The Lazy Spinner
by Brothers Grimm · from Household Tales
Original Story
The lazy spinner
A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm
In a certain village there once lived a man and his wife, and the wife was so idle that she would never work at anything; whatever her husband gave her to spin, she did not get done, and what she did spin she did not wind, but let it all remain entangled in a heap. If the man scolded her, she was always ready with her tongue, and said, "Well, how should I wind it, when I have no reel? Just you go into the forest and get me one." - "If that is all," said the man, "then I will go into the forest, and get some wood for making reels." Then the woman was afraid that if he had the wood he would make her a reel of it, and she would have to wind her yarn off, and then begin to spin again. She bethought herself a little, and then a lucky idea occurred to her, and she secretly followed the man into the forest, and when he had climbed into a tree to choose and cut the wood, she crept into the thicket below where he could not see her, and cried,
"He who cuts wood for reels shall die,
And he who winds, shall perish."
The man listened, laid down his axe for a moment, and began to consider what that could mean. "Hollo," he said at last, "what can that have been; my ears must have been singing, I won't alarm myself for nothing." So he again seized the axe, and began to hew, then again there came a cry from below:
"He who cuts wood for reels shall die,
And he who winds, shall perish."
He stopped, and felt afraid and alarmed, and pondered over the circumstance. But when a few moments had passed, he took heart again, and a third time he stretched out his hand for the axe, and began to cut. But some one called out a third time, and said loudly,
"He who cuts wood for reels shall die,
And he who winds, shall perish."
That was enough for him, and all inclination had departed from him, so he hastily descended the tree, and set out on his way home. The woman ran as fast as she could by by-ways so as to get home first. So when he entered the parlour, she put on an innocent look as if nothing had happened, and said, "Well, have you brought a nice piece of wood for reels?" - "No," said he, "I see very well that winding won't do," and told her what had happened to him in the forest, and from that time forth left her in peace about it. Neverthless after some time, the man again began to complain of the disorder in the house. "Wife," said he, "it is really a shame that the spun yarn should lie there all entangled!" - "I'll tell you what," said she, "as we still don't come by any reel, go you up into the loft, and I will stand down below, and will throw the yarn up to you, and you will throw it down to me, and so we shall get a skein after all." - "Yes, that will do," said the man. So they did that, and when it was done, he said, "The yarn is in skeins, now it must be boiled." The woman was again distressed; She certainly said, "Yes, we will boil it next morning early." but she was secretly contriving another trick.
Early in the morning she got up, lighted a fire, and put the kettle on, only instead of the yarn, she put in a lump of tow, and let it boil. After that she went to the man who was still lying in bed, and said to him, "I must just go out, you must get up and look after the yarn which is in the kettle on the fire, but you must be at hand at once; mind that, for if the cock should happen to crow, and you are not attending to the yarn, it will become tow." The man was willing and took good care not to loiter. He got up as quickly as he could, and went into the kitchen. But when he reached the kettle and peeped in, he saw, to his horror, nothing but a lump of tow. Then the poor man was as still as a mouse, thinking he had neglected it, and was to blame, and in future said no more about yarn and spinning. But you yourself must own she was an odious woman!
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Story DNA
Moral
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Plot Summary
A man's wife is incredibly lazy, refusing to spin or wind yarn. When her husband tries to make her work, she devises two clever tricks to avoid her duties. First, she scares him in the forest with a fake supernatural warning, preventing him from making a reel. Later, she replaces yarn with tow in a boiling pot, convincing him he ruined it through neglect. Ultimately, the husband gives up trying to make her work, leaving the cunning wife to her idleness.
Themes
Emotional Arc
frustration to resignation
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Reflects a time when domestic chores like spinning were essential for household economy and women's expected duties.
Plot Beats (12)
- A man's wife is incredibly lazy, never finishing her spinning or winding the yarn.
