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"The Girl Without Hands" or "The Handless Maiden" or "The Girl With Silver Hands" or "The Armless Maiden" (German: Das Mädchen ohne Hände) is a German fairy tale collected(??) by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 31.[1] It is Aarne-Thompson type 706.[2]

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synopsis or plot

A strange man approached a miller and offered him wealth in exchange for whatever was standing behind the mill. Thinking that it was just an apple tree, and unaware that the strange man was actually the devil, the miller agreed. He soon found out that it was actually his daughter standing behind the tree and that the man was the devil. When three years had passed, the devil appeared, but the girl had kept herself sinless and her hands clean, and the devil was unable to take her. The devil threatened to take the miller instead if he did not chop off his daughter's hands. Out of fear, the miller and his daughter agreed to do so. However, she continued to weep onto the stumps where her hands once were, so they remained clean and the devil was unable to take her.

She decided to set out into the world, despite her father's new wealth. She came upon a royal garden and saw fruit on the trees. After walking all day, she was hungry and wanted to eat the fruit, so she prayed that she be able to get into the garden. An angel appeared and helped her. The king noticed that pears were missing the next day and the gardener told him that he had seen a spirit. The king awaited her the next day and approached her when she came back into the garden. She told him that everyone had abandoned her and he said that he wouldn't abandon her. Soon after, he married her and made her hands out of silver. A year later, she gave birth to a son; and sent news of his birth to the king who had gone off to battle. The messenger made a stop along the way, and the devil changed the letter to say that she had given birth to a changeling. The king sent back that they should care for the child nonetheless, but the devil got at that letter too and changed it once again. His letter said that they should kill the queen and the child and keep the queen's heart as proof. //

The king's mother despaired. To aid the queen and her son, he killed a hind for its heart and sent them out into the world to hide. The queen went into a forest, and an angel brought her to a hut and nursed her son.

The king returned to his castle and discovered the letters had been tampered with. The king set out to find his wife and child. After seven years, he found the hut and lay down to sleep with a handkerchief to cover his face. His wife appeared. Then, the handkerchief fell from his face and directed her son to put it back on. The child became angry. He had been told that God was man's one and only father. The king got up to ask who they were, and she told him. He said that his wife had silver hands, but hers were natural. She replied that God had given them back to her. She retrieved her silver hands that had fallen off and showed the king. The king rejoiced at finding his wife. They both went back to their kingdom and lived happily ever after.

Adaptations

"Kinematic is an American experimental dancetheater group, created in 1980 by Maria Lakis, Tamar Kotoske and Mary Richter. The group represents a recent approach to postmodern dance, as it employs indirect narrative, incorporating fragmentation, metacommentary, collaged texts, and storytelling devices in its dances. Lakis, Kotoske and Richter, who themselves created, directed and performed their works, have been preoccupied specifically with recreating fairy tales. They created a fairy tale trilogy, which included The Snow Queen (1986), based on Hans Christian Andersen's story; The Handless Maiden (1987), adapted from the Grimms' The Girl Without Hands and Broken Hill (1988), adapted from the Grimm's The Worn Out Dancing Shoes. This study focuses particularly on The Handless Maiden (1977), as it is Kinematic's most successful production and the one which most faithfully exemplifies the group's choreographic style."

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