The Two Step-Sisters

Author: Peter Christen Asbjornsen
Genre: Fairy Tales

Summary
In this fairy tale, there was a mother who had two daughters--one bad and one good. She favored the bad daughter over the good one. One day the mother asked the bad daughter to get some water from the well for her, yet she refused and so the good daughter offered to go. She dropped the bucket down the well, and because of fear of getting in trouble by her mom, she went down the well to fetch the bucket. There were three doors--she knocked on the first and asked the saint if he had found a bucket, and he replied, "No, my child". Beyond the second door lived the devil, who shouted "NO!" when she asked if he found her bucket. She continued to the third door where the Madonna lived and she actually did have her bucket. In return for the bucket, Madonna asked her to stay and feed her son and sweep the floor while she went out for a while. She did those things and found coral and other jewels while sweeping, instead of dirt. She put it aside to give to the Madonna when she returned. Upon her arrival, she told the good girl to keep the jewels, and gave her other gifts. Between a calico and silk dress, the girl asked for the calico but was given silk. Between a brass and silver thimble, she asked for the brass and was given silver. As she was getting ready to leave, the Madonna told her to look up at the sky at the end of the passage and when she did, a star fell on her forehead.

When she returned home, her mother was about to scold her when she saw the beautiful star shining. They tried to wash it off, however it just kept spreading. She told her mother and bad sister all that had happened, and her sister desired to do the same. She went, but instead of feeding Madonna's son she ate the meal herself. Instead of finding coral and jewels, it was just dirt. When given the options of calico or silk, brass or silver she chose silk and silver, she was given calico and brass. When she walked to the end of the passage and looked up at the sky, dirt fell on her face instead of a star. When she went home sobbing, the mother tried to wipe away the dirt however it spread rather than go away. From this the mother learned that she had been neglecting her good daughter.

Reaction
I really liked this fairy tale. It was simple, didn't have any scary or gross things in it, and left a good message. It shows the humility of the good daughter and the blessings that come from having a kind heart.

Recommendations
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good fairy tale! I would also recommend that parents read this to their kids, because it truly does share a good message.

Problems/Conflicts
I didn't see any conflicts, however I could see how some parents wouldn't want their children to read about the devil.

Of Asbjornsen's fairy tales, I also read Why the Sea is Salt, Princess on a Glass Hill, and Little Annie the Goose-Girl