The Gold Spinners | An Estonian Fairy Tale

 The gold spinners, an Estonian folktale. Once in a large forest they're lived in old woman and three maidens. All three were beautiful, but the youngest was the most striking. Their small hut was hidden among trees, so only the sun, moon and stars ever saw their beauty. The old woman kept the maidens busy from morning till night, spinning golden flax into yarn.

When one distaff was empty, another would be handed to them, leaving them with no rest. The thread had to be fine and perfectly even, and once finished, the old woman locked it away in a secret chamber. Twice or three times every summer, she went on a journey leaving the maidens behind. Before leaving, she would always give them work for each day of her absence and warned them sternly,

"Children, don't let your eyes wander and never speak to a man. If you do, your thread will lose its brightness and misfortune will follow." The girls laughed at the warning saying, how could the gold thread lose its brightness and when would we ever meet a man out here? One day, shortly after the old woman had left on one of her trips, a young prince became lost in the forest while hunting.

Separated from his companions and exhausted from trying to find his way, he laid down under a tree and fell asleep. When he woke at sunset, he stumbled upon a narrow footpath and followed it. Eventually arriving at the maiden's hut. The three maidens were sitting outside to enjoy the cool evening air.

When they saw him approaching, the two older sisters were alarmed and reminded the youngest of the old woman's warning, but the youngest maiden who had never seen anyone like the prince, couldn't resist taking a closer look. Though her sisters begged her to come inside, she stayed. The prince greeted her politely and explained that he was lost, hungry, and tired.

She offered him food and was so charmed by his conversation that she forgot the old woman's warning entirely. They talked for hours. Meanwhile, the Prince's companion searched the forest for him but couldn't find him. They eventually sent word to the king who ordered soldiers to search for the prince.

Three days later, the search party found the hut. The prince sitting happily outside with the maiden, had lost track of time entirely before leaving. He promised to return and take the youngest maiden to his father's court where he would make her his bride. After he left the maiden, hurried back to her spinning wheel to make up for lost time.

But she was horrified to see that her golden thread had lost its shine. Her heart sank and she began to cry, remembering the old woman's warning. She was filled with dread, not knowing what misfortune might now come her way. The old woman returned at night and immediately noticed the tarnished thread, realizing what had happened in her absence.

Furious, she told the maiden that she had brought misery upon both herself and the prince. The maiden could not stop thinking about this, and eventually decided to seek the prince's help. As a child she learned to understand the language of birds, which now proved useful. Spotting a Raven perched on a pine branch,

she softly called out, "Dear Bird, clever and swift, will you help me?" The Raven replied, "How can I help you?" She explained, "fly to a great town where a king's palace stands. Find the king's son and tell him that misfortune has befallen me." She then described how her thread had lost its shine, how angry the old woman was, and her fears of a looming disaster.

The Raven promised to help and after spreading its wings, it flew off. The maiden returned home and spent the day winding the yarn her elder sisters had spun, since the old woman forbade her from spinning anymore. By evening, she heard the Raven's "craw, craw" from the pine tree and ran eagerly to hear its news.

The Raven had been fortunate enough to meet the wind wizard's son in the palace garden who could understand bird speech. The Raven passed on the maiden's message, and when the prince heard it, he was deeply troubled. He consulted his friends on how to free her, and then instructed the wind wizard's son,

"ask the Raven to fly back quickly and tell her to be ready on the ninth night. I will come take her away." The wind wizard's son delivered the message and the raven flew swiftly reaching the maiden's hut that same evening. She thanked the bird and kept the news to herself. As the ninth night approached the maiden grew anxious, fearing that something might go wrong. That night, she quietly left the house and waited in the shadows near the hut.

Soon she heard the muffled sound of horses approaching. The Prince leading a troop of armed men had marked the trees along the way to guide him when he saw the maiden. He jumped from his horse, lifted her into his saddle, and mounted behind her together, they rode out of the forest, the moonlight, guiding them as it illuminated the marked trees.

As dawn broke, the birds began chirping, their voices filling the air. If only the prince had understood their warnings or the maiden had been listening, they might have avoided the trouble ahead, but lost in their thoughts of each other they paid no attention. By the time they emerged from the forest, the sun was already high in the sky.

The next morning when the youngest girl didn't show up for work, the old woman asked where she was. The sisters pretended not to know, but the old woman quickly guessed what had happened. Being a wicked witch, she decided to punish the runaways. She gathered nine kinds of enchanters, nightshade, and bewitched salt, and wrapped it all up in a cloth shaped like a fluffy ball.

