Rumpelstiltskin

Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter. One day, while trying to impress the king, the miller boasted about his daughter’s skills.

Miller (proudly): "Your Majesty, my daughter can spin straw into gold!"

The king, intrigued and greedy, ordered that the miller's daughter be brought to the palace immediately. When she arrived, the king took her to a room filled with straw and gave her a spindle.

King: "Spin all of this straw into gold by morning, or you will be punished."

The poor girl was terrified. She had no idea how to spin straw into gold. As she sat weeping, suddenly, the door creaked open, and in came a small, strange little man.

Strange Man: "Why are you crying, my dear?"

Miller’s Daughter (desperately): "The king has ordered me to spin all this straw into gold by morning, and I don’t know how to do it!"

The little man grinned.

Strange Man: "I can help you… but what will you give me in return?"

The girl thought for a moment, then took off her necklace and handed it to him.

Miller’s Daughter: "Here, you may have this."

The little man took the necklace, sat by the spinning wheel, and with a flick of his hands, began to spin the straw into gleaming gold. By morning, the entire room was filled with golden threads. The king was astonished but greedy for more.

King: "Amazing! But I need more gold. Tomorrow night, I shall lock you in a larger room filled with even more straw. You must spin it all into gold by morning."

The next evening, the girl was placed in an even larger room filled with straw. Again, she wept, knowing she could not spin it into gold. As before, the little man appeared.

Strange Man: "What will you give me this time, if I spin the straw into gold for you?"

The girl took off her ring and handed it to him.

Miller’s Daughter: "You may have my ring."

Once again, the little man spun all the straw into gold by morning, and the king was overjoyed. But still, his greed was not satisfied.

King: "One more room. If you can spin this last batch of straw into gold by morning, I shall make you my queen."

That night, the girl was placed in the largest room yet, filled with mountains of straw. But now, she had nothing left to offer the strange little man when he appeared once more.

Strange Man: "What will you give me this time, my dear?"

Miller’s Daughter (desperately): "I have nothing left to give you."

The little man thought for a moment, then his eyes gleamed with mischief.

Strange Man: "Very well, then. Promise me that if you become queen, you will give me your firstborn child."

The girl gasped in horror, but seeing no other choice, she agreed.

Miller’s Daughter: "I promise."

With that, the little man spun the straw into gold once more. The next morning, the king entered the room, his eyes wide with wonder.

King: "You have done it! You shall be my queen!"

True to his word, the king married the miller’s daughter, and she became queen. For a time, she was happy and soon forgot about the promise she had made to the strange little man. But after a year had passed, the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.

One day, as she was holding her child, the little man appeared in her chamber.

Strange Man: "Now, my queen, you must keep your promise. Give me your firstborn child."

The queen was horrified and pleaded with the little man.

Queen (begging): "Please, no! I cannot part with my child. Take anything else—riches, jewels, anything—but not my baby."

The little man considered her words, then smiled slyly.

Strange Man: "Very well. I will give you three days. If you can guess my name within that time, you may keep your child. If not, the baby is mine."

The queen agreed, and the little man disappeared. That night, she sent messengers all over the kingdom to gather every name they could find. The next day, when the little man returned, the queen began to recite every name she had learned.

Queen: "Is your name William? Or John? Perhaps it's Henry? Edward?"

But with every name, the little man shook his head.

Strange Man: "No, no, no! That is not my name!"

The second day, the queen tried again, listing every unusual name she could think of.

Queen: "Is it Barnaby? Or Quicksilver? Could it be Bartholomew?"

But again, the little man shook his head and laughed.

Strange Man: "None of those are my name!"

By the third day, the queen was in despair. But just as she was about to give up, one of her messengers returned with a story.

Messenger: "Your Majesty, as I was traveling through the forest, I came across a little cottage. There, I saw a strange little man dancing around a fire, singing:

‘Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, The next I'll have the young queen's child. Oh, how glad I am that no one knew That Rumpelstiltskin is my name!’"

The queen’s heart leapt with joy. When the little man returned later that day, she pretended to think hard.

Queen: "Is your name… Conrad? Or perhaps Zebedee?"

The little man grinned smugly, certain she would fail.

Strange Man: "No! That’s not my name!"

The queen smiled.

Queen: "Then… is it Rumpelstiltskin?"

At this, the little man let out a terrible scream.

Rumpelstiltskin: "How could you know? How could you know my name?!"

In his fury, he stamped his foot so hard that it sank deep into the ground. He pulled and tugged, but he couldn’t free himself, and in a rage, he tore himself in two and vanished, never to be seen again.

The queen sighed in relief and hugged her baby tightly. She was free of the strange little man’s curse, and she and her family lived happily ever after.