In the mountain village of Runcu, every girl learned to spin wool before she could read. The faster she spun, the more blankets, clothes, and coin her family had for winter. But no one spun faster than Ileana, though she was never satisfied.
One autumn evening, as she worked alone by the hearth, a voice came from the doorway:
“You spin well,” it said, “but you could spin gold.”
The Spindle Gift from the Stranger
The man in the doorway was tall, his coat black as soot, and his smile too sharp. He held out a spindle carved from ebony, its tip gleaming red.
“With this,” he promised, “you will never tire. Your thread will fetch more silver than wool ever could. All I ask is that you spin for me one night each month.”
Ileana, hungry for more than coin, agreed.
The Month of Gold
With the Devil’s Spindle, her work never slowed. She spun silk fine as mist, thread the color of ripe wheat. Traders came from as far as Brașov to buy her wares.
But on the first new moon, she vanished from her home at dusk and returned at dawn pale, silent, and with her hands smelling of smoke. She never spoke of what she spun for him.
Spindle The Last Thread
One winter, her mother fell gravely ill. Ileana begged the stranger to spare her mother’s life in exchange for a whole year of spinning.
The Devil agreed, but when the year ended, he came for Ileana, spindle in hand. “Now,” he said, “you will spin for me forever.”
She tried to break the spindle, but its thread wound around her wrists, pulling her toward the forest.
The villagers searched for days. All they found was a spool of golden thread caught in a hawthorn bush, its end trailing into the shadows.
Moral of the Tale
Weaving your fate with greed’s thread leaves no room for freedom; bargains with darkness always demand more than you imagined.
Knowledge Check
What is the moral of the folktale “The Devil’s Spindle”?
That greed leads to bondage, and bargains with evil cost more than they promise.
What cultural group does the tale “The Devil’s Spindle” come from?
This folktale originates from the Romanian tradition of Europe.
Why did Ileana accept the spindle?
She desired greater wealth and the promise of spinning without tiring.
How does the folktale “The Devil’s Spindle” explain golden thread?
As the product of a cursed bargain between a mortal and the Devil.
Is “The Devil’s Spindle” considered a trickster tale, ghost story, or moral fable?
It is a moral fable with supernatural temptation elements.
How is this folktale relevant to modern readers?
It warns that shortcuts to success often lead to dangerous entanglements.
Origin: This story comes from the Romanian tradition of Europe.
