The tale begins with a miller who encounters the Devil, promising him immense wealth in exchange for "what is behind your mill." Upon returning home, the miller discovers a torrent of liquid gold flowing through his mill, but soon realizes that his daughter was behind it, playfully perched in an apple tree. After enjoying years of opulence, the Devil returns to claim the young girl, but upon finding her in pristine condition, he orders her family to confine her to the apple tree, where her mother tragically perishes when trying to help her escape. When the Devil makes his next appearance, he finds the young girl has kept herself immaculate. In a fit of rage, he demands the miller to sever her hands, a task to which the young girl submits willingly. Even with her hands removed, she cleans the stumps with her tears, rendering her still unclaimable by the Devil. Eventually, the young girl, filled with resentment, flees the mill.
As she wanders through the forest, she discovers a garden filled with luscious pears. Despite her desire, she initially cannot cross the formidable river that separates her from the fruit. However, the goddess of the river intervenes, guiding her to the garden, revealing that it is owned by a prince. Both the prince and his gardener welcome her into their castle, and a tender romance blossoms between the young girl and the prince. As a symbol of their love, the prince gifts her two enchanting golden prosthetic hands as a wedding present.
Unfortunate circumstances arise when the prince must depart to lead his army into battle, leaving the now pregnant young girl under the care of the gardener. Upon giving birth to a healthy son, she discovers that her golden hands are utterly ineffective at tending to the baby. The gardener delivers joyful news to the prince, but the Devil deceitfully replaces this message with a note claiming she has birthed a monster. In turn, the prince replies with his unwavering support for the young girl and their child; however, the Devil meddles once more, converting this into an order for their execution. Outraged, the gardener aids their escape, entrusting the young girl with a bag of enchanted seeds. Following the river upstream to its source, she learns from the goddess of the river about an abandoned house where they can live. There, with the magic seeds, they thrive while the young girl discards her valueless golden hands into the river.
Eventually, the prince returns from a disastrous war, and the gardener initially feigns compliance with the executions. However, upon the prince's revelation that he never authorized such actions, the gardener confesses the truth. Driven by love, the prince embarks on a search for the young girl and their son. After many arduous years, he discovers the mill, where he learns that her father succumbed to despair and hanged himself, uncovering the remnants of the young girl's hands. The prince also retrieves the golden hands from the river, which guides him to the young girl’s new abode. Mistakenly believing she seeks vengeance, the young girl wields an ax against the prince but soon realizes she has new hands capable of holding the weapon. He reveals the nature of the false note, but their reunion is interrupted by the appearance of the Devil, now in the form of a raven, who targets their son. The Devil transforms yet again, morphing into the pig form he had used throughout their ordeal. In a decisive moment, the young girl uses the ax to slay the beast, resulting in the Devil finally relinquishing his claim over her. The triumphant couple chooses to forgo the confines of either the house or the castle, instead embracing the promise of new adventures together as a family.
