Rumpelstilzchen
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"Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
collected by the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...
in the 1812 edition of ''
Children's and Household Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. Vol ...
''. The story is about an imp who spins
straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...
into
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
in exchange for a woman's
firstborn A firstborn (also known as an eldest child or sometimes firstling) is the first child born to in the birth order of a couple through childbirth. Historically, the role of the firstborn child has been socially significant, particularly for a first ...
child.


Plot

In order to appear superior, a
miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
brags to the king and people of his kingdom by claiming his daughter can
spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...
into
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
.Some versions make the miller's daughter
blond Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...
e and describe the "straw-into-gold" claim as a careless boast the miller makes about the way his daughter's straw-like blond hair takes on a gold-like lustre when sunshine strikes it.
The king calls for the girl, locks her up in a tower room filled with straw and a
spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, ...
, and demands she spin the straw into gold by morning or he will have her killed.Other versions have the king threatening to lock her up in a dungeon forever, or to punish her father for lying. When she has given up all hope, a little
imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...
-like man appears in the room and spins the straw into gold in return for her necklace of
glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
beads A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...
. The next morning the king takes the girl to a larger room filled with straw to repeat the feat, and the imp once again spins, in return for the girl's glass ring. On the
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
day the girl is taken to an even larger room filled with straw, and told by the king that if she can spin all this straw into gold he will marry her, but if she cannot she will be executed. While she is sobbing alone in the room, the little imp appears again and promises that he can spin the straw into gold for her, but the girl tells him she has nothing left with which to pay. The strange creature suggests she pay him with her first child. She reluctantly agrees, and he sets about spinning the straw into gold.In some versions, the imp appears and begins to turn the straw into gold, paying no heed to the girl's protests that she has nothing to pay him with; when he finishes the task, he states that the price is her first child, and the horrified girl objects because she never agreed to this arrangement. The king keeps his promise to marry the miller's daughter. But when their first child is born, the imp returns to claim his payment. She offers him all the wealth she has to keep the child, but the imp has no interest in her riches. He finally agrees to give up his claim to the child if she can guess his name within three days.Some versions have the imp limiting the number of daily guesses to three and hence the total number of guesses allowed to a maximum of nine. The queen's many guesses fail. But before the final night, she wanders into the woodsIn some versions, she sends a servant into the woods instead of going herself, in order to keep the king's suspicions at bay. searching for him and comes across his remote mountain cottage and watches, unseen, as he hops about his fire and sings. He reveals his name in his song's lyrics: "Tonight, tonight, my plans I make. Tomorrow, tomorrow, the baby I take. The queen will never win the game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name."The German song is "Heute back' ich, morgen brau' ich, übermorgen hol' ich der Königin ihr Kind. Ach, wie gut ist es das niemand weiß, dass ich Rumpelstiltskin heiß." This translates literally as "Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, the day after I get the Queen's child. How good it is that no one knows that I'm called Rumpelstiltskin." When the imp comes to the queen on the third day, after first feigning ignorance, she reveals his name, Rumpelstiltskin, and he loses his temper at the loss of their bargain. Versions vary about whether he accuses the devil or witches of having revealed his name to the queen. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tales, Rumpelstiltskin then "ran away angrily, and never came back". The ending was revised in an 1857 edition to a more gruesome ending wherein Rumpelstiltskin "in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two". Other versions have Rumpelstiltskin driving his right foot so far into the ground that he creates a chasm and falls into it, never to be seen again. In the oral version originally collected by the Brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin flies out of the window on a cooking ladle.


History

According to researchers at
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
and the
NOVA University Lisbon NOVA University Lisbon (, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capital city, earning its name as the "N ...
, the origins of the story can be traced back to around 4,000 years ago. A possible early literary reference to the tale appears in
Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...
's ''Roman Antiquities'', in the 1st century AD.


