Translated by Jack Zipes.
nce Upon a time there was a poor servant girl who was industrious and neat.
She swept the house every day and dumped the dirt on a large pile outside the
door. One morning, when she was about to start to work again, she found a
letter on the pile, and since she could not read, she put the broom in the
corner and took the letter to her employers. It was an invitation from the
elves, who asked the girl to be godmother for one of their children at a
christening. The maiden did not know what to do, but her employers finally
persuaded her that it would not be wise to refuse the invitation, and she
accepted.Three elves came and led her to a hollow mountain where the little folk lived. Everything there was tiny and indescribably dainty and splendid. The mother was lying on a black ebony bed with pearl knobs. The covers were embroidered with gold. The cradle was ivory. The bathtub was made of gold. After the maiden performed her duties as godmother, she wanted to go back home, but the elves implored her earnestly to spend three days with them. She remained and had a pleasant and joyful time. The little folk did all they could to please her. Finally, when she insisted it was time for her to leave, they filled her pockets with gold and led her back out the mountain.
When she arrived home, she wanted to resume her work, so she took the broom that was standing in the corner and began sweeping. At that moment some strange people came out of the house and asked her who she was and what she was doing there. Indeed, she had not been gone for three days, as she had thought, but she had spent seven years in the mountains with the little folk. In the meantime, her former employers had died.
MOTIF: f377 f372.2