Once upon a time, there lived a miller who had a beautiful daughter called Leonora. One day, as he was delivering flour to the castle, he met the king. The miller, who was a terrible show-off, bowed to the king.
“Good morning, Majesty,” he said. “I don’t like to boast, but my daughter is so talented that she can spin straw into gold.”
“Fascinating,” said the king. “Bring your daughter to the castle tomorrow morning so I can see her talents for myself.”
The miller was horrified because his boast was not true. But there was nothing he could do. So he took Leonora to the castle. The king led her to a chamber full of straw. In one corner of the room was a spinning wheel.
“Get to work,” ordered the king. “If you haven’t spun all this straw to gold by morning, I’ll have your head cut off.” With that he closed the door.
Leonora sat down and began to weep. She had no idea how to spin straw into gold. But suddenly the door flew open and a strange little man appeared. He had crooked legs, a long red nose and a beard that was so long it was tied in a knot.
“Good evening,” he chirped. “Why are you crying?”
“The king wants me to spin all this straw into gold, but I don’t know how,” cried Leonora.
“What will you give me if I do it for you?” asked the little man.
“My necklace,” offered Leonora.
Pleased with this bargain, the little man sat down and started to spin. Whirr, whirr, went the spinning wheel, and the little man’s fingers moved so quickly that all Leonora could see was a blur. By morning, every piece of the straw in the room had been turned into gold.
When the king returned in the morning he was delighted. He was a greedy man, however, and wanted more gold. He took Leonora to a bigger room full of straw.
“Here is a spinning wheel, here is some straw. If you haven’t spun all of it into gold by morning, I will have your head cut off,” he threatened.
As soon as she was alone, Leonora began to cry again. But the door sprang open and in came the little man.
“What will you give me this time if I spin the straw into gold?” he asked.
“My ring,” suggested Leonora.
With a satisfied smile he sat down and began to spin. By sunrise all the straw had been turned to pure gold.
When the king arrived, he clapped his hands with delight. But still he wanted more gold. He led Leonora into an even bigger room. It was so full of straw that the piles almost touched the ceiling.
“If you haven’t spun all the straw into gold by morning... well, you know what will happen. If you succeed, I will make you my queen,” promised the king.
As soon as the king left the room, the little man appeared, laughing and dancing around Leonora.
“What will you give me this time? What will you give me?” he asked.
“I’ve got nothing left to give,” wailed Leonora.
“Then you must promise me that when you are queen you will give me your first baby,” said the little man.
Leonora could see no other way to save her life, so she gave him her word. He set to work and spun all the straw into gold. When the king saw the enormous heap of gold, he married Leonora straightaway.
A year passed before Leonora had a beautiful baby. She forgot all about her promise to the little man until one day he crept into her room.
“I have come for my prize,” he demanded.
Leonora was terrified. She offered him all the riches in the kingdom instead. But the little man shook his head.
“You must keep your promise,” he said.
Leonora wept so bitterly that the little man began to feel sorry for her.
“I will give you three days to guess my name,” he said. “If you guess it correctly, you can keep your baby. If not, the baby will be mine.”
Leonora sent a messenger throughout the kingdom to write down all the names he came across. She lay awake at night, thinking of all the names she had ever heard.
When the little man arrived the next day, Leonora recited all the names she knew.
“Are you called Albert?”
“No, that’s not my name.”
“Are you called Andrew?”
“No.”
“Arthur?”
“Nope.”
Even when she got to Zebedee, the little man still said, “No, that is not my name.”
The next day, Leonora asked everybody in the castle to suggest more names. When the little man appeared she had a list of some really extraordinary names.
“Is your name Sheepshanks, Hedwig or Shockles?” she asked, but he always replied, “No.”
On the third day the messenger who had been sent to collect names returned to the castle.
“I have not been able to find any new names,” he admitted. “But as I was riding through a forest, I saw a cottage. In front of it was a bonfire, and around the fire the strangest little man was dancing. He had crooked legs, a long red nose and a beard that was so long he had tied it in a knot. As he hopped and jumped, he sang this song.
‘My dancing and singing I will do today,
For tomorrow the queen’s son I will take away.
All the queen’s riches and all the queen’s fame,
Will not help her guess Rumpelstiltskin’s my name.’
Leonora clapped her hands with joy.
When the little man came to the castle and asked her what his name was, she asked, “Is your name Rufus?”
“No,” he answered.
“Is your name Conrad?”
“No.”
“Is your name Rumpelstiltskin?”
“Who told you that?” screamed the little man. “Was it the elves? Was it the trolls?” In a rage, he stamped his foot so hard it went straight into the ground. This made him even angrier. He grabbed his foot to pull it out of the ground, but pulled so hard he tore himself in two. And that was the end of Rumpelstiltskin.
