The Lazy Spinner
A poor weaver's daughter is forced to spin wool for her stepmother and stepsisters. She meets a lazy spinner who teaches her how to spin quickly but at the cost of her soul. The girl becomes wealthy but ultimately loses everything when she tries to leave the deal.
By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · First published 1815 · Genre: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Humor · 946 words
First lines
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,
What this Textopian page supports
The Lazy Spinner is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, dated 1815 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Fable
- Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
- Date: 1815 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Humor, Fantasy, Domestic Fiction
- Length: 946 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for The Lazy Spinner by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Lazy Spinner?
- How does this fable by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Fairy Tale first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
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Genres
- Fairy Tale — The story features traditional fairy tale elements such as a moral lesson, a simple plot, and fantastical elements like the mysterious voice in the forest.
- Folklore — The narrative is rooted in cultural folklore, reflecting societal norms and values, and is passed down through oral tradition.
- Humor — The story contains humorous elements, particularly in the wife's clever tricks and the husband's gullibility.
- Fantasy — The presence of a mysterious voice in the forest adds a fantastical element to the otherwise mundane setting.
Tags
Fairy Tale · German Folklore · Magic · Fantasy · Adventure · Youthful Protagonist · Quest · Transformation · Self-Discovery · Coming of Age · Good vs Evil · Friendship