Then she sent it after them on the wind chanting, "whirlwind, Mother of the Wind help me punish her, who sinned. Carry this magic ball with speed, cast her from his arms indeed, and bury her in the river's flow." By midday, the prince and his men reached a deep river with a narrow bridge. Only wide enough for one rider at a time.

The prince and the maiden were riding together when the magic ball suddenly flew by startling the horse. It reared and fright throwing the maiden into the Swift River below. The prince tried to jump in after her, but his men held him back and forced him to return home. For six weeks, the prince locked himself away in grief, refusing to eat or drink until he became gravely ill.

The king desperate to save him, gathered all the kingdom's wizards, but none could help. Finally, the wind wizard's son suggested summoning the old wizard from Finland who was wiser than all the others. A messenger was sent, and a week later, the Finnish wizard arrived, carried by the wind. "Honored King," The wizard said "the wind caused your son's illness and a magic ball took his beloved. His grief comes from this loss. Let the wind blow upon him to carry away his sorrow." The prince was made to stand in the wind and gradually he began to recover. He told his father everything, but when the king urged him to forget the maiden and take another bride, the prince refused, saying that he could never love anyone else.

One year later, the prince returned to the bridge where the maiden had fallen. Overcome with grief, he wept, bitterly, wishing she were alive again. Suddenly he heard a voice singing. He looked around, but saw no one. The voice sang again, "Alas, bewitched, and all forsaken. Here I lie and cannot be free. My beloved, no steps has taken to save his bride who longs for thee."

Startled, the prince searched under the bridge but found no one. Then he noticed a yellow water lily floating on the river half hidden by its leaves. "But flowers don't sing!" Confused, he waited and once more, the voice sang the same words. The prince suddenly remembered the gold spinners and thought maybe they can explain this to me.

He rode to their hut and found the two sisters by the fountain. He told them what had happened to their younger sister and how he had heard this strange song. The sisters explained that the yellow water Lily was their sister transformed by the magic ball. Before he went to bed, the eldest sister made him a cake with magic herbs and told him to eat it. That night,

he dreamed he was in a forest and could understand the language of birds. The next morning he shared his dream with his sisters who explained that the magic cake had given him this ability. They urged him to listen carefully to the birds as they might reveal how to save the maiden. Before he left, they begged him to return and free them from their own captivity once he had rescued their sister.

Having made this promise, the prince happily returned home. As he rode through the forest, he suddenly understood everything that the birds were saying. He overheard a thrush telling a magpie. "Humans are so foolish. They can't recognize the simplest signs. It's been a year since that maiden was turned into a water lily.

She sings so sadly that anyone crossing the bridge should be able to hear her, yet no one comes to help her. Her former fiance rode over that bridge just days ago, heard her singing and still didn't understand." The magpie added, "and it's his fault she's in this misery. If he listens only to humans, she'll stay a flower forever.

If only someone would ask the Wizard of Finland, she could be freed." The Prince began wondering how he could send a message to Finland. Just then, he heard one swallow say to another, let's fly to Finland. It's a much better place to build nests. "Wait, wait, kind friends," the prince called out. "Could you do me a favor?"

The swallows agreed and the prince said, "please take my greetings to the Wizard of Finland and ask how I can restore a maiden who's been turned into a flower." The swallows flew off and the prince rode onto the bridge hoping to hear the water lily song, but all he heard was rushing water and the wind,

so he returned home disappointed. A few days later while sitting in his garden and wondering if the swallows had forgotten his message, he saw an eagle flying above. The bird landed in a nearby tree and spoke, "the Wizard of Finland sends his greetings. He says, you can free the maiden like this. Go to the river and cover yourself in mud, say 'from a man into a crab,' and you'll become a crab.

Then dive into the water. Swim to the roots of the water lily, and free them from the mud and reeds. Once you've done that, grab the roots with your claws and bring them to the surface. Let the water flow over the flower and let the current carry you downstream until you see a mountain ash on the left bank near a large stone.

Stop there and say, 'from a crab into a man, from a water lily into a maiden,' and you'll both return to your true forms." The Prince, though doubtful and afraid took some time to gather his courage. A crow eventually scolded him saying, "why do you hesitate? The wizard doesn't mislead you, and the bird spoke the truth. Go and free the maiden."

"Nothing worse than death can happen," thought the Prince, "and that's better than this endless regret." He went to the bridge, heard the water lily's mournful song, and decided to act. He covered himself with mud and said, "from a man into a crab," and dove into the water. For a moment, he felt a rush of water in his ears and then silence. As a crab, he swam to the water lily and began loosening its roots. It was tough work, but eventually he freed them. He grabbed the roots with his claws and rose to the surface, letting the current carry them downstream. At last, he saw the mountain ash and the large stone. He stopped there and said, "from a crab into a man, from a water lily into a maiden."