- When the husband scolds her, she blames the lack of a reel and demands he get wood for one.
- The wife secretly follows her husband to the forest and, hidden, chants a warning that 'He who cuts wood for reels shall die, and he who winds, shall perish.'
- The husband hears the chant three times, becomes terrified, and abandons his plan to make a reel.
- The wife rushes home, pretends innocence, and the husband tells her what happened, leaving her in peace about the reel.
- Some time later, the husband complains about the tangled yarn again.
- The wife suggests they manually wind the yarn by throwing it back and forth between the loft and the ground, which they do.
- The husband then suggests boiling the yarn to set the skeins.
- The wife agrees but secretly replaces the yarn with a lump of tow in the kettle.
- She tells her husband to watch the kettle, warning that if he doesn't attend to it when the cock crows, the yarn will turn into tow.
- The husband rushes to the kitchen, finds only tow in the kettle, and believes he is to blame for neglecting it.
- From that day on, the husband never again mentions yarn or spinning, leaving the lazy wife undisturbed.
Characters
The Wife
A woman of average height and build, likely appearing somewhat unkempt due to her idleness, with no specific distinguishing features mentioned beyond her general appearance of a village woman.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing typical of a German village woman of the era, likely a linen shift, a wool skirt, and a plain apron, possibly showing signs of wear or being slightly disheveled due to her lack of attention to household tasks. Colors would be muted earth tones.
Wants: To avoid work, particularly spinning and winding yarn, and to maintain her comfortable idleness.
Flaw: Extreme laziness and a strong aversion to any form of labor.
She remains consistently idle and manipulative throughout the story, successfully tricking her husband multiple times and never changing her ways.
Idle, cunning, manipulative, quick-witted, deceitful.
The Man
A man of average build, likely showing signs of a working life, perhaps a bit weary from his wife's idleness. No specific distinguishing features are mentioned.
Attire: Practical, sturdy clothing suitable for a German villager and woodcutter of the era, such as a simple linen shirt, wool trousers, and a waistcoat, possibly with a leather belt. Colors would be muted and earthy.
Wants: To bring order to his household, specifically to get his wife to spin and wind yarn, and to maintain a functional home.
Flaw: His gullibility and his fear of the unknown, which his wife exploits.
He starts by trying to enforce work on his wife but is repeatedly tricked and ultimately gives up, becoming resigned to her idleness and the disorder in the house.
Patient, diligent, easily manipulated, somewhat naive, persistent (initially).
Locations
Couple's Cottage Parlour
A simple, lived-in parlour within a German half-timbered cottage (Fachwerkhaus), likely with a stone hearth and wooden furniture. The room is characterized by a heap of entangled, unspun yarn.
Mood: Initially tense and argumentative due to the wife's idleness, later deceptively innocent.
The husband scolds his wife for not spinning, leading to her demand for a reel. Later, she returns here after tricking him in the forest.
Dense Forest Thicket
A dense, ancient forest, likely a mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland typical of Central Europe. The specific spot is a thicket, providing ample cover for someone to hide unseen beneath a tree.
Mood: Initially ordinary, then becomes eerie and unsettling due to the mysterious voice.
The husband attempts to cut wood for a reel, but is repeatedly scared away by his wife's disguised voice from the thicket.
Cottage Loft
A dusty, dimly lit attic space within the German cottage, accessible from the main living area. It's a storage area where the husband and wife attempt to 'skein' the yarn by tossing it between floors.
Mood: Functional, slightly dusty, with a sense of makeshift activity.
The husband and wife attempt to skein the yarn by throwing it between the loft and the floor below.
Cottage Kitchen
A rustic, functional kitchen in the German cottage, featuring a large hearth with a kettle. This is where the wife performs her final trick with the tow.
Mood: Warm from the fire, but quickly turns to horror and confusion for the husband.
The wife boils tow instead of yarn, tricking her husband into believing he ruined the yarn by not attending to it.