Variants

The same story pattern appears in numerous other cultures: ''Tom Tit Tot'' in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(from ''English Fairy Tales'', 1890, by
Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian-born folklorist, literary critic and historian who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Born in Sydney to a Jewish family, his work went on to popula ...
); ''
Whuppity Stoorie Whippitie Stourie (pronounced ''whuppity stoorie'') is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Robert Chambers in ''Popular Rhymes of Scotland''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 500, The Name of the Helper. Heidi Anne Heiner,Tales Similar to Rumpelstiltsk ...
'' in Scotland (from Robert Chambers's ''Popular Rhymes of Scotland'', 1826); ''Gilitrutt'' in Iceland; and ''The Lazy Beauty and her Aunts'' in Ireland (from '' The Fireside Stories of Ireland'', 1870 by Patrick Kennedy), though subsequent research has revealed an earlier published version called ''The White Hen'' by Ellen Fitzsimon. The story also appears as جعيدان (''Joaidane'' "He who talks too much") in Arabic; Хламушка (''Khlamushka'' "Junker") in Russia; ''Rumplcimprcampr'', ''Rampelník'' or ''Martin Zvonek'' in the Czech Republic; ''Martinko Klingáč'' in Slovakia; "Cvilidreta" in Croatia; ''Ruidoquedito'' ("Little noise") in South America; ''Pancimanci'' in Hungary (from 1862 folktale collection by László Arany); ''Daiku to Oniroku'' (大工と鬼六 "The carpenter and the ogre") in Japan and ''Myrmidon'' in France. An earlier literary variant in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
was penned by Mme. L'Héritier, titled ''Ricdin-Ricdon''. A version of it exists in the compilation ''Le Cabinet des Fées'', Vol. XII. pp. 125–131. The Cornish tale of
Duffy and the Devil ''Duffy and the Devil'' (1973) is a book written by Margot Zemach and her husband Harvey Fichstrom (as Harve Zemach). In 1974, it was a finalist for the National Book Award, Children's LiteratureAarne–Thompson–Uther Index The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: Originally published in German b ...
as tale type ATU 500, "The Name of the Supernatural Helper". According to scholarship, it is popular in "Denmark, Finland, Germany and Ireland".


