In “Mother Hulda,” the lazy girl receives pitch as punishment. After seeing her hardworking sister rewarded with gold, she imitates the journey to Mother Hulda’s household, expecting the same fortune.
The lazy girl initially works for one day, but soon refuses to rise, neglects Mother Hulda’s bed, and will not shake it so the feathers fly. Mother Hulda dismisses her and leads her to the gate where her sister had received gold. Instead, a kettle or shower of pitch is poured over her.
Pitch is a thick, sticky substance traditionally made by heating tar or resin. In the tale, it becomes a lasting mark of the girl’s laziness: the pitch sticks to her for the rest of her life. The rooster announces her return as the “dirty girl,” reinforcing the story’s moral contrast between diligence and idleness.
The Brothers Grimm published the tale as “Frau Holle” in 1812. It is also known as “Mother Hulda” or “Mother Holle,” and belongs to the ATU 480 tale type, “The Kind and the Unkind Girls.”