The Girl Without Hands is a traditional fairy tale collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. It follows a miller whose desperate attempt to escape poverty leads him to make a bargain with a mysterious stranger. The consequences fall upon his innocent daughter, who must endure terrible suffering before finding protection and a new life. Through a series of trials, the tale explores betrayal, perseverance, faith and the possibility of restoration after great loss.
The Miller’s Dangerous Bargain
There was once a miller who had gradually fallen into poverty. His circumstances became so difficult that he had almost nothing left. All he possessed was his mill and a large apple tree growing behind it.
One day, he went into the forest to gather wood. While he was working, an old man whom he had never seen before approached him.
“Why do you trouble yourself so much with cutting wood?” the stranger asked. “I can make you rich if you promise me what stands behind your mill.”
The miller thought about the apple tree behind his property. Believing that the stranger wanted nothing more than the tree, he readily agreed.
“Yes,” he said, giving the stranger a written promise.
The old man laughed mockingly.
“When three years have passed, I will return and take what belongs to me,” he declared.
With those words, the stranger disappeared, leaving the miller to return home.
When the miller arrived, his wife came to meet him with astonishment on her face.
“Tell me, husband, where has all this sudden wealth come from?” she asked. “Every box and chest in our house is filled, yet I know of nobody who brought anything here.”
The miller explained that a stranger in the forest had promised to make him rich in exchange for whatever stood behind the mill.
His wife immediately understood the terrible mistake he had made.
“Alas, husband!” she cried. “The stranger was the Devil. Our daughter was standing behind the mill, sweeping the yard. You have promised her to him!”
The miller was horrified. He had believed that he was bargaining away a tree, never imagining that his own daughter would become the price of his sudden riches.
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The Devil Returns for the Girl
The miller’s daughter was a good and innocent young woman. She had been sweeping the yard behind the mill when her father made his bargain, and she had no knowledge of what had happened.
Three years passed, and the appointed time approached.
On the day the Devil was expected to claim her, the girl washed herself thoroughly and stood in a circle she had drawn around herself. When the Devil arrived, he found that he could not approach her.
He became furious and ordered the miller to stop his daughter from washing herself again.
The following day, the miller told the girl to remain unwashed. However, she continued to resist the Devil’s power. She wept over her hands, and her tears washed them clean.
Once again, the Devil could not take her.
He returned to the miller and demanded that the girl’s hands be cut off, threatening to take the miller himself if he refused.
The miller was terrified. He called his daughter and begged her to forgive him for the terrible bargain he had made.
“My child, I cannot bear to lose you, but the Devil threatens to take me if I do not obey him,” he said.
The girl answered that she was his daughter and that he should do whatever he believed necessary.
The miller wept bitterly, but he took a sharp axe and cut off both her hands.
The girl endured the terrible suffering without turning against her father. She remained steadfast, trusting that she would not be abandoned completely.
When the Devil returned, however, he discovered that the girl had washed her face and hands with her tears. He could not claim her, despite all that had been done to her.
He left in anger, and the miller’s daughter was finally free to go.
The Girl Leaves Her Father’s Home
The girl knew that she could no longer remain at the mill. Her father’s bargain had destroyed the life she had known, and she could not depend upon him to protect her from further danger.
She wrapped her wounded arms as best she could and prepared to leave.
With tears in her eyes, she said goodbye to the home where she had grown up. Although her father’s actions had brought her suffering, she did not set out seeking revenge. Instead, she walked into the wider world, uncertain where she would find shelter or how she would survive.
She travelled through fields and forests, enduring hunger and exhaustion. Without hands, even ordinary tasks became difficult. She could not easily gather food or protect herself, and every step took her farther from the life she had once known.
Eventually, she entered a great forest. There, overcome by weariness and sorrow, she knelt and prayed to God for help.
An angel appeared before her. The heavenly messenger guided her through the forest until they reached a small house.
Above its entrance was a sign bearing the words, “Here all dwell free.”
A maiden dressed in white came out to welcome her.
“Welcome, Lady Queen,” the maiden said.
The girl was astonished. She had never been a queen and could not understand how the stranger knew anything about her.
The white maiden explained that she was an angel sent by God to watch over the girl and care for her.
At last, the young woman had found a place where she could rest without fear.
