Mother Holle in English _ Stories for Teenagers _ @EnglishFairyTales

English Aqsa's Stories

Transcript

00:00Once upon a time, there lived a widow in a village.

00:03She had two daughters.

00:05The elder daughter was called Stella.

00:08Stella was very kind and hard-working.

00:12The younger daughter, Bella, was rude and lazy.

00:16But the woman loved her younger daughter more,

00:18for she was her own daughter.

00:21The elder one was her step-mother.

00:24The elder one was her step-father.

00:27Stella was her own daughter.

00:29The elder one was her step-daughter.

00:32So she would make Stella slog all day like a servant in the house.

00:37Stella! Finish all this work.

00:40You are still to go out and spin yarn.

00:43Bella, come here, my dear.

00:46You must be hungry. Have something.

00:49Stella quickly finished all the housework and went out to spin yarn.

00:54Every day the step-mother would send her near the village well to spin yarn,

00:59and Stella would spin until her fingers bled.

01:02A parrot lived next to the well.

01:05Stella would speak to him while spinning yarn.

01:09One day, while she was spinning, her fingers began to bleed,

01:13and the blood stained the spindle.

01:16She kept the spindle on the well to clean it

01:19and began to draw water when the spindle fell into the well.

01:23Oh! The spindle has fallen into the well.

01:27What do I do? If mother finds out, she will be furious.

01:32Stella tried very hard, but she could not get the spindle out.

01:37She ran home and said to her step-mother,

01:40Mother, the spindle has fallen into the well.

01:45Why didn't you fall into the well instead of the spindle?

01:49Now where will I get another one from?

01:52You can get it out of the well. Don't you return without the spindle. Got it?

01:58Crying to herself, Stella went back to the well.

02:02She had already tried all she could to get the spindle out of the well.

02:07So not knowing what else she could possibly do,

02:10Stella herself jumped into the well.

02:14When she opened her eyes, she saw herself in a grassy field.

02:19The sun was shining brightly, and there were lovely flowers everywhere.

02:24Where am I? What a beautiful place this is.

02:29Hmm. What a fine fragrance.

02:32Stella walked ahead, and at a distance, she saw a bakery.

02:37There were loaves of bread in the oven.

02:39The loaves were calling out.

02:41It was as if this was some kind of a magical land.

02:46Get us out! Get us out! Or else we shall burn!

02:50We have been baking for a long time. Someone get us out!

02:57Stella heard the loaves and removed them from the oven.

03:03Stella went further, and she saw an apple tree.

03:07The tree, too, was speaking.

03:10All my apples are ripe.

03:12Please someone pluck them and eat them, or else they will all rot.

03:18Stella heard the tree speak, and she could not bear the pain of the tree.

03:23As soon as she started shaking the tree,

03:26the apples began to fall to the ground like rain.

03:29Stella kept shaking the tree till the last apple fell.

03:34Then she gathered all the apples to one side and went away.

03:38As she continued walking, she reached a hut where she saw an old woman.

03:44The woman had such horrendous teeth that Stella got scared,

03:49and as soon as she turned to run away from there,

03:52the old woman called out to her.

03:55Don't be afraid of me, my child.

03:59If you look after my house well, you can stay here.

04:04I shall give you everything.

04:07In return, you simply have to ensure that each day when you make my bed,

04:14you cover it with feathers, just as the ground is covered with snow after snowfall.

04:21And yes, everyone calls me Mother Holle.

04:26Mother Holle spoke to her so lovingly that Stella agreed to stay with her.

04:32Stella looked after the house very well,

04:35and each day she would make Mother Holle's bed exactly as Mother Holle had asked her to.

04:42Mother Holle, too, loved Stella very much and would give her lovely food to eat.

04:48Stella stayed there for some time, and then she started missing home.

04:53Mother Holle is so kind to me.

04:56She takes such good care of me, but I am missing home.

05:01Stella was very happy with Mother Holle, but now she thought it was time she went back home.

