Reading Notes: The Brothers Grimm (Ashliman), Part A

Once again, we are reading from the European unit in Myth and Folklore. This week, I have chosen to read Dan Ashliman's adaptation of the Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales. I enjoyed reading from this unit, as it includes fairy tales that are both familiar and new to me.

A Statue of the Grimm Brothers

Rumpelstiltskin
In this story, a thoughtless miller brags to the king that his daughter can spin gold out of straw. The kind requests the opportunity to see the girl's skills in action, and locks her in a room in his castle, with instructions to spin all night. The girl immediately begins to cry, because she cannot spin straw into gold, and will be killed if she fails the king's task. Eventually, a little man enters through the locked door, and offers to spin the straw into gold, so the girl offers her necklace in return.
The next night, the king locks the girl away again, this time with the expectation to spin more straw into gold. Th small man again comes to the girl's rescue, this time in exchange for her ring. On the third night, the king has left more straw than other before, but the miller's daughter has nothing left to offer the small man in return for his spinning the straw into gold. Thus, the little man suggests that the girl give up her first child as payment. The girl, with nothing else left to do, agrees.
A year later, the girl has had the king's child, and the mysterious man has returned to claim his payment. When the girl is obviously distraught at the idea of giving up her baby, the small man agrees that she can keep the child, but only if she can guess his name in the next few days.
The girl, who is now queen, sends messengers across the kingdom to learn his name. It takes the entirety of the three days to discover the man's identity, but eventually, the queen identifies him as Rumpelstiltskin.