Toads and Diamonds

Toads and Diamonds Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters. The elder was often mistaken for her mother, so like her was she both in nature and in looks. Both of them were very pretty, but so disagreeable and arrogant that no one could live with them. The younger girl, however, was like her father in the gentleness and sweetness of her disposition. She was not simply pretty—she was beautiful. The mother doted on her elder daughter, but hated and despised her younger. The young girl was forced to work from morning till night, and eat her meals in the kitchen like a servant. One of the poor child's many duties was to go twice a day and draw water from a spring a good half mile away, bringing it back in a large pitcher. One day when she was at the spring, an old woman came up to her. She was filthy, and smelled to high heaven. Her wide grin showed missing, blackened, rotting teeth. “Will you give me a drink?” she asked. The kind, beautiful girl did not hesitate even for a second. “Why, certainly, good mother,” she said. The girl led the old woman to a cool, grassy place to sit and rest. She rinsed the pitcher, then drew some water from the cleanest part of the spring. She brought it to the old woman, lifting up the pitcher so that the old woman might drink more easily. Now this old woman was a fairy, who had taken the form of a poor old woman to see just how far the girl's good nature would go. When she had finished drinking, she said, “I wish to give you a gift for your kindness.” “It was nothing, good mother,” the girl immediately replied. The fairy continued as though the girl had not spoken. “To show your inner wealth, for every word you speak, a flower or a precious stone shall fall from your mouth.” The girl did not immediately understand, but smiled at the old woman to show her thanks, and then hurried home. When she arrived, her mother scolded her for staying so long at the spring. “I’m so sorry,” said the poor child, “I didn’t mean to take so long at the spring,” and as she spoke these words, two roses, two pearls, and two large diamonds fell from her mouth. “What’s this?” cried her mother. “Are those diamonds coming from your mouth?” The widow picked up the jewels from the floor and stared at them in wonder. Then her face changed. “What happened to you, my love?” (This was the first time she had ever said ‘my love’ to her younger daughter) The poor child explained what had happened, scattering countless diamonds as she spoke. “Is that so!” cried her mother. “Well, I must send my own daughter there. Come here, my dear! Look what comes out of your sister's mouth whenever she speaks! Wouldn't you like to be able to do the same thing? All you have to do is to go and draw some water at the spring, and when a poor woman asks you for a drink, give it to her very nicely.” “You think I care about going to that spring?” replied the ill-mannered girl. “Just make my sister talk—we’ll have all the jewels we want!” “I am telling you that you are to go,” replied the mother, “and this very instant! Think of the husband we could catch for you!” The widow made no mention of a husband for her younger daughter. Very sulkily, the girl went out, taking with her the best silver flask in the house. No sooner had she reached the spring than she saw a magnificently dressed lady, elegant and beautiful. “Will you give me a drink?” the fine woman asked. This was the same fairy who had appeared to her sister, but she was now disguised as a princess in order to see how far this girl's bad manners would go. “Do you think I have come here just to get you a drink?” said the rude girl arrogantly. “Do you think I brought a silver flask here just to give madam a drink? I’m not your servant! Get your own drink!” “You are not very polite,” replied the fairy, showing no anger. “Very well! To show your inner wealth, for every word you speak, a snake or a toad shall drop out of your mouth.” As soon as her mother saw her returning she cried out, “Did it work?” “The old woman wasn’t there! What a waste of my time!” yelled the rude girl. As she spoke, two vipers and two toads fell from her mouth. The mother screamed at the sight of them and dragged her younger daughter outside. “Explain this!” she cried. “Explain why you get jewels, but my daughter gets snakes!” The poor girl had no answer, so the mother flung her from the house and told her never to come back. The girl ran back to the stream, hoping to find the old woman to set things right, but there was no one there. The girl sank to the ground and began to wonder what on earth she was to do now. It so happened that the king’s son was returning home from hunting, and his path took him by the spring. He saw the young girl there and noticed how beautiful she was, but he also saw her worried expression. He stopped and called to her, “Are you all right?” “It is nothing, sir,” she replied, “Only, a lot has changed in my life, and very suddenly, too. I just needed a moment to stop and think.” As she spoke, the king's son saw five or six pearls and as many diamonds fall from her mouth. He begged her to tell him how this came about, and she told him only that she had given an old woman a drink. But as he pressed her, and was genuinely interested in her situation, she found herself sharing her whole story with him. Little by little, it all came out about her household, her mother, the fairy, and her sister. The king's son found himself falling in love with the girl’s good nature. He held one of her hands in his and said, “So you do not know where you are to spend the night?” The girl smiled. “I’m sure I shall find somewhere,” she said. “People can be very kind when they want to be.” “I can offer you a place to stay,” he said, “While you think about what you are to do next. At least let me solve that problem for you.” She agreed, and he took her to his father's royal palace, where he found he could wait no longer and asked her to marry him. The girl accepted! What a change from the morning! As such a valuable gift had been bestowed upon her, the court could not complain at the prince’s marrying a peasant girl—she had more wealth in her than in the whole world! And so they lived in happiness and peace, and the girl was never ignored or abused again. Everyone was eager to hear what she had to say—and not just for the jewels! As for her sister, she made herself so hateful that her own mother drove her out of the house. No one would take in the miserable girl, so at last she went into a corner of the woods and lived in great wretchedness until her death. (French)