The Girl Without Hands

A miller has become so poor that his only remaining possessions are his mill and the

apple tree. One day he's collecting firewood in the forest when an old man comes up. He says he

can make the miller rich if he will promise me what is standing behind that mill. He believes the

old man is referring to the apple tree behind his mill, the miller decides to obey. When the

document is signed, the old man laughs mockingly and promises to return when three years have

passed. Back at home, the miller is met by his wife, who asks how the sudden wealth has come

from. When the miller describes the pledge he's made, his wife is terrified. His wife realizes that

he was the devil. She says that the devil wanted their daughter, who was sweeping the yard

behind the mill. The miller's beautiful, pious daughter accepts her fate and spends the next three

years behaving well and praying to God. When the devil finally comes to claim her, she washes

in water and makes a circle around herself with chalk. If the girl is clean, he has no power over

her. The devil is furious. He commands the miller to take away all water from his daughter. The

father agrees.

The devil returns the next day to find that the girl has wept all over her hands, which have

been washed by her tears. Again he can not approach. He orders the miller to cut off her hands.

He warns that if the father disobeys, the devil will take him instead of his daughter. The miller

tells his daughter he has promised the devil to cut off her hands. She orders the father to do what

he will. She lays down both her hands so he can chop them off. Once again the devil comes to

claim her, but the daughter has cried so hard that the stumps of her arms are clean. Having failed

three times, the devil must give up his claim to the girl. The miller promises to keep his daughter

comfortable for the rest of her life, but she refuses to stay. She asks that her maimed arms be tied

behind her back and then leaves home.

 After walking for a day, the daughter arrives at a royal garden filled with fruit trees. She's

hungry and wants some fruit, but the moat surrounding the garden prevents her from entering it.

The girl prays to God. Immediately an angel appears and helps the girl get across. Once inside,

the girl eats a single pear. The gardener is standing nearby and witnessed all this. Fearing that the

girl is a spirit, he does not say anything. The next morning, a king walks in and notices one pear

missing from the tree. The gardener explains that a handless spirit ate the pear. The king decides

to return to the garden that night and help the gardener keep watch. He brings a priest to speak to

the spirit. The three men wait for the handless maiden to eat a pear. The priest approaches the

girl and asks whether she's a spirit or a human being; she says she is an unhappy mortal deserted

by all but God. The king comes out of hiding and promises that he will care for her and never

forsake her. In fact, the girl is so good and so lovely that the king decides to marry her after he's

had her fitted with silver hands.

A year later, the king must make a journey. He asks his mother to watch over the queen.

Shortly after that, the young queen gives birth to a boy. The king's mother writes to give the

news to her son. Unfortunately, the messenger entrusted with the letter falls asleep on his way to

the king. The devil, wanting revenge, switches the messenger's letter for one saying the queen

has given birth to a monster. The king is horrified by this false news, but he writes back that his

mother must take care of the queen until his arrival. Unfortunately, the messenger now falls

asleep on his way back to the queen and the king's mother. Again the devil steals the king's letter,

replacing it with one order that the queen and her child be put to death. The king's mother cannot

do as the letter directs. She writes back to her son, but the devil intercepts the letters, repeating

the evil command and demanding the queen's tongue and eyes as proof of her death. Instead, the

king's mother banishes the queen and her baby, warning them never to return, and uses the
tongue and eyes of a deer. The queen makes her way until she comes to a forest. She again

kneels and prays to God. The angel returns and leads her to a little house. The house is owned by

an angel sent by God to protect the mother and baby. This arrangement continues for seven

years, during which time the queen's hands magically grow back.

Finally, the king returns. When he asks to see his wife and child, his weeping mother

shows him the two letters that were forged by the devil and the tongue and eyes taken from the

deer. Seeing the king's reaction, she tells him that she banished the queen rather than kill herThe

horrified king vows to search for his wife and their baby. He searches for seven years without.

success. Finally, in a great forest, he spies the angel's house. He settles down and falls asleep in

the house. When the angel tells the queen that her husband has arrived, the queen takes their son

into the room where the king is sleeping. The king wakes up and finds his wife and son looking

at him. The king is confused. His wife had silver hands to which she replies that God has caused

her own real hands to grow back. The reunited family eats a meal with the angel before heading

home. The king and queen remarry and live happily ever after.

The “Girl Without Hands” was a fairy tale that was included in the original Grimm Fairy

tales collection. The brothers decided to include this story because of the father's treatment of his

daughter and how that affects the rest of the plot. The daughter's acceptance of her fate is in

honor of her father. He does not want to be taken by the devil so he decides to follow his orders

and save himself. To the father, cutting off her hands is a smaller price to pay then spending

eternity in hell. The father offers to take care of her because he feels guilty that he has caused her

so much pain and suffering. The father thought he was getting a good deal, but he was tricked

and now the daughter is the one that has to pay for it. When he chops off her hands, he serves her
ability to take care of herself. As long as she stays at home, she's utterly reliant on him. Losing

her hands also makes it harder for the girl to pray. God is more powerful than her father, but now

she cannot access God as easily. The miller also expects his daughter to understand what he is

doing. He asks for forgiveness because he knows what he is doing is wrong.