The King Discovers the Mysterious Maiden
The girl remained in the little house, where she received food, shelter and care. Her life had changed completely, but she was no longer alone.
Some time later, she came to a garden belonging to a king. The garden was surrounded by water, making it difficult to enter.
One day, the girl became hungry. She saw a tree covered with beautiful pears, but she had no hands with which to pick them.
An angel helped her cross the water by making a way through it. The girl approached the tree and ate one of the pears with her mouth.
A gardener was watching from a distance. He saw the maiden without hands and noticed the angel dressed in white who had accompanied her. Believing that he was witnessing something supernatural, he was too afraid to approach or question them.
When the girl had eaten enough, she returned to the bushes where she had been hiding.
The following morning, the king came into his garden and counted the pears. He discovered that one was missing, although it had not fallen to the ground.
He questioned the gardener, who explained that a maiden without hands had appeared during the night. An angel had helped her cross the water, and she had eaten one of the pears before disappearing among the bushes.
The king was intrigued. He wanted to see the mysterious maiden for himself.
That night, he returned to the garden with a priest and watched beneath the tree.
At midnight, the maiden came out of the bushes. She approached the tree and ate another pear with her mouth. Beside her stood the angel in white.
The priest stepped forward and asked whether she was a spirit from heaven or a human being from the earth.
“I am no spirit,” the maiden answered. “I am an unhappy mortal, abandoned by everyone except God.”
The king heard her words and was deeply moved.
“If everyone else has forsaken you,” he said, “I will not forsake you.”
He took the young woman to his palace. Her goodness and beauty touched him, and he grew to love her. He ordered silver hands to be made for her, so that she could manage daily tasks more easily.
In time, the king married her, and the girl who had once been cast out found herself living as a queen.
A Child Is Born, and a Letter Is Forged
The king and queen lived happily together. After a year, however, the king had to leave to lead his army.
Before departing, he entrusted his wife to the care of his mother.
“If she gives birth while I am away,” he told the older queen, “take good care of her and the child. Send me a letter at once so that I may know the news.”
During the king’s absence, the young queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy. His grandmother was delighted and immediately wrote a letter to inform the king of the joyful news.
A messenger set out with the letter, but the journey was long. Exhausted, he stopped beside a brook and fell asleep.
The Devil, who continued seeking ways to harm the good queen, seized the opportunity. He took the letter and replaced it with another containing a false message. The forged letter claimed that the queen had given birth to a monster.
When the king received the message, he was shocked and distressed. Nevertheless, he wrote back instructing his mother to care for the queen and nurse her well until he returned.
The messenger began his journey back. Once again, he rested beside the same brook and fell asleep.
The Devil appeared again and exchanged the king’s letter for another false message. This time, the letter ordered that the queen and her child should be put to death.
The king’s mother was horrified when she read the command. She could scarcely believe that her son would order the deaths of his wife and innocent child.
She wrote back to ask for confirmation, but the Devil repeatedly intercepted the messages. The final forged letter instructed her to preserve the queen’s tongue and eyes as proof that the order had been carried out.
The older queen was faced with an unbearable choice. She could not bring herself to kill the innocent young woman and her baby, yet she feared the consequences of disobeying what appeared to be the king’s command.
At last, she devised a plan to save them.
The Queen and Her Son Are Sent Away
The king’s mother secretly had a hind brought to her. She arranged for the animal’s tongue and eyes to be removed, keeping them as false proof that the queen had been killed.
Then she called the young queen and explained what had happened.
“I cannot allow you to be killed,” she said, “but you can no longer remain here. Take your child and leave this place. Go into the wide world, and do not return.”
The young queen was heartbroken. She had done nothing wrong, yet she was being driven from the palace with her newborn child.
She tied the baby securely to her back and left the royal home. Tears filled her eyes as she walked away from the life she had known.
She travelled until she reached a vast forest. Weak and frightened, she knelt and prayed for protection.
Once again, the angel of the Lord appeared. The angel guided her to the little house with the sign that read, “Here all dwell free.”
The white maiden welcomed her and helped her settle inside. The child was taken from her back and placed at her breast to feed. Afterwards, he was laid in a beautifully made little bed.
The queen asked the white maiden how she had known that she was royalty.