Name

"Rumpelstiltskin" is usually explained as literally meaning "little rattle stilt". The ending ''‑chen'' in the German form Rumpelstilzchen is a
diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
cognate to English ''-kin''. ''Rumpelstilzchen'' is regarded as containing , diminutive of "
stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...
". This etymology seems endorsed by
Hans-Jörg Uther Hans-Jörg Uther (born 20 July 1944) is a German literary scholar and folklorist. Biography Born 20 July 1944, in Herzberg am Harz, Uther studied Folklore, Germanistik and History between 1969 and 1970 at the University of Munich and between 1970 ...
's handbook on the Grimms ''
Kinder- und Hausmärchen ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. Vol ...
''. Uther cites which gives the examples of , ''Wasserstelze'' (names of birds;
stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...
) as paralleling examples. However, this was not the etymology hinted at by
Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...
.Grimm (1875) ''Deutsche Mythologie'' ; Stallybrass tr. (1883) : Rumpelstilt, "''stilt, stilz'', the old ''stalt'' in compounds?" Harry Rand's book on this fairy suggests that ''Rumpel'' is not just a noise, but originally a crumpling noise, associated with shrunkenness and dwarfness, as apropos for the imp. So the name Rumpel-stilts is an oxymoronic juxtaposition, embodying the dichotomy of "shortness-tallness". Succinctly it may also be rendered as "crumpled stalk". '' Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable'' baldly and succinctly states it meaning as "wrinkled
foreskin In male Human body, human anatomy, the foreskin, also known as the prepuce (), is the double-layered fold of Human skin, skin, Mucous membrane, mucosal and Muscle tissue, muscular tissue at the distal end of the human penis that covers the glans ...
" or "prepuce", which correlates with the "crumpled stalk" if stalk is considered as a
euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...
. Grimm suggested ''-stilt'', ''-stiltchen'' from Old German ''stalt'' with some uncertainty, and did not much elaborate. Graff's dictionary indicates that Rumpelstilts, or rather the form Rumpelstilz was corrupted phonetically towards ' 'haughtiness', but the correct etymology points to ''stalt'' as Grimm suggested, and this goes to " (1)" meaning ", location, place" and meaning to "set, place". Graff, Eberhard Gottlieb (1842) ''Althochdeutscher Sprachschatz'' 6, s.v. "" cross-referenced to "Stal (1)" The meaning is similar to ''rumpelgeist'' ("rattle-ghost") or ''
poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...
'' ("rumble-ghost"), a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. The name is believed to be derived from
Johann Fischart Johann Baptist Fischart (c. 1545 – 1591) was a German satirist and publicist. Biography Fischart was born, probably, at Strasbourg (but according to some accounts at Mainz), in or about the year 1545, and was educated at Worms in the house of ...
's ''Geschichtklitterung, or Gargantua'' of 1577 (a loose adaptation of Rabelais's ''
Gargantua and Pantagruel ''The Five Books of the Lives and Deeds of Gargantua and Pantagruel'' (), often shortened to ''Gargantua and Pantagruel'' or the (''Five Books''), is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It tells the advent ...
''), which refers to an "amusement" for children, a children's game named "Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart". Thus a ''rumpelstilt'' or ''rumpelstilz'' was also known by such names as ''pophart'' or ''poppart'', that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. (Other related concepts are ''mummarts'' or ''
boggart A boggart is a supernatural being from English folklore. The dialectologist Elizabeth Mary WElizabeth Wright described the boggart as 'a generic name for an apparition'; folklorist Simon Young defines it as 'any ambivalent or evil solitary super ...
s'' and '' hobs'', which are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.)


Translations

Translations of the original Grimm fairy tale (KHM 55) into various languages have generally substituted different names for the dwarf whose name is ''
Rumpelstilzchen "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot I ...
''. For some languages, a name was chosen that comes close in sound to the German name: ''Rumpelstiltskin'' or ''Rumplestiltskin'' in English, ''Repelsteeltje'' in
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
, ''Rumpelstichen'' in Brazilian Portuguese, ''Rumpelstinski'', ''Rumpelestíjeles'', ''Trasgolisto'', ''Jasil el Trasgu'', ''Barabay'', ''Rompelimbrá'', ''Barrabás'', ''Ruidoquedito'', ''Rompeltisquillo'', ''Tiribilitín'', ''Tremolín'', ''El enano saltarín'' y ''el duende saltarín'' in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, ''Rumplcimprcampr'' or ''Rampelník'' in
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
. In
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, it is transcribed as , . The
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
name is close to the original German, , . In other languages, the name was translated in a poetic and approximate way. Thus ''Rumpelstilzchen'' is known as ''Päronskaft'' (literally "Pear-stalk") or ''Bullerskaft'' (literally "Rumble-stalk") in Swedish, where the sense of ''stilt'' or ''stalk'' of the second part is retained. Slovak translations use ''Martinko Klingáč''.
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
translations use ''Titelitury'' (or ''Rumpelsztyk'') and Finnish ones ''Tittelintuure'', ''Rompanruoja'' or ''Hopskukkeli''. The Hungarian name is Tűzmanócska and in
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
''Cvilidreta'' ("Whine-screamer"). The Slovenian translation uses ''Špicparkeljc'' ("Pointy-Hoof"). In
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, the creature is usually called ''Tremotino'', which is probably formed from the world ''tremoto'', which means "earthquake" in
Tuscan dialect Tuscan ( ; ) is a set of Italo-Dalmatian varieties of Romance spoken in Tuscany, Corsica, and Sardinia. Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, specifically on its Florentine dialect, and it became the language of culture throughout Italy be ...
, and the suffix "-ino", which generally indicates a small and/or sly character. The first Italian edition of the fables was published in 1897, and the books in those years were all written in Tuscan Italian. For
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, the poet
Avraham Shlonsky Avraham Shlonsky (; ; March 6, 1900 – May 18, 1973) was a Russian-born Israeli poet and editor. He was influential in the development of modern Hebrew and its literature in Israel through his many acclaimed translations of literary classics, ...
composed the name , a compact and rhymy touch to the original sentence and meaning of the story, "My-Adviser My-Midget", from , , "adviser", and , , "squat, dumpy, pudgy (about a person)"), when using the fairy-tale as the basis of a children's
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
, now a classic among Hebrew children's plays.
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
translations have used Ρουμπελστίλτσκιν (from the English) or Κουτσοκαλιγέρης (''Koutsokaliyéris''), which could figure as a Greek surname, formed with the particle κούτσο- (''koútso-'' "limping"), and is perhaps derived from the Hebrew name.
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
versions of the tale used the name ''Tees Mar Khan'' for the imp.


