從前有個女孩，非常懶惰，怎麼着都不願意紡紗。
終於有一天，母親感到忍無可忍，就打了她一頓，她於是嚎啕大哭起來。正巧這時王后 乘車從門前經過，聽見了哭聲，吩咐把車停下來，進屋問那位母親爲什麼打女兒。做母親的怎好意思說自己的女兒如何如何的懶惰，於是就回答說："我叫她不要再 紡了，可她就是不聽，在紡車上仍然紡個不停。
我窮啊，哪買得起那麼多的亞麻呀。"
王后聽了說道："我最愛紡紗。讓你的女兒隨我進宮去吧，我有的是亞麻，她願意紡多少就紡多少。"
母親聽了這話，打心眼兒裏高興，滿口答應下來，王后便帶着女孩走了。
她們到了王宮之後，王后領着女孩上了樓，把三間庫房指給她看，只見庫房裏裝滿了最好的亞麻。"喏，你就爲我紡這些亞麻吧，"王后說道，"你什麼時候紡完了，就嫁給我的長子。"
女孩聽了心裏一陣驚恐――即使她每天從早紡到晚，紡到她三百歲的時候，也休想把那麼多的亞麻紡完。剩下女孩獨自一人時，她就哭了起來。她就這樣哭哭啼啼 地坐着，一晃兒三天過去了，還沒動手紡紗呢。第三天，女孩不知如何是好，憂心忡忡地來到窗前。恰在這時她看見有三個女人走了過來：第一個女人的一個腳板又 寬又平;第二個的下嘴脣很長，耷拉到下巴上;而第三個的一隻大拇指非常寬大。這三個女人走到窗下停住了腳，問女孩爲什麼憂心忡忡，她就向她們訴說了自己的 苦惱。"只要你不嫌我們丟人，"他們對女孩說道，"請我們參加你的婚禮，說我們是你的表姐，並且讓我們與你同桌喝喜酒，我們就幫你把這些亞麻紡完。"
"我非常樂意。"女孩回答說。
說罷，女孩就讓這三個長相奇特的女人進屋來。她們進來後剛一坐下就開始紡紗。每次王后來，女孩生怕王后發現，便把那三個紡紗女藏起來，而讓王后看已經紡好的紗。王后看了之後，對她讚不絕口。
庫房裏所有的亞麻都紡完了，這三個紡織女便跟女孩告別，臨行前對她說道："你可千萬不要忘記了對我們許下的諾言，這關係到你自己的幸福啊。"
女孩領着王后看了三間空蕩蕩的庫房和堆得像小山似的紗線，王后於是就安排了婚禮。
"我有三位表姐，"女孩說，"她們待我非常好。在我自己幸福如意的時候，怎麼也不願意冷漠了她們。請允許我邀請她們來參加婚禮，並且讓她們在婚宴上和我們坐在一起。"
王后和王子欣然同意。婚禮那天，三個紡紗女果然來了。她們打扮得怪模怪樣的，很令人發笑。新娘馬上迎上去說：
"歡迎你們，親愛的表姐們。"
"你的幾個表姐怎麼長得這麼醜?"王子問道。隨後，他轉身走到那個大腳板女人身邊，問道："您的一隻腳怎麼會這樣大呢?"
"踏紡車踏的唄。"她回答道。
新郎又走到第二個女人身旁，問道："您的嘴脣怎麼會耷拉着呢?"
"舔麻線舔的唄。"她回答說。
然後他問第三個女人："您的大拇指怎麼會這樣寬呢?"
"捻麻線捻的唄。"她回答說。
王子聽罷三人的回答，大驚失色，於是就說："我美麗的新娘今後絕不再碰紡車一下。"
就這樣，女孩從此再也用不着幹紡紗這個討厭的活兒了。
這則童話告訴我們，做人還是要勤快一點，儘量做一些力所能及的事情，這樣不僅能幫助父母，還可以讓自己得到鍛鍊。童話中的三個紡紗女雖然長的很醜，但她們的心地很善良。在生活中我們不能以貌取人，而且喜歡一個人不能只看外表，最主要的是心靈美，只有心靈美才是真正的美。
There was a girl who was lazy and would not spin. Her mother could not make her do so, whatever she said to her. Finally anger and impatience so overcame the mother that she beat her, upon which the girl began to cry loudly.
