Rumpelstiltskin

A Grimm’s tale

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was beautiful but poor. The prince fell in love with the girl. He said, “Father, can I marry this girl? I am in love!” But the king said “No, she is poor. She has no gold.”

The prince thought of an excuse “…But she can make gold.”  The king was surprised. “Make gold? Impossible!” The prince said, “Yes, she can spin straw into gold.”

So the king put the girl in a room. The room was full of straw. “Spin the straw to gold,” said the king. The girl was a prisoner until the straw was gold. She cried and begged to go home, but the king said no. “You will not eat; you will not go home,” said the king. “Not until you spin the straw to gold.”

The girl cried and cried. “I will die here,” she said to herself. She tried to spin the straw, but it was impossible. She could not spin the straw into gold.

POOF!  Suddenly, an elf appeared.  The elf saw the girl and said, “Good evening, miss. Why are you crying?”

The girl was surprised. The room was locked. But the girl was so sad, she told the elf her problem. “The king said I must spin the straw into gold, but I cannot. Now I am a prisoner and I will die here.” 

The elf said, “Do not cry. I can help you. I can spin this straw into gold.” 

There was a lot of straw in the room. 

The girl was surprised and said, “Impossible! You can spin straw into gold? How?”

The elf says, “Yes, I can spin straw into gold. I have magical powers. But… if I help you, I want something. I want your baby.”

“But I don’t have a baby,” said the girl. 

The elf said, “But one day, you may have a baby. If I help you, you must give me your baby one day.” 

The girl was confused, but she said, “Yes, I promise. I will give you my baby.”

The elf started to spin. It was a big room and there was so much straw. The girl said to the elf, “This is impossible. It will take so long to spin!” But it did not take long. 

In a few minutes, the elf spun the straw into gold! When he was finished, there was a mountain of gold. The elf said, “Here is your gold. One day, I’ll come for your baby.” Then -POOF- the elf disappeared.

Then, the king came in the room. He was shocked! He saw a mountain of gold. The king was very happy to be so rich. He said to the girl, “I see you can spin straw into gold. Now that you are rich, you can marry the prince.” 

Soon, the girl and the prince got married. The prince and the girl were happy. They loved each other very much. 

Time passed. The girl was now the princess. One day, the princess and the prince had a baby. She saw her adorable baby and she was so happy.  The prince was very happy, too. He prepared a big celebration. The prince left the room and POOF! Suddenly, the elf appeared.

“I want the baby you promised me!” said the elf. 

The princess locked her arms and held the baby fast. She saw the elf and she panicked. “No, do not take my baby,” she cried. “Here, take these diamonds, pearls, any riches… but not my baby.”

The elf insisted, “No, I want a baby! You promised me the baby!”

The princess cried and cried. She had made a promise, but she had been desperate. She may have died. The princess was so sad that the elf took pity on the poor girl.  “Calm down. I’m reasonable,” said the elf. “You have one day. If you guess my name, you’ll keep your baby. You have 24 hours to guess my name.” Then, POOF! The elf disappeared.

The princess was in a state of shock, but she had so little time. Quickly, she calmed down and stopped crying. “Guards, go out in all directions: to the cities, villages, forests, and roads. Go find the little elf. You must get his name!” So the guards went off in all directions.

At the same time, the girl tried to guess the elf’s name. She made a list of all possible names: from Adam, Arthur, and August, to Zachary, Zaine, and Zeke. 

The hours passed and the princess could not guess the elf’s name. The time came for the elf to arrive. But at the last minute, a guard arrived. “Your Majesty,” he said. “I found an elf in the forest. The elf danced for joy. He was singing:

HAHA! I dance for joy!  

For the baby prince!

HAHA! That stupid girl won’t guess. 

My name is Rumpelstiltskin. 

The guard repeated the name, “Rumpelstiltskin.”  It was the most strange name, but it was music to the girl’s ears. The girl cried again, but she cried tears of joy. 

At that happy moment, the elf arrived. “Well, it’s time,” said the elf. “What’s my name? “

The girl pretended to guess. “Is your name Peter? “

“No,” said the elf.

“Is your name Paul? Asks the girl.

The elf said, “No, it’s impossible. Pass me the baby.” He went to get the baby.

Quickly, the girl said, “Is your name Rumpelstiltskin?”

The elf cried, “Impossible… who told you my name?”

In his rage, the elf cried and cried. The little creature turned as red as blood. He cried so loudly that he exploded. BOOM!

The elf died. 

Finally, the girl, the prince, and their baby were safe. They lived happily ever after.