# Odds and Ends explained — Household Tales

> Chapter companion for Household Tales by Jacob Grimm.

## What happens

A pretty but lazy maiden throws away knotted flax while spinning, and her industrious servant collects the scraps, spins them into fine thread, and makes a beautiful gown. On the eve of the lazy maiden's wedding, the servant dances in the dress, and the bride's remark reveals her idleness. The bridegroom then abandons her and marries the industrious servant instead.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished

The lazy bride loses her bridegroom, while the industrious servant is rewarded with marriage.

## Character check-ins

### the maiden

The lazy bride who throws away knotted flax and is abandoned by her bridegroom.

### the servant

The industrious servant who gathers the discarded flax, spins it, and makes a dress, ultimately winning the bridegroom.

### the youth

The bridegroom who chooses the industrious servant over the lazy bride.

## Key lines

> Ah, how that girl does jump about, dressed in my odds and ends.

The bride exclaims that the servant is dancing in a dress made from the flax she discarded.

_This remark reveals the bride's laziness and leads to her downfall._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters/odds-and-ends
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters