School: Mágh Rua (B.) (roll number 5880)

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1. An Old Story

   

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   Once there lived a very cruel stepmother. She had a daughter and a stepdaughter. She was very kind to her daughter but she was very cruel to her stepdaughter. Every day the stepdaughter used to go to the well and spin until her fingers bled. One day the blood fell on her dress and if her stepmother saw it she'd beat and scold her. So she leaned over the well to wash it in the water. As she was washing it the spinning wheel fell into the well. Without thinking how she'd come out into the well she jumped after it. When she reached the bottom of it she found herself in a beautiful field. She walked along till she came to a little house. In front of the door sat an old ugly woman. The stepdaughter got frightened and was going to run away when the old woman asked her to stay and work for her. For a couple of years after that the girl worked very hard for her.
   One day the woman told her it was time to leave. As they were passing under a gate a bucket of gold fell on her so that she was dressed in gold forever. When the stepmother saw what had happened to her she thought her daughter might have the same luck. So she went away to the well and jumped into it. She came to the same house as before. The woman asked her to work for her. But she didn't work very hard and the woman told her to leave. As she was passing the gate a bucket [?]

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Folktales index

   AT0480: The Spinning‑Women by the Spring. The Kind and the Unkind Girls.

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Willie Sheehan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballyvorheen, Co. Limerick

   Informant

   Mr Sheehan

   Relation

   Parent

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballyvorheen, Co. Limerick