Rumplestiltskin

The name and the fairy tale, both originated in Germany, where it was later collected by two famous brothers, of the surname Grimm, who published it in storybooks for children, who are still told the same story today, almost two hundred years since it was first published in 1812. Rumplestiltskin vaguely means in German, “little rattle stilt”, though it refers more to a type of noisy goblin who rattles poles, and things like that. Fairly similar in some properties to the more commonly known poltergeist, or “noisy spirit” more literally. The story, for those of you who are so underprivileged as to not know it, is thus:

Once upon a time, in a beautiful kingdom, there lived a poor miller, a young girl, and a noble, though greedy king. One day, the king was touring his beautiful city, looking out, speaking with peasants, and being neighbourly. The miller stepped out of his small hut, and as to make himself seem more distinguished amongst his peers, he called out to the king, and explained that he had a daughter whose prowess in spinning was so great, that she could spin straw into gold.

The greedy king was immediately interested, and took the young girl away with him to his castle, where he presented the young maiden with a room full of straw, piled high. The king then told her, that if she could not spin the straw into gold, in the morning, she would surely have her head cut off. When he left, the girl tried to spin the straw, but it was no use, so she sat down and wept. Soon, a tiny man crept in and asked her what was wrong. She explained to him her problem, and he asked her what she would trade him, if he could do the task. She gave him her necklace, and the little man sat down and spun the straw into gold while she slept. When the king visited her in the morning, he saw that the room was full of spindles full of gold.

The next night, he led her to two interconnected chambers, piled high once more with great large stacks of straw. He issued the same warning, and again the maiden wept. Soon, the little man appeared once more, and offered his services for a fee. The maid gave him her ring, and he sat down to the work, and had it finished long before morning. When the king visited at dawn, he was thrilled to see the even more massive amounts of gold. The next night, he led her into an even larger apartment of rooms, piled to the ceilings with straw. Then he told her, if she could spin all this straw into gold, he would make her his wife, and then he left. The little man soon came again, and asked what she would give him if he would spin the straw into gold once more.

But the young girl had nothing to give him, and so he asked, for her firstborn child once she was made the queen. The girl, in her desperation, agreed to the barter. The man did the task, and in the morning, the king discovered the rooms once more. He vowed that she would never again lay a finger to the spinning wheel, and married her.

A year later, the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby. Soon after, came the little man, demanding his payment. However, the queen cried and begged so pitifully, that the little man offered her a deal. If she could guess his name in three days, she could keep the child. Thus, he disappeared, and the queen sent messengers far and wide. For two days, she tried the strangest, and most common names she could think of, and still only got the reply that she was wrong. In the very early morning of the third day, a messenger who had ridden far and long returned, and said that one night, he happened to spy a little man dancing around a fire, singing:

“To-day do I bake, to-morrow I brew,
The day after that the queen’s child comes in;
And oh! I am glad that nobody knew
That the name I am called is Rumplestiltskin!”

The queen was overjoyed, and when the little man appeared, she casually offered him a few names she had already given, to which he sneered, and shook his head. But when she asked whether his name was Rumplestiltskin, he threw a great tirade, and exclaimed that she heard that from the Devil. Then he tore himself in two, and screamed no more.