Das Mädchen ohne Hände

(The Girl Without Hands)

Read this tale aloud, or read along with your little one. Sentences are short and the words are simple.

Once a miller had a daughter. The devil came. He said: I will give you gold.

Give me what stands behind the mill. The miller said: yes. It was his daughter.

She wept. She prayed. The devil came.

He could not take her. Her hands were clean. He said: cut off your hands.

The girl cut them off. She walked. A king came by.

He saw her. He married her. They had a baby.

The king went to war. The devil told the mother. She made a letter.

She sent the king a letter. It said: I do not want you. Come no more.

The king came home. He saw the baby. He went away.

The mother took the baby. She went to the woods. She prayed.

Her hands grew back. The king came back. He saw her.

He said: I want you. They lived happily ever after.

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