In a faraway land in a time gone by, there lived a rich old man who owned a mill. All the people of the village worked at the mill. Now it came to pass that the old man’s health was failing and so he called a meeting to which everyone was invited.
The Magic Spindle
In a faraway land in a time gone by, there lived a rich old man who owned a mill. All the people of the village worked at the mill. Now it came to pass that the old man’s health was failing and so he called a meeting to which everyone was invited.
When all the people were in the meeting hall, the old man stood up and said, “Good townspeople, I am a very old man and I am sick. I do not know how much longer I will live. After much thought, I have decided to close the mill.”
A hush fell upon the crowd as they heard the words that were spoken. When he was done, they all asked at once, “What will become of us when you close the mill? We will all be out of work! Oh, dear! This is terrible news indeed!”
“Please,” said the old man, “I do not wish for you to lose your jobs. I have tried to find someone to buy the mill, but these are hard times, and no one has enough money. I am sorry, but I will have to close the mill in two weeks.”
The townspeople were angry and scared. They didn’t like losing their jobs. Without jobs, how would they support their families?
The next day, the whole village seemed to be thinking about the old man’s announcement. They went about their work at the mill with long faces and no smiles were seen anywhere.
On Saturday morning as the townspeople gathered at the well to draw water, a woman walked into town and stood on the rock at the center of town. “Good people, may I have a word with you? I have come from far away and I would like to help you.”
“Do you think she has come to buy the mill?” asked several people.
“She doesn’t look like she could afford to buy anything!” snickered some boys.
The mysterious woman continued, “In yonder field, filled with haystacks, I will hide a magic spindle. At seven o’clock Monday morning, before you go to work at the mill, I invite you to come to the field and search for the spindle. The lucky person who finds it will be richly rewarded, for the magic spindle knows how to spin straw into gold!”
The townspeople were surprised by the unknown woman’s unusual invitation. Who was she and where had she come from? Did she really have a magic spindle that could turn straw into gold?
Several people in the crowd were greedy and were thinking to themselves that if they got there earlier than the others, say at six o’clock rather than seven, perhaps they would find the magic spindle first and have all the gold for themselves. Other people were thinking about what they would buy with all the gold they would soon have.
As the sun rose on Monday, the greedy townsfolk who had arrived early were each surprised to see others besides themselves who had tried to get there first. They ran all over the field, swatting at haystacks and pushing them over, looking for the magic spindle... and finding nothing.
By seven o’clock when the honest townspeople arrived along with the mysterious woman, the field was half demolished, and the early comers were angry that they had not found the magic spindle. “We don’t believe you, woman!” cried one man, angrily. “You have tricked us! There is no magic spindle in any of these haystacks. You are trying to make a laughingstock out of us!” The people who had come early stomped out of the field in a rage, feeling as if they had been betrayed.
After they were gone, the woman smiled and held one finger up to the sky and another toward the earth. She blinked three times, then turned to the waiting crowd and announced, “The magic spindle has now been placed in one of the haystacks in this field. Good luck to each of you! Remember that it is a magic spindle and will spin all this straw into gold!”
The people quickly spread out over the entire field and began rummaging through the haystacks. Off to the side, the woman noticed a ragged little girl with eyes the color of the clear blue sky and hair the color of spun gold, dirty though it was. She was watching her poor mother look for the magic spindle in haystack after haystack. The mother was dreaming of all the fine things she could buy with the gold. As she searched frantically, images filled her mind. She imagined beautiful dresses, a handsome carriage with white horses, a large castle on the hill, and servants to do all the work. Similar thoughts filled the minds of each of the people as they burrowed through the hay in hopes of being the one to find the magic spindle.
Suddenly the ragged little girl noticed a small mound of hay in the far corner, where someone had already knocked the top of a haystack off in their hurried search for the spindle. She ran straight to the tiny pile of hay. She reached into the center of the mound and her hand touched something that didn’t feel like hay. Could it be? Had she found it? As she slowly removed her hand, she found herself looking at the most beautiful spindle she had ever seen. She started to dance and skip around the pile of hay that had held the special treasure. Her mother came to her, and soon all the townspeople were gathered around the child, to see what she had found.
“Oh, it is beautiful!” exclaimed one young woman.
“Absolutely magnificent!” an old man admired.
“You will be rich! What will you do with all the gold you will have, child?” asked several people at once.
“All I want is for everyone to be happy again. I will buy the mill for the town and everyone will be able to keep their jobs forever.”
At this moment, the wise, mysterious woman came up and spoke to the girl’s mother. “You have a very special daughter, for she is able to think of others besides herself. She has a very good heart and she is your greatest treasure.”
Then she turned to the girl and whispered something in her ear. The child placed the magic spindle on the hay in front of her and blinked three times. Instantly the spindle began to whir and spin. Everyone looked on in amazement as pile after pile of straw was spun into gold. Such a sight as this, no one had ever seen before!
That afternoon, the little girl bought the mill from the old miller and placed it in the hands of the townspeople. Everyone was so grateful to the child for saving their jobs and the mill that they carved a statue of her sitting by a haystack in the center of town. They also built a new cottage for the little girl and her mother. The townspeople never saw the mysterious woman again, and to this day they don’t know who she was or where she came from.
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