Once upon a time, there was a poor miller who lived with his beautiful daughter. The miller was not a bad man, but he liked to boast about things that were not true. One day, the miller happened to meet the king while traveling through the village. The miller wanted to impress the king, so he said something foolish. 'Your Majesty, my daughter can spin straw into gold,' the miller announced proudly. The king was very interested because he loved gold more than anything else. 'Bring your daughter to the castle tomorrow,' the king commanded. The next morning, the king led the miller's daughter to a room filled with straw. There was a spinning wheel in the corner of the room. 'You must spin all this straw into gold by morning,' the king told her. 'If you fail, you will be punished severely,' he warned before locking the door. The poor girl sat alone and began to cry because she had no idea how to spin straw into gold. Suddenly, the door opened and a strange little man appeared. He had a long beard and wore peculiar clothes. 'Why are you crying, my dear?' the little man asked. 'I must spin all this straw into gold, but I do not know how,' she sobbed. 'What will you give me if I spin it for you?' the little man asked with a sly smile. 'I will give you my necklace,' the girl said, taking off her only piece of jewelry. The little man took the necklace and sat down at the spinning wheel. He worked through the entire night, and by morning, all the straw had become shining gold. When the king arrived and saw the gold, he was amazed but also greedy for more. He led the girl to a larger room filled with even more straw. 'Spin all this into gold by morning, or you will face terrible consequences,' he ordered. Once again, the girl began to weep when she was left alone. And once again, the mysterious little man appeared before her. 'What will you give me this time?' he asked, rubbing his hands together. 'I will give you the ring from my finger,' the girl offered desperately. The little man agreed and spun all the straw into gold before sunrise. The king was delighted but still wanted more gold. He brought the girl to an enormous hall piled high with straw. 'If you succeed tonight, you shall become my queen,' the king promised. When the little man came for the third time, the girl had nothing left to give him. 'Then promise me your first child when you become queen,' the little man demanded. The girl thought that she would never become queen, so she agreed to his terrible bargain. The little man spun all the straw into gold, and in the morning, the king kept his promise. The miller's daughter became the queen and lived happily in the castle. A year later, she gave birth to a beautiful baby. She had completely forgotten about the promise she had made to the little man. But one night, the little man suddenly appeared in her chambers. 'I have come to collect what you promised me,' he said with an evil grin. The queen was horrified and begged him to take anything else instead. She offered him all the riches of the kingdom, but he refused. 'A living child is more precious to me than all the gold in the world,' he declared. The queen cried so bitterly that even the little man felt a tiny bit of pity. 'I will give you three days,' he said at last. 'If you can guess my name within that time, you may keep your child.' The queen spent the entire first night thinking of every name she had ever heard. When the little man came the next morning, she tried many common names. 'Is your name Peter? Perhaps John? Or maybe William?' she asked hopefully. But to each name, the little man just laughed and shook his head. On the second day, the queen sent messengers throughout the kingdom to collect unusual names. She tried names like Sheepshanks, Cruickshanks, and Spindleshanks. But the little man only replied, 'That is not my name,' each time. On the third and final day, the queen was losing all hope. Then one of her messengers returned with an extraordinary story. 'Your Majesty, I traveled deep into the forest and found a strange little house,' he reported. 'A fire was burning outside, and a funny little man was dancing around it.' 'He was singing a very peculiar song,' the messenger continued. 'Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, the next day the queen's child I pursue!' 'How glad I am that nobody knows that Rumpelstiltskin is my name!' The queen could barely contain her joy when she heard this news. That evening, the little man appeared for the last time. 'Well, Your Majesty, do you know my name yet?' he asked confidently. The queen decided to play with him a little before revealing the truth. 'Is your name perhaps Conrad?' she asked innocently. 'No, that is not my name!' the little man replied gleefully. 'Then perhaps your name is Heinrich?' she continued. 'No, no!' he laughed, already reaching toward the cradle. 'Then could your name possibly be... Rumpelstiltskin?' the queen asked with a smile. The little man's face turned red with fury. 'The devil told you that! The devil told you that!' he screamed. He stamped his right foot so hard that it went deep into the floor. Then, in his rage, he grabbed his left foot with both hands and tore himself in two. The wicked little man was never seen again. The queen hugged her child tightly, grateful that her baby was safe. She told the king everything that had happened. The king was angry at the miller for his foolish lie that had put his wife in danger. However, the queen asked for mercy for her father, and the king forgave him. The miller learned his lesson and never told a lie again. The queen and the king raised their child with love and wisdom. They made sure to always tell their child the truth, no matter how difficult. The child grew up to be kind, honest, and brave. And they all lived happily ever after.
English Story (B1)Rumpelstiltskin
This B1 English story is designed for intermediates learning English. It includes simple vocabulary and short sentences to help you improve your reading and listening skills. Click any word to see translations and hear pronunciation.
About this story
A poor miller falsely boasts to the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The king locks the girl in a room full of straw and demands she spin it into gold or face punishment. A mysterious little man appears and offers to help in exchange for her valuables. When she has nothing left to give, she promises him her first child. She becomes queen and later tries to keep her child when the little man returns. He gives her three days to guess his name. A messenger discovers the name 'Rumpelstiltskin' and the queen saves her child.
Translations in English
Linked wordUnderlined wordOther words
Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
What did the miller claim about his daughter to the king?
2
What did the queen promise the little man in exchange for spinning straw into gold the third time?
3
How did the queen learn the little man's true name?
4
What happened to Rumpelstiltskin when the queen correctly guessed his name?
Vocabulary
40 words from this story