Rumpelstiltskin principle

The value and power of using personal names and titles is well established in psychology, management, teaching and trial law. It is often referred to as the "Rumpelstiltskin principle". It derives from a very ancient belief that to give or know the
true name A true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical to, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical study as we ...
of a being is to have power over it. See Adam's naming of the animals in
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
2:19-20 for an example. * * *


Media and popular culture


Literature adaptations

* ''Gold Spun,'' a 2021 first novel of a duology by Brandie June. * ''Gilded'', a 2021 first novel of a duology by
Marissa Meyer Marissa Meyer (born February 19, 1984) is an American novelist. A large portion of her bibliography is centered on retellings of fairy tales. She is best known for her series ''The Lunar Chronicles,'' which includes her 2012 debut novel, ''Cind ...
* '' Spinning Silver'', a 2018 fantasy novel by
Naomi Novik Naomi Novik (born 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the Temeraire (series), ''Temeraire'' series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her The Scholomance Trilogy, ''S ...


Film

* ''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1915 film), an American silent film, directed by
Raymond B. West Raymond B. West (February 11, 1886 – September 11, 1923) was an American motion picture director. He joined the New York Motion Picture Company in 1910 and directed more than 70 motion pictures between 1910 and 1919 before being involved in an ...
* ''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1940 film), a German fantasy film, directed by Alf Zengerling * ''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1955 film), a German fantasy film, directed by Herbert B. Fredersdorf * ''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1985 film), a twenty-four-minute animated feature * ''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1987 film), an American-Israeli film * ''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1995 film), an American horror film, loosely based on the Grimm fairy tale * ''Rumpelstilzchen'' (2009 film), a German TV adaptation starring
Gottfried John Gottfried John (; 29 August 1942 – 1 September 2014) was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A longtime collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in nine of his films between 1975 and 1981, the year before Fassbinder's d ...
and
Julie Engelbrecht Julie Charon Engelbrecht (born 30 June 1984) is a French-born German actress. Early life Engelbrecht was born in Paris. She is the daughter of the actress Constanze Engelbrecht, and made her acting debut at 12 years old, appearing with her mot ...


