The Girl Without Hands

Once upon a time, in a small village surrounded by forests, there lived a poor miller. One day, the miller was walking in the woods when he met a mysterious stranger who seemed to be a wise old man. The man spoke to the miller, offering him a deal: “I can make you very rich, but in return, you must give me whatever stands behind your house.”

The miller, eager for wealth, agreed without thinking much about the consequences. He rushed home and told his wife about the deal. But as he spoke, the wife grew anxious. “What if it is our daughter?” she asked. The miller reassured her, but his heart was heavy with doubt.

The next morning, when the man returned, the miller took him to the back of the house. To his shock, it wasn’t the cow, nor the horse, nor even the chickens that the stranger wanted. Instead, it was the miller’s beautiful daughter. The man told the miller, “You have agreed to give me what stands behind your house, and so I will take your daughter.”

The girl, standing nearby, was terrified and begged the man to spare her, but he had already made the deal with her father. Without a choice, the miller’s daughter was taken away, and her life would change forever.

The man led the girl deep into the forest, where he placed her in a lonely hut. He gave her strict instructions, saying, “You must never touch the apple tree in the garden, and never, under any circumstance, speak to anyone outside of this place.”

The girl lived in the hut, feeling sorrowful and isolated. The days grew long, and the silence weighed heavily on her heart. She longed for freedom and wondered why her father had agreed to give her up so easily. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t change the past.

One day, when the man was away, she noticed something strange. A beautiful apple tree grew in the garden behind the hut. The fruit was so ripe and glistening that she could hardly resist the temptation to touch it. As she approached, she hesitated, remembering the man’s warning, but something inside urged her to reach out.

When her fingers brushed the tree’s bark, something unexpected happened. Her hands, which had been like any other hands before, began to disappear, fading away before her very eyes. In horror, she looked at her arms—both of her hands were gone.

The girl screamed in panic, but no one was there to help her. She realized the punishment for breaking the rule was far worse than she could have ever imagined. Yet, with courage, she accepted her fate. Though she had no hands, she still had her feet, her heart, and her spirit.

Days passed, and the girl began to grow weaker and sadder. She missed the warmth of family, the touch of the world, and the sweetness of life. She spent her time walking around the forest, though it was difficult, as she had no hands to grasp or hold onto anything. But even without her hands, she still carried the strength to move forward.

One day, while wandering through the forest, she met an old woman who seemed kind and wise. The old woman noticed the girl’s sorrow and asked, “My child, why are you so sad?”

The girl told her the story of her life—how she had been taken from her family and forced to live in isolation, how she had lost her hands after touching the forbidden apple tree, and how she longed to be free from the curse that had befallen her.

The old woman listened with great compassion and gave the girl a gift. “I cannot undo what has been done to you, but I can help you find a way out of your misery. There is a way to regain what you have lost, but it will not be easy. You must go to the king’s castle, where a prince will help you, but be warned: if you do not prove your worth and courage, you may never find the happiness you seek.”

The girl, though uncertain, decided to take the woman’s advice. She set out on her journey to the castle, despite the great difficulty of traveling without her hands. As she walked, she faced many obstacles. The journey was long and arduous, but she never gave up. Her feet grew sore, and her heart heavy with doubt, but she kept moving forward.

When the girl arrived at the king’s castle, the guards were puzzled by her strange appearance and hesitant to let her in. But the girl explained that she had been cursed and that only the prince could break it. They were skeptical but allowed her to enter.

Upon meeting the prince, the girl told him her story, and the prince, moved by her bravery and determination, decided to help her. He gave her a task: “If you can complete this task, I will help you regain what you have lost. You must weave me a shirt from the threads of gold that only you can find in the forest.”

The girl, though uncertain, set out again, this time with the hope of regaining her hands. She ventured deep into the forest, searching high and low for the golden threads. It was a difficult task, for the threads were elusive, but she did not give up. With perseverance, she finally gathered enough threads to weave the shirt.

Returning to the prince, she presented the completed shirt, and he was amazed by her determination and strength. The prince, seeing that she was truly deserving of the gift, smiled and took the shirt. As soon as he touched it, a magical light enveloped the girl. Her hands, once lost to the curse, were restored. The prince, now in awe of her courage, asked for her hand in marriage.

The girl, now happy and free, agreed, and they were married in a grand ceremony. Her life, once filled with sorrow and isolation, was now full of love and joy. She was no longer the girl without hands, but a beloved princess, and she and the prince ruled the kingdom with kindness and wisdom.

And so, the girl who had lost everything through a single mistake found her way back to happiness, proving that even in the darkest of times, perseverance, bravery, and kindness can restore what was lost.