Once upon a time there was a miller who encountered a king. The miller wanted to impress the king so he told him that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king ordered the miller to bring his daughter straight away.

When she arrived the king led her to a room full of straw and demanded her to spin it into gold if she valued her life. The young girl, not knowing how to spin straw into gold, was afraid and began to weep.

A little man appeared and asked what she would give him if he spun the straw into gold so she promised him her necklace.

The next day the king brought her to an even larger room filled with more flax. The little man again appeared and this time the girl gave him her ring.

On the third day the king said to the girl, "If you turn this straw into gold by tomorrow, I will be your husband." Again the little man appeared and asked, "What will you give me to spin this straw into gold?" But the girl had nothing more to give so he asked for her firstborn child and she agreed.

The young girl became a queen, but one year later the little man returned and asked for her baby. She began to weep so piteously that the little man was moved. He would give her three days to guess his name and if she did he would not take her baby.

Over the next two days the queen guessed every name she could think of. Finally, in desperation, she sent her most faithful servant out to look for the little man. The servant spied him and overheard his name.

On the third day the little man reappeared and the queen asked if his name was Rumpelstiltskin. He became so furious that she had guessed his name that he flew out the window on his cooking spoon and was never seen again.