Rumpelstiltskin Summary

At a Glance

• A poor miller boasts that his daughter can spin straw into gold.
• The king locks her in straw-filled rooms, demanding gold or death.
• A strange little man spins the straw in exchange for her necklace, then her ring.
• On the third night, she promises him her firstborn child.
• She becomes queen; when the child is born, the little man returns to claim it.
• He grants her three days to guess his name and keep the child.
• On the third day she learns it: Rumpelstiltskin.
• In fury at being discovered, he tears himself in two.

One-Paragraph Summary

When a miller brags that his daughter can spin straw into gold, the king demands proof. A mysterious little man appears and spins the straw for payment—first her necklace, then her ring, and finally a promise of her first child. After the girl becomes queen and bears a child, the little man returns to collect. He offers a reprieve: if she can guess his name in three days, she may keep the baby. When a messenger overhears him chanting his own name in the forest, the queen triumphs. Exposed, Rumpelstiltskin destroys himself in rage.