Frau Holle (2008)

A widow has two daughters who could hardly be more different. Marie, the older of the two, diligently helps with the daily household chores, while Luise lounges around doing nothing. Unlike Marie, who helps everyone, Luise is selfish, lazy, and jealous. She also resents how devotedly Marie cares for Struppi, the family dog. Whenever there is work to be done, Luise suddenly decides she feels unwell and needs to lie down, leaving all the work to Marie. She even tries to steal a brooch from her sister, who then simply gives it to her out of kindness. Their mother repeatedly takes Luise’s side, while Marie has to do all the work. When a dance is coming up and Marie is the only one who cannot go because she still has wool to spin, she pricks herself on the spindle. As she tries to clean it, it falls into the well. Marie reaches in to fish it out, falls into the well, and wakes up in a meadow full of flowers in a magical land. A raven named Gustav appears and tells her she is in Frau Holle’s land. When Marie asks who Frau Holle is, he replies that Frau Holle is everything: summer, winter, spring, and autumn. Marie wanders through Frau Holle’s beautiful land, where a little caterpillar soon asks her for help. As the girl moves on, someone calls, “Pull us out, pull us out, or we’ll burn!” And, of course, Marie helps, freeing the loaves from the hot oven. When the apple tree calls, “Oh, shake me and rattle me; all my apples are ripe!” Marie hurries to help, as dutiful as ever. Suddenly Pimpinella, the little caterpillar, who has now turned into a beautiful butterfly, lands on Marie’s arm, and the girl soon finds herself standing in front of Frau Holle’s house. Frau Holle greets Marie kindly, remarking that she has been waiting for her. The table is laid with all kinds of delicious food. Frau Holle says Marie can have this every day; all she has to do is keep the house clean, water the flowers, and shake out the beds from time to time—nothing more. Meanwhile, back in the village, everyone is frantically searching for the child, after Struppi drew attention to Marie’s disappearance by barking wildly and now refuses to leave the well. Luise has to help her mother with the chores, much to the spoiled girl’s displeasure. “If only Marie would come back,” she grumbles. Their mother, too, realizes that Marie is needed everywhere. By now, Frau Holle has given Marie a beautiful dress and entrusted her with a very special task. Since it is winter, she is to shake the beds as vigorously as she can so that a thick blanket of snow forms on the earth. Marie works tirelessly to carry out this responsible task. It snows heavily on earth, much to the children’s delight. After some time, Frau Holle thanks Marie and says it is now time for spring to come. This wise woman has already noticed that Marie longs for her mother and sister, as well as Struppi and her friends in their little village, and shows her the way home. It leads Marie through an archway, beneath which she receives the just reward for her kindness and diligence. As she passes through, gold rains down on her. Back in her village, the rooster crows, “Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo, our golden maiden is back!” Everyone in the village stares in amazement at the girl dressed in gold. She has also brought back the spindle that fell into the well; it is now made of pure gold. Marie’s mother is delighted that her daughter has returned, as is Struppi. Luise wants to know every last detail of what her sister experienced. Soon afterward, when the village celebrates Marie’s return, no one pays Luise any attention. The girl decides to try her luck with the mysterious Frau Holle, too, and jumps into the well after deliberately pricking herself with the spindle. Sure enough, she wakes up in the same place as Marie, though she sees everything very differently. She reacts with disgust to the little caterpillar and speaks condescendingly to the raven Gustav. All she wants to know is how to get to Frau Holle. When the bread calls for her to pull it out, she says she isn’t stupid enough to burn her fingers. She pulls out just one loaf because she is hungry. When the raven comes over, she offers him the brooch she took from Marie as payment if he will show her the way to Frau Holle. When the apple tree asks for help, she grabs only one apple to eat. “Everything comes back to you, the good and the bad,” the apple tree calls after her. When Luise reaches Frau Holle’s house, Frau Holle kindly invites her inside. Luise does the chores assigned to her only reluctantly, grumbling as she goes, and is usually stubborn and sulky. As winter approaches and people on earth eagerly hope for snow, even this task soon proves too much for Luise, and she falls asleep on the pillow she is supposed to shake vigorously. Gustav says that trying with Luise is a waste of effort and that Frau Holle should finally give her the reward she deserves and send her home. When Frau Holle tells Luise she no longer needs her help, the girl merely snaps, “Well, finally,” and asks where the archway is. But instead of the hoped-for shower of gold, Luise receives her reward in the form of a shower of pitch that sticks to her. When she returns to the village, the rooster crows, “Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo, our Pitch-Mary is back!” and the villagers laugh at Luise. Luise looks awful, and when Marie gives her golden dress to comfort her, the gold dissolves. Even Frieder, who used to court Luise, wants nothing more to do with her. The girl withdraws sadly and hears Frau Holle’s voice: “The good, the bad, the misfortune, and the good fortune—all of it comes back. Every day can be a new beginning; it’s entirely up to you.” Luise reflects on this and from then on becomes kind and helpful. With every good deed, a little piece of pitch falls off her until none is left, and the dress gleams gold again. Luise never forgets how good it feels to be kind to others and help them.