“I am an angel sent by God to watch over you and your child,” the maiden replied.
The queen stayed in the little house for seven years. She and her son were cared for, and she found peace away from the dangers of the palace.
During those years, something wonderful happened. Through God’s grace, the hands that had been cut off grew again.
The queen could once more use her natural hands. Her suffering had been great, but she had survived the trials that had seemed certain to destroy her.
The King Searches for His Family
Eventually, the king returned from his military campaign. His first wish was to see his wife and child.
His mother could no longer keep the truth from him. Weeping, she told him about the letters that had ordered the deaths of his wife and son.
She showed him the letters she had received and the false tokens she had preserved.
The king was horrified. He realised that he had been deceived and that his beloved wife had suffered because of the Devil’s interference.
His mother then revealed the truth: she had not killed the queen or the child. Instead, she had secretly arranged for a hind to be killed and sent the queen away with her baby.
The king was overwhelmed with grief and guilt.
“I will travel as far as the sky is blue,” he declared, “and I will neither eat nor drink until I find my dear wife and child, if they have not already died of hunger or been killed.”
He left the palace and began searching.
For seven long years, the king travelled through the land. He searched among rocks, in caves and throughout forests, hoping to discover some trace of his missing family. He endured hardship and exhaustion, but he refused to abandon his search.
According to the tale, he neither ate nor drank during those years, yet God sustained him.
At last, he entered a great forest and came upon the little house with the familiar sign: “Here all dwell free.”
The white maiden came out to meet him.
“Welcome, Lord King,” she said.
The king explained that he had been searching for his wife and child for seven years but had been unable to find them.
The maiden offered him food and drink, but he declined. He was weary and wanted only to rest for a while.
He lay down and covered his face with a handkerchief.
The angel went into the room where the queen sat with her son, whom she called Sorrowful.
“Go out with your child,” the angel told her. “Your husband has arrived.”
The queen took her son and went to the place where the king lay resting.
As she approached him, the handkerchief slipped from his face.
The Family Is Reunited
The king looked up and saw the woman standing before him with a child beside her.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your wife,” she replied, “and this is your son, Sorrowful.”
The king looked at her hands. He remembered the silver hands that had been made for his queen and was confused to see that she now possessed natural hands.
“My wife had silver hands,” he said.
“The good God has caused my own hands to grow again,” she answered.
The angel entered the inner room and brought out the silver hands that had once belonged to the queen. Seeing them, the king finally understood that the woman before him was indeed his beloved wife.
He embraced her and kissed their son. The weight of seven years of grief lifted from his heart.
“A heavy stone has fallen from my heart,” he said.
The angel shared a meal with them, and afterwards the king, queen and their son returned to the royal palace.
The king’s aged mother welcomed them with great joy. The family was together again, and the truth about the forged letters had finally come to light.
The king and queen were reunited in marriage and lived contentedly to the end of their days.
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Moral Lesson
The story teaches that betrayal and suffering do not have to determine the end of a person’s life. Patience, faith, compassion and perseverance can help people endure hardship and find hope again.
Knowledge Check
1. What did the miller believe he was promising to the stranger?
He believed he was promising the apple tree behind his mill, but the stranger was the Devil and intended to claim his daughter.
2. Why could the Devil not take the miller’s daughter when he returned?
The girl remained spiritually pure and washed herself with her tears, preventing the Devil from claiming her.
3. How did the girl meet the king?
An angel helped her enter the king’s garden, where she ate a pear. The gardener told the king about the mysterious maiden, and the king watched for himself before meeting her.
4. Who changed the letters sent between the king and his mother?
The Devil repeatedly intercepted and replaced the letters, making it appear that the king had ordered his wife and child to be killed.
5. How did the king’s mother save the queen and her child?
She secretly arranged for a hind to be killed and used its tongue and eyes as false proof of the queen’s death. She then sent the queen and her child away to safety.
6. How did the king finally recognise his wife after seven years of searching?
He saw that her natural hands had grown back. When she explained what had happened, the angel brought out the silver hands she had previously worn, confirming her identity.
Source
Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, translated by Margaret Raine Hunt, 1884, Tale 31, “The Girl Without Hands” (German: “Das Mädchen ohne Hände”).
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