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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...