Rumpelstiltskin Book Review
Title: Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
Author: The Brothers Grimm
Publisher: Canterbury Classics
Date of Publication: 2011
Genre: Fairy Tale
1. Culture: Rumpelstiltskin originates in Germany. Rumpelstiltskin is a mysterious, magical little man, who helps a young daughter of a miller spin straw into gold when she is forced to by a King. Many German fairy tales and folk tales often include a supernatural being doing mystical things.
2. Summary: Once there was a poor miller who happened to be speaking to the king. In order to make himself appear important, the miller bragged to the king that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. Astonished by this mystical ability, he ordered the miller to bring his daughter to the castle. His daughter was brought into a room full of straw and was to spin all of it into gold by dawn or die. Not knowing what to do, the poor girl started to weep. A midget appeared in the room. He told her that he could spin the straw into gold if she gave him something in return. The girl was overjoyed. She gave him the necklace and went to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, the King was overjoyed and asked her to spin more straw. The girl started weeping again for she did not know where the little man was. Suddenly, the midget appeared and said he will spin the straw for something in return. Excited, the girl gave him her ring. The king became even more greedy at the sight of the gold and told the girl that if she spun even more gold, he would marry her. The midget appeared and the girl started weeping, for she had nothing to give to the little man who helped her spin the straw. He then said that she has to promise him her firstborn child, and if she does, he will spin the straw for her. The girl agreed and went to sleep. The next day she was married to the king and became Queen. Soon, the Queen had a beautiful child and grew attached to it. However, the man soon came into her room and asked for the baby. The Queen started to weep and cry so the man took pity on her. He said that if the queen could guess his first name correctly, she could keep her child. The queen guessed many times, but was unsuccessful at guessing the man's name. She finally sent out a messenger over the kingdom to inquire, far and wide, for any names there might be. Three days later, the messenger came back and said he had no luck in finding the name, but had seen a tiny little man jumping on one leg around a campfire singing a song: “Today I bake, tomorrow brew! The next I'll have the young Queen's child. Ha! Glad am I that no one knew that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled.” The queen was overjoyed at hearing this and when she told the man his name, he was so angry that he tore himself into two pieces.
3. Lesson or Moral of the Story: This story teaches one that bragging is bad. Because the poor miller (at the beginning of the story) bragged to the king that his daughter could spin straw into gold, the daughter had to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. This story is yet another example of the teaching that good always triumphs over evil.
4. What do I think of this book?: I think that this is a really well written story which has a strong lesson. Rumpelstiltskin's morale was high, and so he was more than positive that the Queen wouldn't guess his name. This story is a wonderful story, in my opinion, for adults and children alike.
Author: The Brothers Grimm
Publisher: Canterbury Classics
Date of Publication: 2011
Genre: Fairy Tale
1. Culture: Rumpelstiltskin originates in Germany. Rumpelstiltskin is a mysterious, magical little man, who helps a young daughter of a miller spin straw into gold when she is forced to by a King. Many German fairy tales and folk tales often include a supernatural being doing mystical things.
2. Summary: Once there was a poor miller who happened to be speaking to the king. In order to make himself appear important, the miller bragged to the king that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. Astonished by this mystical ability, he ordered the miller to bring his daughter to the castle. His daughter was brought into a room full of straw and was to spin all of it into gold by dawn or die. Not knowing what to do, the poor girl started to weep. A midget appeared in the room. He told her that he could spin the straw into gold if she gave him something in return. The girl was overjoyed. She gave him the necklace and went to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, the King was overjoyed and asked her to spin more straw. The girl started weeping again for she did not know where the little man was. Suddenly, the midget appeared and said he will spin the straw for something in return. Excited, the girl gave him her ring. The king became even more greedy at the sight of the gold and told the girl that if she spun even more gold, he would marry her. The midget appeared and the girl started weeping, for she had nothing to give to the little man who helped her spin the straw. He then said that she has to promise him her firstborn child, and if she does, he will spin the straw for her. The girl agreed and went to sleep. The next day she was married to the king and became Queen. Soon, the Queen had a beautiful child and grew attached to it. However, the man soon came into her room and asked for the baby. The Queen started to weep and cry so the man took pity on her. He said that if the queen could guess his first name correctly, she could keep her child. The queen guessed many times, but was unsuccessful at guessing the man's name. She finally sent out a messenger over the kingdom to inquire, far and wide, for any names there might be. Three days later, the messenger came back and said he had no luck in finding the name, but had seen a tiny little man jumping on one leg around a campfire singing a song: “Today I bake, tomorrow brew! The next I'll have the young Queen's child. Ha! Glad am I that no one knew that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled.” The queen was overjoyed at hearing this and when she told the man his name, he was so angry that he tore himself into two pieces.
3. Lesson or Moral of the Story: This story teaches one that bragging is bad. Because the poor miller (at the beginning of the story) bragged to the king that his daughter could spin straw into gold, the daughter had to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. This story is yet another example of the teaching that good always triumphs over evil.
4. What do I think of this book?: I think that this is a really well written story which has a strong lesson. Rumpelstiltskin's morale was high, and so he was more than positive that the Queen wouldn't guess his name. This story is a wonderful story, in my opinion, for adults and children alike.
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