Once upon a time, there lived a poor miller who had a daughter of remarkable beauty. Although he had little wealth to his name, he was proud of his daughter and often wished that others would think more highly of his family.
One day, while speaking with the King, the miller decided to make himself appear more important than he really was. He boasted that his daughter possessed an extraordinary gift: she could spin ordinary straw into pure gold.
The King was immediately intrigued. Gold was something he could never have too much of, and the thought of a young woman who could produce it from something as worthless as straw delighted him.
“Bring your daughter to the palace tomorrow,” he commanded. “I wish to see this remarkable skill for myself.”
The following day, the miller’s daughter was brought before the King. He led her into a room filled from floor to ceiling with straw. In the middle stood a spinning wheel and a reel.
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“Your task is simple,” he told her coldly. “You must turn all this straw into gold before morning. If you fail, your life will be the price.”
With that threat hanging over her, the King locked the door and left her alone.
The young woman stared at the enormous pile of straw. She had never possessed such a skill and had no idea how she could possibly accomplish the impossible task. As the hours passed, fear overwhelmed her, and she began to cry.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a strange little man stepped into the room.
“Good evening, Mistress Miller,” he said. “Why are you weeping?”
The girl explained her predicament. She had been ordered to turn the straw into gold, but she did not know how.
“What will you give me if I do it for you?” the little man asked.
“My necklace,” she replied desperately.
The stranger accepted the necklace, sat before the spinning wheel and began to work. The wheel turned rapidly, and before long, the reels were filled with shining gold. He continued until every strand of straw had been transformed.
By morning, the room contained nothing but gold.
When the King arrived, he could hardly believe his eyes. He was delighted, but his satisfaction did not last. Instead of rewarding the girl and releasing her, he became even more determined to obtain greater riches.
He took her into another room, considerably larger than the first, and filled it with straw.
“Turn all of this into gold before morning,” he ordered. “Your life depends on it.”
Once again, the frightened girl found herself alone, with no means of completing the task. She began to cry, and just as before, the little man appeared.
“What will you give me this time if I help you?” he asked.
The girl looked at the few possessions she had left and offered him the ring on her finger.
He accepted it and returned to the spinning wheel. Throughout the night, he worked until the entire room was filled with golden reels.
The King was overjoyed when he saw the result. Yet even this enormous quantity of gold could not satisfy his greed.
He led the girl into a third room, larger than the others, and ordered her to transform another mountain of straw.
This time, however, he made her an additional promise.
“If you manage to finish this task by morning, I shall make you my wife.”
The girl was left alone once more. She knew the little man would probably return, but she had nothing valuable left to offer him.
Sure enough, he appeared.
“What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold?” he asked.
“I have nothing more,” she answered. “I have already given you my necklace and my ring.”
The little man considered her situation before making another demand.
“Then promise me your first child when you become Queen.”
The girl was startled by the bargain. She had no idea whether she would ever marry the King, let alone have a child. Faced with the threat of death and seeing no other way out, she agreed.
The little man began spinning, and by morning, every piece of straw had become gold.
When the King entered the room and saw the glittering treasure, he was delighted. He kept his promise and married the miller’s daughter.
In time, the poor miller’s daughter became Queen.
The Promise Comes Due
A year passed, and the Queen gave birth to a beautiful baby. She was overjoyed with her child and devoted herself to motherhood. The bargain she had made with the mysterious little man had almost disappeared from her thoughts.
But one day, he suddenly appeared in her room.
“Now give me what you promised,” he demanded.
The Queen was horrified. She immediately understood what he wanted and begged him to spare her child.
She offered him all the riches of the kingdom, hoping that gold and treasure would persuade him to change his mind.
But the little man refused.
“Something living is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world,” he declared.
The Queen began to weep bitterly. Her sorrow moved the strange visitor, and he finally offered her a chance to save her child.
“I will give you three days,” he said. “If you can discover my name before that time is over, you may keep your child.”
The Queen eagerly accepted the challenge.
That night, she tried to remember every name she had ever heard. She also sent messengers throughout the kingdom, instructing them to search far and wide for unusual names.
When the little man returned the following day, she began suggesting familiar names. She mentioned Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, along with many others.
Each time, however, the little man shook his head.
“That is not my name.”
The Queen’s first day ended without success.
On the second day, she turned her attention to the surrounding neighbourhood. She gathered the strangest names she could discover and presented them to the little man.
“Could your name be Shortribs? Or Sheepshanks? Perhaps Laceleg?”
But the answer was always the same.
“That is not my name.”
The Queen was growing desperate. Only one day remained, and she had still not discovered the identity of the mysterious stranger.
On the third day, her messenger finally returned with an extraordinary report.
He explained that he had searched throughout the country without finding any new names. However, while travelling near a high mountain at the edge of a forest, he had come across a little house.
Outside it, a fire was burning. Beside the flames, a ridiculous-looking little man was dancing and hopping about on one leg, singing a strange song.
The messenger repeated the words he had heard:
“Today I bake, tomorrow brew,
The next I’ll have the young Queen’s child.
Ha! Glad am I that no one knew
That Rumpelstiltskin I am styled.”
At last, the Queen had discovered the name!
She could hardly contain her excitement. When the little man arrived later that day, he once again demanded to know whether she had discovered his name.
The Queen deliberately began with two ordinary names.
“Is your name Conrad?”
“No,” he answered.
“Is it Harry?”
“No,” he replied impatiently.
Then she looked directly at him and asked:
“Perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin?”
The little man’s face changed immediately.
“The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that!” he screamed.
His secret had been uncovered, and his fury knew no bounds. In his rage, he stamped his right foot so violently into the ground that his leg sank deep into the earth. Then he seized his other leg with both hands and pulled with such tremendous force that he tore himself in two.
And so the Queen escaped the terrible bargain, keeping her beloved child and freeing herself from the strange little man’s claim.
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Moral
Never make serious promises out of desperation without considering their consequences, and remember that knowledge, patience and careful observation can help overcome seemingly impossible challenges.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did the miller’s daughter find herself in the King’s palace?
Her father boasted that she could spin straw into gold, prompting the King to demand a demonstration.
2. What did the mysterious little man receive for helping her the first two times?
He received her necklace first and her ring on the second occasion.
3. What did he demand in exchange for his third act of assistance?
He demanded that she promise him her firstborn child if she became Queen.
4. How did the Queen discover the little man’s name?
A messenger overheard him dancing and singing outside his house near a mountain at the edge of a forest. In his song, he revealed that his name was Rumpelstiltskin.
5. What happened when the Queen correctly guessed his name?
He became furious, stamped one leg into the earth and pulled at the other until he tore himself in two.
6. What important theme does the discovery of his name represent?
It represents the power of knowledge in overcoming deception and breaking the control someone holds through secrecy.
Source
The retelling is based on “Rumpelstiltskin” (KHM 55), collected and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales).
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