The story is about a girl and her cruel, oppressive stepmother. The tale shares motifs with the story of Cinderella. Just like Cinderella, the young girl had to follow all of her stepmother’s commands, until one day there appeared an old woman, similar to Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, who helped the girl to eventually marry a king.

In this illustration we see the moment when the girl and the old woman first met. Cast out into the woods by her stepmother and forced to spin silk, the girl suddenly dropped her spindle. The old woman, who happened to be passing by, brought the spindle back to her, and they became acquainted.

Image: The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia