The Girl Without Hands or The Handless Maiden

A miller had gradually fallen into poverty and had nothing more than his mill and a large apple tree behind it. Once he had gone into the forest to fetch wood, when an old man, whom he had never seen before, came up to him and said "why do you bother with chopping wood, I will make you rich if you promise me what is behind your mill." "What can it be but my apple tree?" thought the miller, said "yes," and prescribed it to the strange man. But he laughed derisively and said, "After three years I will come and take what is mine," and went away. When the miller came home, his wife met him and said "tell me, miller, where does the sudden wealth come into our house? all at once all the boxes and chests are full, no man has brought it in, and I do not know how it has come." He answered, "It comes from a strange man who met me in the woods and promised me great treasures; I, on the other hand, prescribed for him what is behind the mill: the great apple tree we may well give for it." "Oh, man," said the woman, startled, "that was the devil: he didn't mean the apple tree, but our daughter, who was standing behind the mill sweeping the yard."

The miller's daughter was a beautiful and pious girl, and lived the three years in the fear of God and without sin. When the time was over and the day came when the evil one wanted to take her, she washed herself clean and made a wreath around herself with chalk. The devil appeared very early, but he could not come near her. Angrily he said to the miller "put all the water away from her, so that she can no longer wash, for otherwise I have no power over her." The miller was afraid and did it. The next morning the devil came again, but she had cried on her hands, and they were quite clean. Then again he could not approach her, and said angrily to the miller, "Cut off her hands, or I cannot harm her." The miller was horrified and replied, "How could I cut off the hands of my own child!" Then the evil one threatened him and said "if you don't do it, you are mine and I will get you myself." The father became afraid and promised to obey him. Then he went to the girl and said, "My child, if I do not cut off both your hands, the devil will take me away, and in my fear I promised him. Help me in my need and forgive me what I do evil to you." She answered, "dear father, do with me what you will, I am your child." Thereupon she put down both her hands and let them be cut off. The devil came a third time, but she had cried so long and so much on the stumps that they were quite pure after all. Then he had to give way and had lost all right to her.