Mother Hulda

The famous fairy tale about the choice between pitch or gold

Behind the very simple, almost child-like narrative of fairy tale #24 from the Grimm collection reside archaic forces of good and evil. The legendary Mother Hulda and the industrious and lazy Maries are the only characters in this story. Ulrich Chmel uses the elements of his toy theater stage to represent the “above-world and the under-world”. The “good Marie” takes the bread out of the oven, plucks the apples, and shakes the feathers in the pillow until it snows! Gold is the reward for the industrious “golden Marie”. A kettle full of pitch was what the lazy, “dirty Marie” got in the end, as the rooster reminds her every day.