To his delight, he turned back into a man and the maiden stood beside him more beautiful than ever. Wearing a pale yellow gown, sparkling with jewels. She thanked him for freeing her and agreed to marry him. When they returned to the bridge, the Prince's horse was gone. Although he thought he'd been a crab for only a few hours, 10 days had actually passed.

While wondering how to reach the royal court, they saw a grand coach drawn by six horses coming along the bank. They rode in it to the palace where the king and queen who had believed the prince was dead, were overjoyed to see him. The wedding was celebrated immediately and the entire kingdom rejoiced for six weeks.

Later while the prince and his bride were sitting in the garden, a crow appeared and said, "ungrateful fools. Have you forgotten the two maidens who helped you? Must they spin gold flags forever? Show some pity for the witches victims. Those maidens are princesses. She kidnapped his children, and the gold flags comes from stolen silverware. The witch deserves punishment."

Ashamed for forgetting his promise, the Prince left at once and found the witch's hut. While she was away, the maidens had dreamed he would come and were ready to leave. But first they baked a poisonous cake and left it on the table for the witch. When she returned, she ate it greedily and died on the spot.

Inside the hut, the Prince found 50 wagon loads of golden flax with even more buried nearby. The hut was destroyed. The prince and his bride and the two freed princesses returned to the palace and they all lived happily ever after.

Some of the main themes of this story are: love and sacrifice. The prince's unwavering love for the maiden drives him to risk his life and endure challenges to save her. Symbolizing the lengths one can go to for love, redemption, and transformation. Both the Prince and the maiden undergo transformations, physical, emotional, and spiritual as they overcome trials to reunite, representing personal growth and redemption.

Courage and determination: the Prince must overcome fear, self-doubt, and grief to take action. Emphasizing the importance of bravery and persistence in the face of adversity, bait and free will.

The story balances destiny, the maiden's transformation with the prince's ability to choose his actions to rescue her. Suggesting that both fate and free will shape our lives.

Aid from nature and others: the prince relies on the wisdom of nature, birds, animals, and wizards, and the kindness of others, the maiden sisters to succeed, highlighting the interconnectedness and value of seeking help.

Some of the main symbols. are:

The river, which symbolizes the flow of life transformation and the challenges one must navigate, and it also is a boundary between the material and magical worlds.

The water lily represents purity, resilience, and beauty, hidden under hardship. It also symbolizes the maintenance, entrapment, and longing for freedom.

The Magic Ball is a symbol of destiny and the unexpected forces that disrupt life's course. It both causes suffering and sets the Prince and maiden on their transformative journey.

The bridge serves as a liminal space, a crossing between the known and the unknown, life and danger, the mundane and the magical.

The forest represents mystery, self-discovery and the hidden, unconscious deep mind. It becomes a space where the prince gains wisdom and learns to communicate with nature.

The crab's transformation reflects humility, adaptability, and the willingness to immerse oneself in a new perspective, both literally and figuratively to achieve a goal.

The mountain ash is a tree that's often associated with protection and rebirth, symbolizing the point of redemption and transformation for the prince and the maiden.

There are many other symbols in that story as well.

Some magical meanings that you might glean from that are: transformation as spiritual growth.

The Princess and Maiden's transformation symbolized the soul's journey toward enlightenment, requiring trials, humility and connection with higher wisdom. That higher wisdom is represented by the Finnish wizard.

Interconnectedness of nature, and the divine: the story underscores how the natural world birds, rivers, trees hold spiritual wisdom and act as a bridge between the mundane and the magical.

The power of the voice: the maiden singing reflects the idea of resonance and vibration. In the magical sense, her song serves as a call for action. Awakening the prince's awareness and symbolizes the soul's cry for liberation.

The role of time: the discrepancy in perceived time. The prince thinking that he was a crab for hours, but years passing reflects the non-linear nature of the magical realm and the fairy realm.

Duality of life and death: the Prince facing his fears of death, both physical and emotional highlights the magical idea that only by confronting mortality can one achieve a deeper understanding and transformation and release into their own eternal life.

Justice and karma: the witch's punishment and the prince's fulfilling his promise to free the Sisters reflect the spiritual law of cause and effect, that actions have consequences and balance must always be restored.

This is a wonderful magical tale that weaves together elements of love, transformation, and magical wisdom presenting a rich allegory for personal growth, the power of connection, and the triumph of perseverance.

I hope you enjoyed that. Until next time, blessed be.