Great opera stories : taken from original sources in old German

In a secluded mountain glade a crumbling hut shelters a young goose‑girl and the spiteful witch who keeps her captive. The girl’s bright hair and clear blue eyes contrast sharply with the darkness of her home, and she spends her days dreaming of a world beyond the forest, longing for love and kindness she has never known. Though the witch tries to warp her spirit with curses and hard labor, the goose‑girl’s heart remains untouched by the malice around her.

When the witch orders her to knead a loaf of bread, she does so unaware that the witch has slipped poisonous powders into the dough. The foul‑smelling loaf becomes a grim reminder of the danger lurking in the girl’s forced servitude, and the young heroine is left to wonder whether any escape from the hut is possible. Her quiet resolve hints at a coming journey toward the brighter world she has always imagined.