“Round about, round about, Lo and behold! Reel away, reel away, Straw into gold!” and round about the wheel went merrily; the work was quickly done, and the straw was all spun into gold. When the king came and saw this, he was greatly astonished and pleased; but his heart grew still more greedy of gain, and he shut up the poor miller’s daughter again with a fresh task. Then she knew not what to do, and sat down once more to weep; but the imp soon opened the door, and said, “What will you give me to do your task?” “The ring on my finger,” said she. So the imp took the ring, and began to work at the wheel again, and whistled and sang: “Round about, round about, Lo and behold! Reel away, reel away, Straw into gold!” till, long before morning, all was done again. [10] The king was greatly delighted to see all this glittering treasure; but still he had not enough: so he took the miller’s daughter to a yet larger heap, and said, “All this must be spun tonight; and if it is, you shall be my queen.” As soon as she was alone that imp came in, and said, “What will you give me to spin gold for you this third time?” “I have nothing left,” said she. “Then say you will give me,” said the imp, “the first little child that you may have when you are queen.” “That may never be,” thought the miller’s daughter: and as she knew no other way to get her task done, she said she would do what he asked. Round went the wheel again to the old song, and the imp once more spun the heap into gold. [15] The king came in the morning, and, finding all he wanted, was forced to keep his word; so he married the miller’s daughter, and she really became queen. 2
At the birth of her first little child she was very glad, and forgot the imp, and what she had said. But one day he came into her room, where she was sitting playing with her baby, and put her in mind of it. Then she grieved 8 sorely at her misfortune, and said she would give him all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her off, but in vain; till at last her tears softened him, and he said, “I will give you three days’ grace, and if during that time you tell me my name, you shall keep your child.” Now the queen lay awake all night, thinking of all the odd names that she had ever heard; and she sent messengers all over the land to find out new ones. The next day the imp came, and she began with Timothy, Ichabod, Benjamin, Jeremiah, and all the names she could remember; but to all and each of them he said, “Madam, that is not my name.” 9 The second day she began with all the comical names she could hear of, Bandy-Legs, Hunchback, Crook- Shanks, and so on; but the imp still said to every one of them, “Madam, that is not my name.” The third day one of the messengers came back, and said, “I have travelled two days without hearing of any other names; but yesterday, as I was climbing a high hill, among the trees of the forest where the fox and the hare bid each other good night, I saw a little hut; and before the hut burnt a fire; and round about the fire a funny little imp was dancing upon one leg, and singing: ‘Merrily the feast I’ll make. Today I’ll brew, tomorrow bake; Merrily I’ll dance and sing, For next day will a stranger bring. Little does my lady dream Rumpelstiltskin is my name!’” [20] When the queen heard this she jumped for joy, and as soon as the imp came she sat down upon her throne, and called all her court round to enjoy the fun; and the nurse stood by her side with the baby in her arms, as if it was quite ready to be given up. Then the imp began to chuckle at the thought of having the poor child, to take home with him to his hut in the woods; and he cried out, “Now, lady, what is my name?” “Is it John?” asked she. “No, madam!” “Is it Tom?” “No, madam!” [25] “Is it Jemmy?” 8. greatly 9. Comical (adjective) funny 3
“It is not.” 10 “Can your name be Rumpelstiltskin?” said the lady slyly. 11 “Some witch told you that! Some witch told you that!” cried the imp, and dashed his right foot in a rage so deep into the floor, that he was forced to lay hold of it with both hands to pull it out. 12 Then he made the best of his way off, while the nurse laughed and the baby crowed; and all the court jeered at him for having had so much trouble for nothing, and said, “We wish you a very good morning, and a merry feast, Mr. Rumpelstiltskin!” “Rumpelstiltskin” by The Brothers Grimm (1812) is in the public domain. This text has been modified. Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license 10. Slyly (adverb) craftily 11. struck with great force 12. Jeer (verb) to make rude and mocking remarks 4
Text-Dependent Questions Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences. 1. Which statement best identifies the main theme of the story? A. Kindness is always rewarded. B. Boasting can lead to troubles later. C. Friendship can grow in unlikely places. D. Falling in love can happen when you least expect it. 2. How do the king and the maiden react to the miller’s boast in paragraph 1? A. The king is eager to prove the miller’s claim, while the maiden is upset by her father’s boast. B. The king doubts the miller’s words, while the maiden proves that her father’s boast is true. C. The king is angered by the miller’s lie, while the maiden is embarrassed by her father’s boast. D. The king is excited by the miller’s claim, while the maiden tries to explain that it is Rumpelstiltskin who can spin gold. 3. PART A: What is the meaning of “misfortune” as it is used in paragraph 16? A. blame B. mood C. problem D. wealth 4. PART B: Which detail from the text best identifies the maiden’s “misfortune”? A. “As soon as she was alone that imp came in, and said, 'What will you give me to spin gold for you this third time?’” (Paragraph 11) B. “‘Then say you will give me,’ said the imp, ‘the first little child that you may have when you are queen.’” (Paragraph 13) C. “At the birth of her first little child she was very glad, and forgot the imp” (Paragraph 16) D. “she would give him all the wealth of the kingdom” (Paragraph 16) 5
5. Compare the king and Rumpelstiltskin. How are they similar and how are they different? 6
Discussion Questions Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared to share your original ideas in a class discussion. 1. In the context of the text, can we control our fate? How does the queen take control of her fate? Cite evidence from this text, your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer. 2. In the context of the text, how does power influence the way people act? How does Rumpelstiltskin’s power to spin straw into gold influence his actions? Cite evidence from this text, your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer. 3. In your opinion, why did Rumpelstiltskin tell the queen that she could keep her child if she could guess his name? What does this suggest about the power of names? 7