In the Brothers Grimm tale “The Three Spinners,” the lazy girl must spin flax.
The girl’s mother falsely tells the queen that her daughter spins constantly. The queen tests the claim by taking the girl to a room filled with flax and ordering her to spin it. The task seems impossible because the girl does not know how to perform it.
Three strange women then offer help. Each has a distinctive physical feature caused by spinning: one has a broad foot, another a large lower lip, and the third a wide thumb. They spin the flax for the girl on the condition that she invites them to her wedding and presents them as relatives.
The queen is so disturbed by their appearance and explanations that she forbids her future daughter-in-law from spinning again. The story turns an apparent weakness into a permanent advantage.