Once upon a time in the hills of Germany, there was a small kingdom. In this kingdom, there were many small poor villages. In one such village, there lived a poor husband and wife with their daughter. No matter what they did, this peasant family could never afford enough food to feed the whole family. Then one day the couple realized something about their daughter. She was fully grown in her 20s with long golden red hair. Her parents were so eager to make money that they started to wonder how much their daughter's hair would sell for. Therefore, one day they persuaded their daughter to shave her head telling her it would help the family. Then they hired an old maid to weave her hair into beautiful clothing and scarves. The couple then set out to sell the clothing to their neighbors. The clothes were so beautiful that everyone around wanted to buy them. The clothes were such a hit that every time the girl's hair started to grow back they would shave it off and weave it into clothing again.
Seeing how she was being used, the girl tried to run away. However, her parents watched her closely and stopped her before she could get to far. They dragged her back and locked her in the room with the old maid. The girl cried for hours and told the old maid all her sorrows and how she wished to be free of her life. The old maid never spoke but listened intently. Over the next few days, the girl continued to tell the old maid all her despairs and wishes. She spoke of how her parents forced her to walk into town bald to buy food while everyone stared at her.
"I wish," the girl sobbed, "I wish they couldn't see my bald head!"
The old maid felt sorry for the girl, thinking no one should be so humiliated. Therefore, the next day when the girl woke up the old maid presented her with a scarf and finally spoke.
"This scarf," she told the girl, "is made from your own beautiful hair. Wear it when you go out and no longer despair."
That day the girl wore the scarf into town and no longer felt humiliated. Everyone admired the beautiful scarf she wore and the girl was happy. The days turned to weeks, the weeks turned to months, and always the girl wore the scarf. She wore it so much that the villagers started to call her Schal (pronounced Shal. Means scarf in German). What was even more spectacular was that wearing the scarf caused Scahl's hair to grow faster. Because of this, Scahl's parents were able to make more and more products from her hair and they started to be kinder to her.
Seeing how she was being used, the girl tried to run away. However, her parents watched her closely and stopped her before she could get to far. They dragged her back and locked her in the room with the old maid. The girl cried for hours and told the old maid all her sorrows and how she wished to be free of her life. The old maid never spoke but listened intently. Over the next few days, the girl continued to tell the old maid all her despairs and wishes. She spoke of how her parents forced her to walk into town bald to buy food while everyone stared at her.
"I wish," the girl sobbed, "I wish they couldn't see my bald head!"
The old maid felt sorry for the girl, thinking no one should be so humiliated. Therefore, the next day when the girl woke up the old maid presented her with a scarf and finally spoke.
"This scarf," she told the girl, "is made from your own beautiful hair. Wear it when you go out and no longer despair."
That day the girl wore the scarf into town and no longer felt humiliated. Everyone admired the beautiful scarf she wore and the girl was happy. The days turned to weeks, the weeks turned to months, and always the girl wore the scarf. She wore it so much that the villagers started to call her Schal (pronounced Shal. Means scarf in German). What was even more spectacular was that wearing the scarf caused Scahl's hair to grow faster. Because of this, Scahl's parents were able to make more and more products from her hair and they started to be kinder to her.