05:08So one day she said to Mother Holle,

05:12Mother Holle, I wish to go back home.

05:16I cannot stay here any longer.

05:19I am happy that you wish to go back home.

05:23You have worked very sincerely.

05:26I am very happy with you.

05:29I shall drop you to your home myself.

05:33Really? Thank you, Mother Holle.

05:37Mother Holle took Stella's hand and led her to a huge door made of gold.

05:43The door opened.

05:45The moment Stella crossed the threshold of the door,

05:48it began to rain gold over her,

05:51and before she knew it, she was dressed in gold from head to toe.

05:56This is your reward for serving me with such love.

06:01And here, your spindle that you had dropped in the well.

06:06Stella could not help wondering whether all this was real or simply a dream.

06:12She had never got so much love from anyone in her entire life.

06:17She cried tears of joy.

06:20Then the door closed,

06:22and Stella saw that she was standing near the well outside her stepmother's home.

06:28As soon as he saw her,

06:30the parrot came and sat on Stella's shoulder and said to her,

06:35Here she is. Your daughter is pure as gold.

06:38She has returned.

06:41The parrot kept saying this over and over again.

06:45When Stella entered the house,

06:47her stepmother and Bella were shocked to see her,

06:50for she was laden with gold from head to toe.

06:54They happily asked her to come in.

06:57Stella, my dear, where did you go?

07:01I was so worried about you.

07:03And where did you get this from?

07:06Stella told them everything.

07:09On hearing her story, the stepmother's heart became wrought with greed.

07:14Wow! So much gold!

07:18If I send Bella too over there, I shall become very, very rich.

07:24Just like Stella, the stepmother sent Bella too for spinning yarn to the well.

07:30Bella pricked her own finger with a thorn so that it would bleed.

07:35She put the blood on the spindle and threw it into the well

07:40and then jumped into the well herself.

07:43Like Stella, her eyes too opened in a grassy field.

07:48She got up and walked ahead.

07:50She reached the bakery.

07:52The loaves of bread in the oven were shouting.

07:55Get us out! Get us out! Or else we shall burn!

08:00We have been baking for a long time.

08:03Someone get us out!

08:06Are you crazy? Why should I dirty my hands for you?

08:11Bella spoke thus and moved on.

08:14She then reached the apple tree.

08:17All my apples are ripe.

08:19Please someone pluck them and eat them or else they will all rot.

08:24Are you crazy? Why should I pluck them?

08:28What if an apple falls on my head?

08:31She spoke rudely to the tree too and simply moved on.

08:36Finally, she reached Mother Holla's home.

08:39She had heard of her horrendous teeth from Stella.

08:45So without getting scared, she herself asked Mother Holla for work.

08:50Mother Holla, I have heard you need someone to work for you.

08:55Please let me have the job.

08:57Mother Holla explained all the work to her

09:00and told her how she wanted feathers to be laid on her bed each day.

09:05On the first day, Bella obeyed Mother Holla.

09:08But then from the next day, she started stalling.

09:12On the third day, she did nothing.

09:15Eventually, she began sleeping the entire day

09:19and she even ignored the instruction of scattering feathers on Mother Holla's bed.

09:25Seeing no feathers on her bed, Mother Holla was furious.

09:30She went to Bella and said to her,

09:33I think you must now go back home.

09:38Bella was elated to hear this.

09:41She thought she would now get gold.

09:44Mother Holla took her to the golden door.

09:47As soon as Bella crossed the threshold of the door,

09:51instead of gold, it rained muck on her.

09:54This is your reward for the kind of work you have done.

10:01The door closed and she returned home.

10:04The parrot saw her and sitting on the well, he began calling out,

10:10Here she is! Your daughter is ugly as muck!

10:13She has returned!

10:17That is why it is said, even imitation needs brains.

10:23Like Stella, Bella did manage to reach Mother Holla's hut.

10:28But because of her laziness and her habit of stalling work,

10:32she brought home muck instead of gold.

10:35So, from this story, we learn that we must be sincere and honest in whatever we do.

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