The classic fairy tale story told by talent voice actors. The tale was collected by the Grimm Brothers, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales.
Here is an Audio Sample:
In order to make himself appear more important, a wood cutter lied to the king that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king called for the girl, shut her in a tower room with straw and a spinning wheel, and demanded that she spin the straw into gold by morning, or be executed. She had given up all hope, when a dwarf appeared in the room and spun straw into gold for her in return for her necklace; then again the following night for her ring. On the third night, when she had nothing with which to reward him, the strange creature spun straw into gold for a promise that the girl's first-born child would become his.
The king was so impressed that he let the wood cutter's daughter marry his son, the prince, but when their first child was born, the dwarf returned to claim his payment: "Now give me what you promised". The queen was frightened and offered him all the wealth she had if she could keep the child. The dwarf refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed, but before the second night, her messenger overheard the dwarf hopping about his fire and singing:
- "Today I bake, tomorrow I brew,
- Today for one
- Tomorrow for two
- Little knows my royal dame
- Rumpelstiltskin is my name"
When the dwarf came to the queen on the third day and she revealed his name, Rumpelstiltskin lost his bargain. Rumpelstiltskin then "ran away angrily, and never came back".