place in service. “Oh, there’s no use in that,” said the troll-woman, “for we’ve had plenty of servants, but not one of them was any good.” But the girl begged so prettily that they must please take her on. At last they did, and the troll-woman gave her a sieve and told her to fetch water in it. She thought it strange to fetch water in a sieve, but she went all the same, and when she came to the well, the little birds sang:

“Daub in clay! Tuck in straw! Daub in clay! Tuck in straw!” She did so, and then she could carry water in the sieve well enough. But when she brought the water home and the troll-woman saw the sieve, she said, “You didn’t think that up all by yourself!” Then the troll-woman told her to go to the cowshed to muck out and milk the cows. But when she got there, she found a shovel so big and heavy that she could not manage it; she could not even lift it. She had no idea what to do, but the birds sang that she should take the broom handle and toss out a little, and all the rest would fly out after it. She did so, and no sooner was it done than the cowshed was as clean as if it had been both mucked out and swept. Now she was to milk the cows, but they were so restless, kicking and lashing out, that she could not get near enough to milk them. Then the birds outside sang:

“A little stream, a little sip, for all the birds let some milk drip!” So she did, squirting a little stream of milk out to the birds. Then all the cows stood still and let her milk them, without kicking or lashing out; they did not so much as lift a foot.

When the troll-woman saw her coming in with the milk, she said, “You didn’t think that up all by yourself! But now you can take this black wool and wash it white.” The girl had no idea how to go about this, for she had never known anyone to wash black wool white. Still, she said nothing, but took the wool and went out to the well with it. Then the little birds sang that she should put the wool into the great tub standing there, and it would turn white soon enough.

“No, no,” said the troll-woman when she came in with the wool, “there’s no use keeping you. You can do everything, and in the end you’d vex the life out of me. You’d better be on your way.” Then the troll-woman set out three chests, one red, one green, and one blue, and the girl was to choose whichever she liked as payment for her service. She did not know which to take, but the little birds sang:

“Do not take the green one, do not take the red; take the blue one, with three crosses on its head!” So she took the blue one, as the birds had told her. “A curse on you, then!” said the troll-woman. “You’ll pay for that yet.” As the man’s daughter was leaving, the troll-woman hurled a red-hot iron bar after her, but at that very moment she darted behind the door and hid, so it did not strike her, for the little birds had told her beforehand what to do. She went on as fast as she could, but as she drew near the apple tree, she heard a terrible rumbling along the road. It was the troll-woman and her daughter coming after her. The girl was so frightened that she did not know where to turn. “Come here to me,” said the apple tree, “and I’ll help you. Hide beneath my branches, for if they catch you, they’ll take your chest and tear you to pieces.” She did so, and a moment later the troll-woman and her daughter arrived. “Have you seen a girl pass this way?” asked the troll-woman. “Oh yes,” said the apple tree, “one ran past a while ago, but she’s so far away by now that you’ll never catch her.” So the troll-woman turned round and went home again.

The girl went a little farther, but as she approached the ram, she heard such a dreadful rumbling that she did not know where to turn, she was so frightened; for she knew well enough that the troll-woman had changed her mind.

“Come here to me, and I’ll help you,” said the ram. “Hide under my wool, and they won’t see you. Otherwise they’ll take your chest and tear you to pieces.” A moment later the troll-woman came rushing up. “Have you seen a girl pass this way?” she asked the ram. “Oh yes,” said the ram, “I saw one a while ago, but she was running so fast that you’ll never catch her.” So the troll-woman turned round and went home. When the girl had come as far as the cow, she heard a dreadful rumbling along the road. “Come here to me,” said the cow, “and I’ll help you. Hide beneath my udder, or the troll-woman will come and take your chest and tear you to pieces.” It was not long before she arrived. “Have you seen a girl pass this way?” the troll-woman asked the cow. “Yes, I saw one a while ago, but she’s far away by now, for she was running so fast. You’ll never catch her,” said the cow. Then the troll-woman turned round and went home again.

When the girl had gone a long, long way and was not far from the brushwood fence, she heard such a dreadful rumbling along the road that she grew terribly frightened, for she knew well enough that the troll-woman had changed her mind. “Come here to me, and I’ll help you,” said the fence. “Creep beneath my twigs so they won’t see you, or they’ll take your chest and tear you to pieces.” So she hurried in beneath the twigs of the brushwood fence. “Have you seen a girl pass this way?” the troll-woman asked the fence. “No, I haven’t seen any girl,” answered the fence, rustling with anger. Then it made itself so tall that there was no hope of climbing over it, and the troll-woman had no choice but to turn round and go home again.

