English Original
There was once a girl who was idle and would not spin. No matter what her mother said, she could not be persuaded. Finally, the mother, overcome with anger and impatience, beat her, and the girl began to weep loudly.
At that moment, the Queen happened to drive by. Hearing the weeping, she stopped her carriage, entered the house, and asked the mother why she was beating her daughter so that the cries could be heard from the road. Ashamed to reveal her daughter's laziness, the woman lied, "I cannot get her to stop spinning. She insists on spinning forever, and I am too poor to procure more flax."
The Queen replied, "There is nothing I like better than the sound of spinning. Let me take your daughter to the palace. I have plenty of flax, and she may spin as much as she likes."
The mother was heartily satisfied, and the Queen took the girl away. At the palace, the Queen led her to three rooms filled from floor to ceiling with the finest flax. "Spin all this flax," said the Queen, "and when you have finished, you shall marry my eldest son. Your indefatigable industry is dowry enough."
The girl was secretly terrified, for she could not have spun that flax even if she lived three hundred years. Alone, she wept for three days without touching the flax. When the Queen visited and saw no progress, the girl excused herself by saying she was too distressed from leaving home. The Queen accepted this but insisted she begin work the next day.
Alone again and desperate, the girl went to the window. She saw three women approaching: the first had a broad, flat foot; the second had a huge underlip hanging over her chin; the third had a broad thumb. They stood before the window and asked her what was wrong. Hearing her trouble, they offered help on one condition: "If you wilt invite us to your wedding, call us your aunts, seat us at your table, and are not ashamed of us, we will spin all the flax for you quickly."
"With all my heart," the girl replied, and let them in. They cleared a space and began to work. One drew the thread and trod the wheel, another wet the thread, and the third twisted it, striking the table with her finger. With each strike, a perfectly spun skein of thread fell to the ground. The girl concealed the spinners from the Queen, showing only the growing piles of yarn. Soon, all three rooms were emptied.
The three women then took their leave, reminding the girl, "Do not forget your promise—it will make your fortune."
When the maiden showed the Queen the empty rooms and the great heap of yarn, the Queen ordered the wedding. The bridegroom rejoiced at having such a clever and industrious wife and praised her mightily. "I have three aunts," said the girl. "They have been very kind to me. May I invite them to the wedding and seat them at our table?"
The Queen and the bridegroom agreed. At the feast, the three women entered in strange apparel. "Welcome, dear aunts," said the bride. "Ah," said the bridegroom, "how did you come by these odious friends?" He asked the first about her broad foot. "By treading," she answered. He asked the second about her hanging lip. "By licking," she answered. He asked the third about her broad thumb. "By twisting the thread," she answered.
Hearing this, the King's son was alarmed. "Neither now nor ever shall my beautiful bride touch a spinning-wheel!" And so, she was rid of the hateful task of spinning flax forever.
中文翻译
从前有一个懒惰的女孩，怎么也不肯纺纱。无论她母亲说什么，都无法说服她。最后，母亲被愤怒和不耐烦冲昏了头，打了她，女孩开始放声大哭。
就在这时，王后恰好驾车经过。听到哭声，她停下马车，走进屋子，问母亲为什么打女儿，哭声大得路上都能听见。母亲羞于承认女儿的懒惰，便撒谎说：“我没办法让她停下纺纱。她坚持要永远纺下去，可我太穷了，弄不到更多的亚麻。”
王后回答说：“我最爱听纺纱的声音了。让我带你的女儿去宫殿吧。我有足够的亚麻，她可以想纺多少就纺多少。”
母亲由衷地满意，王后便带走了女孩。在宫殿里，王后领她看了三个房间，里面从地板到天花板都堆满了最上等的亚麻。“把这些亚麻都纺完，”王后说，“等你纺完了，就可以嫁给我的长子。你那不知疲倦的勤勉就是足够的嫁妆了。”
女孩心里吓坏了，因为她就算活上三百年，每天从早纺到晚，也纺不完那些亚麻。独自一人时，她哭了三天，一根手指也没动。王后来查看，见毫无进展，女孩便借口说离开家让她太伤心了，所以没能开始。王后接受了这个说法，但坚持要求她第二天必须开始工作。
再次独处时，女孩不知所措，绝望地走到窗边。她看到三个女人走来：第一个长着一只又宽又平的脚；第二个下嘴唇巨大，垂到了下巴；第三个长着宽阔的大拇指。她们站在窗前，问她怎么了。听了她的烦恼，她们提出帮忙，但有一个条件：“如果你愿意邀请我们参加你的婚礼，称我们为你的姨妈，让我们坐在你的桌旁，并且不以我们为耻，我们就会很快帮你纺完所有的亚麻。”
“我全心全意愿意，”女孩回答，并让她们进来了。她们清理出一块地方，开始工作。一个抽纱线、踩纺轮，另一个润湿纱线，第三个捻纱线，并用手指敲打桌子。每敲一下，就有一绞纺得极好的纱线落到地上。女孩向王后隐瞒了纺纱女的存在，只给她看越堆越高的纱线。很快，三个房间都清空了。
三个女人随后告辞，提醒女孩：“别忘了你的承诺——这会给你带来好运。”
当这位少女向王后展示空房间和巨大的纱线堆时，王后下令举行婚礼。新郎很高兴能有这样一位聪明勤勉的妻子，极力称赞她。“我有三个姨妈，”女孩说，“她们对我非常好。我可以邀请她们来参加婚礼，并让她们和我们坐一桌吗？”
王后和新郎同意了。宴会上，三个女人穿着奇特的服装进来了。“欢迎，亲爱的姨妈们，”新娘说。“啊，”新郎说，“你怎么交了这些丑陋的朋友？”他问第一个女人她的宽脚是怎么来的。“踩纺车踩的，”她回答。他问第二个女人她下垂的嘴唇是怎么来的。“舔线舔的，”她回答。他问第三个女人她宽阔的大拇指是怎么来的。“捻纱线捻的，”她回答。
听到这些，王子大吃一惊。“从现在起，我美丽的妻子永远不许再碰纺车！”就这样，她永远摆脱了那可恨的纺亚麻的活儿。