Rumpelstiltskin

- Condensed from the original tale of the Grimm Brothers

There was once a poor farmer who made up stories about his beautiful daughter.
“She can spin straw into gold,” he boasted. But the King who loved gold believe what he
heard about the farmer’s daughter. He sent her and said, “Spin this straw into gold and I
will make you my Queen! If not, you will die!
That night, the farmer’s daughter found herself locked in a big room full of straw.
She had no idea how to spin straw into gold and began to weep.\
Suddenly, a dwarf appeared and said, “I will spin this straw into gold, but you
have to give me something in return for my work.” The farmer’s daughter sobbed, “But I
have nothing to give.” The dwarf smiled and said, “Give me your first child when you are
Queen!” Out of fear, the poor girl agreed.
The next morning, the King found the room packed with gold. So the farmer’s
daughter became his Queen. And soon she gave birth to a lovely baby.
One day, the dwarf again appeared before the queen. “I’ve come for your fist
child,” the dwarf said. The Queen who had forgotten her promise, offered the dwarf all
the riches in her kingdom instead. The dwarf refused. But when the Queen wept, he
took pity on her and made a bargain, “If you can guess my name in three days – you
may keep your child.” Then he left.
The first night the dwarf came back, the Queen read out all the names she had
collected. But the dwarf said, “Not one is right!”
The second night, the Queen read all out all the names her messengers had
collected. But after each one, the dwarf shouted, “That is not my name!”
But on the third day, a messenger returned with a story for the Queen:
“While I was passing by a hut, saw a strange man singing by the fire –
“Flames dance, fire shine! Tomorrow the Queen’s child is mine. This guessing game
she’ll never win! For my name is Rumpelstiltskin!”
The Queen was overjoyed after hearing the story.
The dwarf came back on the third day. The Queen pretended to be very nervous
and guessed many names until she asked, “Could it be Rumpelstiltskin?” The dwarf
screamed, “A witch told you that!” He stamped his feet with such anger that he split into
two then vanished into thin air.
So the King, Queen and their lovely baby lived happy ever after.
The story of Rumpelstiltskin shows us that one should not expect payment for
one’s good deeds. And that he who takes advantage of another’s misfortune, might be
punished by a greater misfortune.