The Three Spinning Wheels
Once upon a time, there was a weaver who lived in a small village with her daughter, Nora.
While the woman spun all day, Nora didn't help her at all. Nora hated the sound of the spinning wheel, but she loved to paint. Her mother believed painting was a waste of time.
— Nora! Nora! My dear, what are you doing? Help me spin the thread. — Just a moment, Mother, I'm almost finished with my painting. — How many times have I told you that painting is a waste of time? Don't you care about me at all? I spin all day to earn a living, and you just waste time like that. — But Mother, I'm painting for the landowner. He said he'll pay me very well. — It doesn't matter. Maybe you'll sell a painting or two to the rich, but how many rich people are there in our kingdom? But everyone needs clothes, so everyone will buy cloth from us. So get to spinning! Come on, come on!
A Royal Visit
This happened almost daily. Nora would start painting, and her mother wouldn't let her. One day, her mother got so angry that she threw all of Nora's brushes away. Nora went into the garden and cried.
Just then, the queen was passing by in her carriage. When she saw Nora crying, she ordered the carriage to stop in front of the weaver's house.
— Coachman, stop! — Come, don't cry anymore. — I don't believe it! It's Her Majesty herself! Good day, Majesty! — Good day, my lady. Is this your daughter? — Oh, yes! — Good day! — Good day. You are very beautiful. — Thank you, Your Majesty! — Why was she crying? What's the problem? — What can I say, Your Majesty, my daughter is very hardworking. She loves to weave and spin. I keep telling her to stop, but she won't listen to me. — Mother! — When I forced her to rest, she started to cry. I am a poor woman, Your Majesty. Where am I to get so much thread for her to weave to her heart's content? — I am very pleased to see such a diligent young woman in my kingdom. But why don't you send her to my court? I love the sound of spinning wheels and I have more than enough thread in the palace. If she spins three rooms full of thread, I will give her to my eldest son to marry. — What an honor that would be for a poor woman like me, Your Majesty! Thank you! — But Mother! — Oh, don't worry about me, my daughter. I'm not that old. I can take care of myself. Go to the palace! Anyway, you see Her Majesty is willing to take you with her there. Go!
The Queen's Challenge
So Nora had to go with the queen to the palace. The queen took Nora to the three rooms filled with the finest thread Nora had ever seen. The queen told her:
— Today you may rest, but you must finish spinning this thread as quickly as possible. — Yes, Your Majesty!
Nora was so confused she didn't know what to do. All day she just stared at the flax. When the next day came, the queen was shocked to see that she had done nothing.
— Oh, you haven't started working, Nora? — Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I miss home so much that I couldn't bring myself to start working. I am very sorry. — Oh, I understand. Don't worry. Take your time.
The queen left, but Nora was very worried. She had never learned how to work with such fine flax and she hated doing it. She wanted to tell the queen the truth, that she hated to spin, but she thought that perhaps the queen would punish her mother for lying. Nora was so worried that she started to cry.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She saw three women coming towards her.
— Ah! Who are you? Where do you come from? — It doesn't matter who we are or where we come from. What matters is why we came. And we came to help you, my dear, if you'll allow us. — To help me? How? — We know you don't like to spin, so we will spin this flax for you. — Seriously? Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you? — We want only one thing. No, she won't let us. We are too ugly. What were we thinking? Come on, let's spin the flax and go. — But... What is it? What do you want? Tell me! — If we spin all the flax, will you promise to invite us to the royal wedding and introduce us to the royal guests as your aunts? — She won't. No. Look at us, with our swollen toes, with our eyes so small and our lips so long and so, so ugly. She won't invite us, especially not in front of the royal family. — We are too ugly. You're right. — Yes, of course I'll invite you! And who says you're ugly? You're helping me when I need it. That's more important than all the outer beauty in the world. Not only will I invite you, but I'll seat you at the head of the table, next to me and the prince. — Seriously? Won't the prince be upset and laugh? If you come with uglies like us to the table, he might not want to marry you anymore. Ha ha ha! — If the prince is so unkind as to insult his future wife's relatives, then I won't marry him.
