Rumpelstiltskin
fairy tale
Rumpelstiltskin, German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm for their Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812–22). Other variations occur in European folklore; in some British versions the title character is named Terrytop, Tom Tit Tot, or Whuppity Stoorie. The title character is a mysterious gnomelike man who spins straw into gold for the benefit of a beautiful miller’s daughter, in exchange for her future firstborn child. The little man reappears to demand his payment when the...