| Frau Holle's Well | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Frau Holle |
|
Type |
Water Well |
|
Effects |
Presents labor tasks with the chance of rewards when done suitably |
|
Downsides |
Failure causes one to speak toads from their mouth |
|
Activation |
Entering |
|
Section |
|
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Frau Holle (also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda", "Old Mother Frost", Perchta or Berta) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Children's and Household Tales in 1812. It was initially a pre-Christian female legendary figure who survived in popular belief well into the 19th century. As Christianity slowly replaced Germanic paganism during the Early Middle Ages, many of the old customs were gradually lost or assimilated into Christian tradition.
Holle is the goddess to whom children who died as infants go. Frau Holle's festival is in the middle of winter, the time when humans retreat indoors from the cold. Holda is connected to the spirit world through the magic of spinning and weaving. She was considered to ride with witches on distaffs, which closely resemble the brooms that witches are thought to ride
A rich widow lived with her daughter and stepdaughter. The widow favored her biological daughter, while the stepdaughter would sit outside the cottage and spin beside the well. One day, she pricked her finger on the point of the spindle, dropped it into the well while washing the blood and jumped in to retrieve it.
Inside she found a meadow with talking bread, trees and an older woman needing help with housework - shaking featherbed covers to release snow back home. Upon parting, Holle gave back her spindle and a heap of gold in appreciation for her kindness. When the daughter does the same in a lazy and selfish manner, all her efforts get is a bucket of pitch dumped on her. Other versions describe the first girl having a piece of gold fall from her lips every time she speaks, whilst the second has a toad fall from her lips every time she speaks, as depicted in Diamonds and Toads.
Effects[]
Going into the well gives users a chance to complete tasks. If the user is helpful, upon leaving the well, the user spits out a bit of gold every time they talk. If the user is not helpful, they spit out toads every time they talk.
Artifact was last noted to be somewhere in Scandinavia in 1745, and had first been recorded by rumor in 398.