When the man’s daughter reached home, the woman and her daughter grew even more envious of her than before, for now she was much prettier, and so splendid that she was a joy to behold. They would not let her stay in the house with them, but drove her out to the pigsty; there she was to live. She scrubbed it clean and tidy, then opened the chest to see what she had been given for her wages. The moment she opened it, out came so much gold and silver and so many beautiful things that both the walls and the roof were hung with them, and the pigsty was far more magnificent than the grandest royal palace. When the stepmother and her daughter saw this, they were quite beside themselves and began asking what her place in service had been like.

“Oh,” she said, “you can judge for yourselves, since I’ve been paid so handsomely. Such people, and such a mistress to work for—you won’t find their like anywhere.” Then nothing would do but the woman’s daughter must go into service too, so that she could get herself a chest of gold like that. So they sat down to spin again, but this time the woman’s daughter was to spin bristles and the man’s daughter flax, and the first one whose thread broke was to go into the well. As you may imagine, it was not long before the woman’s daughter’s thread broke, and then they threw her into the well.

Now the very same thing happened: she fell to the bottom without hurting herself and found herself in a beautiful green meadow. When she had walked a little way, she came to the brushwood fence. “Don’t tread too heavily on me, and I’ll help you in return,” it said. “Oh, what do I care for a heap of twigs?” she said, and she trod on the fence so hard that it creaked and cracked.

Soon she came to the cow, who was bursting with milk. “Please be so kind as to milk me,” said the cow, “and I’ll help you in return. Drink as much as you like, but pour the rest over my hooves.” So she milked the cow and drank as much as she could hold, until there was nothing left to pour over the hooves. Then she flung the bowl away down the hillside and went on.

When she had gone a little farther, she came to the ram, who was dragging his wool behind him. “Oh, please be so kind as to shear me, and I’ll do you a good turn in return,” said the ram. “Take as much wool as you like, but wind the rest around my neck.” She did so, but she went at it so roughly that she cut great pieces out of the ram, and she took all the wool with her.

A little later she came to the apple tree, which was once again bowed down with fruit. “Please be so kind as to pick my apples, so my branches can straighten again, for it hurts to stand so bent,” said the apple tree. “But be careful not to damage me. Eat as much as you like, but lay the rest neatly at my roots, and I’ll help you in return.” She picked the nearest apples and knocked down those she could not reach with the pole. But she took no care at all, tearing and beating down great branches. She ate until she could eat no more, then flung the rest beneath the tree.

When she had gone a little farther, she came to the farm where the troll-woman lived, and there she asked for a place in service. The troll-woman said she wanted no servant girl, for either they were good for nothing, or they were far too clever and cheated her out of all she had. But the woman’s daughter would not give up; she said she wanted a place, and at last the troll-woman said she would take her on if she proved any good.

The first task she was given was to fetch water in the sieve. She went to the well and poured water into it, but as fast as she poured it in, it ran out again. Then the birds sang:

“Daub in clay! Tuck in straw! Daub in clay! Tuck in straw!” But she paid no heed to the birds’ song. She threw clay at them until they flew far away, and then she had to go home with an empty sieve and was scolded by the troll-woman. Next she was to muck out the cowshed and milk the cows, but she thought herself far too good for that. Still, she went into the cowshed, but when she got there she could not manage the shovel at all, it was so big. The birds told her the same thing they had told the man’s daughter: she should take the broom and toss out a little, and all the rest would fly out after it. But she took the broom and threw it at the birds. When she began to milk, the cows were so restless, kicking and lashing out, that every time she got a little milk into the bowl, they knocked it over. The birds sang:

“A little stream, a little sip, for all the birds let some milk drip!” But she thrashed and beat the cows, flung everything she could lay hands on at the birds, and made a dreadful uproar. So she got neither the mucking out nor the milking done. When she came indoors, the troll-woman both beat and scolded her, and then she was to wash the black wool white, but she did no better at that. The troll-woman thought this was altogether too much, so she set out three chests, one red, one green, and one blue, and said she had no use for her, since she was good for nothing. All the same, as payment for her service, she could choose whichever chest she liked. Then the birds sang:

“Do not take the green one, do not take the red; take the blue one, with three crosses on its head!” She paid no heed to what the birds sang, but took the red one, which shone the brightest. Then she set off for home, and she was allowed to go in peace, for no one came after her. When she reached home, her mother was overjoyed, and they went straight into the best room and set the chest there. They believed it held nothing but gold and silver, and thought both the walls and the roof would be gilded. But when they opened the chest, out poured nothing but snakes and toads; and whenever the woman’s daughter opened her mouth, it was just the same: out poured snakes and toads and every kind of vermin imaginable, until at last it was impossible to live in the same house with her. That was the reward she received for serving the troll-woman.