Follow along audiobook!
by Cait Smith and Emma Curry
nce upon a time, there was a poor old Miller
He had a beautiful daughter, but no money for dinner
So one day the Miller went to speak to the King, he said “I have a way to get you more bling”
Impressed, the greedy young King wanted more
The Miller said
He said
“If she can’t do it, with her life she’ll pay"
The next morning the Miller’s daughter came to the King, But there was just one teeny weeny little thing. The poor girl couldn’t spin straw to gold, But she had to fix the lie her father told.
The King took her to a room full of straw, And then he slammed and locked the door. Through the door she heard him say “If you can’t do this, with your life you’ll pay”
The beautiful girl cried, wept and moaned
Then dried her eyes and around the room she roamed, She could not believe what she saw
A spinning wheel with ceiling to floor, covered in straw.
“I cannot turn this to gold”
She thought
“With this big lie we’ll definitely get caught!”
In a flash and a flutter a small man appeared, Looking shrivelled, gnarly and weird.
The small man asked
“Why are you weeping dear?”
“I have to make gold from this straw here”
Puzzled, the little man looked at the straw piled high, He turned to the beautiful girl and said with a sigh
“What will you give me if I do this for you?”
“Um, I don’t have much but I can give you my shoe?”
The small man thought, but it wasn’t enough
So the girl took off her necklace with a huff and a puff
Taking it from her he jumped on the stool
She watched amazed as gold spun onto the spool
With a whir-whir-whirl of the wheel
Happy with all the gold she let out a squeal.
The next morning the King found the girl asleep
When he saw all the gold he felt like he could leap!
The King lead the girl from the room and said “I want more”
As he brought her to another door.
Behind this door was a bigger room full of straw And then he slammed and locked the door. Through the door she heard him say “If you can’t do this, with your life you’ll pay”
Looking around again she saw the straw covering the floor And the beautiful girl cried harder than before With a flash and a flutter, the small man appeared again He took one look at the girl and said “What will you give me then?”
The girl looked nervous, she pondered and thought
“Um I don’t have much, I’m coming up short!”
The small man smiled and spoke
“You could give me money or jewels or a good joke”
The girl looked delighted, but before she could speak
“What I want is your ring”
And the girl let out a squeak
“But it was my mothers, I couldn’t give it up”
Walking to the door the man said
“Then I wish you good luck!”
She looked at the man then down at her ring
“Fine I’ll give you this bit of bling”
“Fabulous, amazing, outstanding”
The small man replied He got straight to work as the girl stood amazed at his side. By morning the little man had spun all the straw to gold
The King arrived, saw his new riches and was sold He turned to the beautiful girl and said “Do it again and you can be my Queen with a crown on your head”
Behind this door was an even bigger room full of straw
Then he slammed and locked the door
Through the door she heard him say
“If you can’t do this with your life you’ll pay”
The beautiful girl cried and cried
And she wished her father had never lied
With a flash and flutter the little man appeared once more
“What will you give me if I spin gold from this straw?”
The beautiful girl cried harder and harder
She knew exactly what would happen to her
“I don’t have anything for you”
She wailed
“I’ve got this far and now I’ve failed!”
“Don’t cry, don’t worry! There is one thing you can promise me”
“What? Anything? Oh thank you, oh YIPPEE!”
Looking wicked and evil the little man smiled
“If you become Queen, promise me your firstborn child”
The beautiful girl thought and wondered
If she does this she might live to one hundred!
“Fine I’ll do it, please just help me”
“okay, but don’t you forget it’s not for free”
By morning the little man had spun all the gold
Enough to keep the King rich till he was grey and old
Years later the King and Queen were filled with joy
As they welcomed to their family a little baby boy.
The King saw the gold and said
“Marry me please!
And the beautiful girl said yes to the man down on his knees.
The Queen had not thought of the little man over the years
But he burst into her room and filled her with fears
Begging, she offered him all the riches on the planet
But the little man told her to can it
Saying life was the greatest gift
The beautiful Queen wailed, cried and sniffed
The little man did feel a little bit bad
“If you can guess my name, maybe you won’t be so sad”
He said
“Get it correct and you can keep your son”
In a flash and a flutter, he was gone and the race had begun
So the Queen sent a servant all over the city
Getting names from locals like Gregory or Garrity
That evening when the Queen was alone
The little man appeared as she sat on her throne
“Is your name Philip”
“or Frederick?”
“No, that’s not my name, you better think of more and quick!”
With a flash and a flutter the small man was gone
And the Queen was back to square one.
“or Arthur”The very next day the Queen sent the servant all over the valley
She ran through the villages there was no time to dilly dally!
Collecting strange names like Otto and Odo
The Queen was hopeful, she’d get back her mojo!
At sunset the little man arrived once more
But the Queen was more prepared than before
“Is your name Balthazar or Bartholomew?”
“You’re running out of guesses if only you knew”
It was the final day, and the Queen was restless
With all her work, there was still no progress
So she sent out the servant again searching far and wide
When she saw a strange little man in the forest and hid to the side.
She watched in delight and could jump for joy
As she had just found the way to save the baby boy
Running back to the castle she leapt and bound
The Queen’s solution had finally been found
Running in to the castle, the servant found the Queen
Ready to tell her the news she couldn’t help but beam!
“Deep in the forest, there was a small little hut
With a fire roaring wild outside, but Hopping up and down on the stump of a tree
Was a strange little man singing happily
“I will win, I am the best
Tomorrow I’ll have a new house guest
The silly young Queen, she fell for my game
No one knows Rumpelstiltskin’s my name”
Overjoyed, the Queen waited for sunset
She had won and would be out of his debt
In a flash and flutter the little man jumped in Ready to claim his rightful win
So my lovely Queen, have you been able to guess my name
To lose your baby boy would be an awful shame”
The Queen thought for a moment
“What about Jude?”
“Keep guessing wrong and you’ll be in a mood”
The little man felt triumphant
Two more wrong guesses and he’d have the royal infant
The Queen thought again
“How about Conrad?”
The little man laughed happily
“you are really bad”
The little man watched as the Queen thought hard
“one more wrong guess and I’ll send you a thank you card!”
The little man was ready to celebrate his win
The Queen smiled
“I know your name is Rumpelstiltskin!”
Rumpelstiltskin shouted, cried and screamed
“NO! NO! NO!”
This was better than the Queen had dreamed
He stomped so hard till his leg got swallowed by the earth
In a range he pulled his leg with all this might and worth
Everyone in the castle watched in fear
As he pulled and pulled hoping his leg would appear
Rumpelstiltskin pulled so hard he tore himself in two And a hole opened to swallow him up, leaving just his little shoe!
Cait Smith Emma Curry
Headshot Photo credit: MAD Photography London