Now the queen was just driving by, and when she heard the crying she ordered her carriage to stop, went into the house, and asked the mother why she was beating her daughter so that her cries could be heard out on the road.
The woman was ashamed to reveal her daughter's laziness and said, "I cannot make her stop spinning. She wants to spin on and on forever, and I am poor, and cannot get the flax."
Then the queen answered, "There is nothing that I like better to hear than spinning. I am never happier than when the wheels are humming. Let your daughter come with me to the palace. I have flax enough. There she can spin to her heart's content."
The mother was completely satisfied with this, and the queen took the girl with her. Arriving at the palace, she took her upstairs to three rooms which were filled from the bottom to the top with the finest flax.
"Now spin this flax for me," she said, "and when you are finished, you shall have my oldest son for a husband. I do not mind if you are poor. Your untiring industry will do for a dowry."
The girl was frightened inside, for she would not be able to spin the flax, not even if she had lived until she was three hundred years old, sitting at it every day from morning until evening. When she was alone she began to cry, and just sat there for three days without moving a hand. On the third day the queen came, and when she saw that nothing had been spun yet, she was surprised. The girl excused herself by saying that because of her sorrow at being away from her mother's house, she had not yet been able to begin.
This satisfied the queen, but as she left she said, "Tomorrow you must begin my work."
When the girl was alone again, she did not know what to do, or where to turn for help. In her distress she went to the window. There she saw three women coming toward her. The first one had a broad flat foot, the second one had such a large lower lip that it hung down over her chin, and the third one had a broad thumb.
They stopped outside the window, looked up, and asked the girl what was wrong with her.
She bemoaned her troubles to them, upon which they offered her their help, saying, "If you will invite us to your wedding, not be ashamed of us, call us your aunts, and let us be seated at your table, we will spin all the flax for you, and in a very short time at that."
"With all my heart," she answered. "Come right in and begin the work at once."
Then she let the three strange women in, and cleared out a space in the first room where they could sit down and begin their spinning. The one pulled the thread and peddled the wheel, the second one moistened the thread, the third twisted it, then struck the table with her finger. Each time she struck, a skein of the most finely spun thread fell to the floor.
The girl kept the three spinners hidden from the queen, but whenever she came, the girl showed her the great quantity of thread that had been spun. The queen could not praise her enough.
When the first room was empty, they went to work on the second one, and on the third one, and it too was quickly cleaned out.
The three women now took leave and said to the girl, "Do not forget what you have promised us. It will bring you good luck."
When the girl showed the queen the empty rooms and the large pile of thread, the latter made preparations for the wedding. The bridegroom was happy that he was getting such a clever and industrious wife, and he praised her vigorously.
"I have three aunts," said the girl. "Because they have been very kind to me, I do not want to forget them in my good fortune. Allow me to invite them to the wedding, and let them be seated next to us at the table."
The queen and the bridegroom said, "Why should we not allow that?"
When the feast began, the three women, dressed in strange clothing, entered.
The bride said, "Welcome, dear aunts."
"Oh," said the bridegroom, "what brought you to this hideous friendship?"
Then he went to the one with the broad flat foot, and asked, "Where did you get such a broad foot?"
"From peddling," she answered. "From peddling."
Then the bridegroom went to the second one, and said, "Where did you get this fallen lip?"
"From licking," she answered. "From licking."
Then he asked the third one, "Where did you get this broad thumb?"
"From twisting thread," she answered. "From twisting thread."
This alarmed the prince, and he said, "My beautiful bride shall never again touch a spinning wheel."
With that she was freed from hateful flax spinning.
格林兄弟（德語：Brüder Grimm或Die Gebrüder Grimm）是指雅各布·格林（1785年1月4日－1863年9月20日）和威廉·格林（1786年2月24日－1859年12月16日）兄弟兩人，他們是德國19世紀著名的童話蒐集家、語言文化研究者。兩人因興趣相近，經歷相似，合作研究語言學、蒐集和整理民間童話與傳說，故稱“格林兄弟”。