Unexpected Help
People have always laughed at us, and we only wanted a little respect for our work. Thank you, Nora. Now watch us spin the flax into the finest thread possible.
So the three women set to work at the wheel. They worked all night, and by morning, they had finished almost everything in the room. When they heard footsteps, they disappeared.
The queen had come to see how much Nora had worked.
— Oh, my, Nora! How did you manage to spin so much in a single evening? Good morning! I have never seen such fine flax in all my life. So you worked all night? — Indeed, Your Majesty. The wheel works the flax as if by magic. — You're probably tired. Rest. — Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you, but after I finish all the flax.
Nora hadn't lied to the queen, but she kept secret the fact that she had been helped by the three weavers. When the queen left, the women returned and got to work.
— At the royal wedding, I'll wear my red dress. — And I, my green silk dress. — And I, my yellow dress.
The weavers were so happy that they would be invited to Nora's wedding with the prince. They spun all the flax with joy, and in a week, the three rooms of flax were filled with the most exquisite cloth the queen had ever seen.
— I can't believe it, my dear! How beautiful! I am very proud. — Thank you, Your Majesty! I am so glad to have such a diligent and skilled young woman like you as my daughter-in-law. Call your mother so we can arrange the wedding.
The Royal Wedding
As a result, a carriage was sent to Nora's mother to bring her to the palace. Nora told her mother everything about the weavers.
— I hope you're not planning to invite them to the wedding, are you? — Mother, but I promised them! — Nora, don't be foolish! Do you think the queen and the prince will like having such ugly guests? — Mother! — Good day, Your Majesty! — Good day, my lady. I thought it was time to make the guest list. Would you like to invite anyone special to the wedding? — Oh, no, no! — Mother, how can you forget? Your Majesty, I have three aunts whom I wish to invite. — Of course, my dear. I will send them invitations through someone. — Your Majesty, these aunts are very close to me. They taught me how to spin. I want to invite them myself and have them sit next to me at the feast. — Of course, Nora, do as you wish!
So Nora invited the three weavers, much to her mother's displeasure.
On the day of the feast, the hall door opened and the three women entered, dressed in red, green, and yellow silk dresses. Everyone looked at them, but Nora quickly went and embraced them.
— My favorite aunts! Thank you for coming! Let me introduce you to the royal family. Her Majesty, the Queen, His Majesty, the King, and he is Prince Edward. — Hello, dear aunts! We have reserved seats for you. — Thank you so much! Ah! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! — At least with this, I could repay you for your great talent and help.
Nora seated them at the table and went to meet other guests. Meanwhile, Prince Edward began to speak with the weavers.
— I hope you will have a very good time. — Yes, we are having a very good time, but I would love to be able to dance. As a spinner, you can't. — Why? — Look at my swollen feet. That's what happens when you work at the spinning wheel. — Oh, oh! — And I can't sing. — But why? — Look at my lips. From licking the thread so much. — I wish I could sit in the garden at night and look at the stars, but I can't. — Why not? — From straining to see the finest threads, my eyes have grown tired. That's how it is when you're a spinner. — Oh, no!
A Happy Life
— Nora, my dear! Excuse me, please! — What is it? — I beg you, never spin again! Look what happened to your poor aunts! Please! — But... — Do anything else you wish, my dear, but don't spin! — Actually, I don't even like to spin. I love to paint. — Oh, then I will bring you the most beautiful paintings in the world, so you can paint to your heart's content. — That would be a dream come true! — And one more thing. Let your aunts stay at the palace. They have worked long and hard. They deserve to rest from now on. — Edward, you are a wonderful and kind-hearted man!
And so, Nora never had to touch a spinning wheel again. She could paint as much as she wanted, and the three weavers lived with the royal family in the palace. Prince Edward and Nora lived happily ever after.
