A gentle retelling for listeners ages 3–5 of the Brothers Grimm tale “Rumpelstiltskin”: a strange little man spins straw into gold for a miller's daughter in return for her first child, and as Queen she has three days to guess his name.
Read first 4 pagesThe opening of Rumpelstiltskin: A Gentle Retelling, free to read.
Once upon a time, a poor miller lived with his beautiful daughter. One day he met the King. He wanted to sound important, so he bragged, “My daughter can spin straw into gold!”
The King led the girl to a palace room heaped with straw. In it stood a spinning wheel, for making thread. “Spin this into gold by morning,” he said, “or you will lose your life.” Then he locked the door.
Alone, the girl began to cry. Creak! In stepped a little man. “Good evening, Mistress Miller,” he said. “Why are you crying so?” “I must make gold,” she sobbed, “and I don’t know how!”
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