Ensemble media

* The 1994 direct-to-video '' Muppet Classic Theater'' adapted the story, starring The Great Gonzo as the title character,
Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is a The Muppets, Muppet character known for her Breakthrough role, breakout role in the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. She is notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, her tendency to use French l ...
as the miller's daughter, and
Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson. An anthropomorphic green frog, Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host o ...
as the king. In this version of the story, Rumpelstiltskin reveals that his mother sent him to camp every summer until he was 18. The miller's daughter, who has her father, the king and the king's loyal royal advisor help her guess the name of the "weird, little man", recalls that "a good mother always sews her kid's name inside their clothes before sending them off to camp." Thus, the girl decides to check his clothing, and finds Rumpelstiltskin's name inside. * "Rumpelstiltskin", a 1995 episode from '' Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child''. * ''Barney's Once Upon a Time'' involves the story told by Stella, with Shawn as the title character, Tosha as the miller's daughter, Carlos as the King, and Barney as the messenger. * Rumpelstiltskin appears as a figment of Chief O'Brien's imagination in the 15th episode "
If Wishes Were Horses If Wishes Were Horses may refer to: Music * ''If Wishes Were Horses'' (album), a 1997 album by Sweeney Todd Television * If Wishes Were Horses (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), a 1993 episode of the American science fiction television series ...
" of season 1 in the '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. *
Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot I ...
appears as a villainous character in the ''Shrek'' franchise, first voiced by
Conrad Vernon Conrad Vernon (born July 11, 1968) is an American director, producer, writer, storyboard artist and voice actor, best known for his work on the DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks animated film series ''Shrek (franchise), Shrek'' as well as other fil ...
in a minor role in ''
Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Chris Miller and co-directed by Raman Hui from a sc ...
''. In ''
Shrek Forever After ''Shrek Forever After'' is a 2010 American animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Mike Mitchell (in his animated directorial debut) and written by Josh Klausner and ...
'', the character's appearance and persona are significantly altered to become the main antagonist of the film, now voiced by
Walt Dohrn Walter Dohrn (born December 5, 1970) is an American writer, director, animator, musician, and actor. He performed the voice of Rumpelstiltskin in ''Shrek Forever After'' (2010), as well as various characters in ''Shrek the Third'' (2007). He co-d ...
. * In ''Once Upon a Time'',
Rumplestiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot ...
is one of the integral characters, portrayed by
Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes: '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' The Full Monty'' (1997), '' Ravenous'' and ''The World Is Not Enough'' (both 1999), '' There's Only One Jimmy Grimble'' (2000), '' ...
. Within the interconnected fairy tale narrative, he acts as a composite character for the Crocodile from ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'', the Beast of ''
Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
'' and
Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
's fairy godfather. The creators rewrote his character into the Dark Lord, an immortal and virtually almighty sorcerer and the kingmaker of the whole plot, who spins straw into gold as a hobby and is obsessed with contracts and agreements of any sort, always based on the refrain that "all magic comes with a price". * Rumpelstiltskin appears in ''
Ever After High ''Ever After High'' is a fashion doll franchise released by Mattel in July 2013. It is a companion line to the '' Monster High'' dolls, with the characters being based upon characters from well-known fairy tales and fantasy stories instead of ...
'' as an infamous professor known for making students spin straw into gold as a form of extra credit and detention. He deliberately gives his students bad grades in such a way they are forced to ask for extra credit. * The cast of the children's TV series ''
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
'' acted out the story in a 1987 episode. Zippy played the title character,
Geoffrey Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadian ...
played the king, Rod played the miller, Bungle played the miller’s daughter, George played the baby, Jane played the maid, and Freddy played a peasant. * The video game '' Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door'' has a similar format with the character of Doopliss inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, in which the player has to guess his name correctly, but can only do so by finding the "p" in a chest underground. This reference is more direct in the original Japanese version and other translations, in which the character is named "Rumpel".


Theater

* '' Utz-li-Gutz-li'', a 1965 Israeli stage musical written by
Avraham Shlonsky Avraham Shlonsky (; ; March 6, 1900 – May 18, 1973) was a Russian-born Israeli poet and editor. He was influential in the development of modern Hebrew and its literature in Israel through his many acclaimed translations of literary classics, ...
* ''
Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot I ...
'', a 2011 American stage musical


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * nalysis of Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale types 500 and 501* * *


Further reading

* * * Paulme, Denise. "Thème et variations: l'épreuve du «nom inconnu» dans les contes d'Afrique noire". In: ''Cahiers d'études africaines'', vol. 11, n°42, 1971. pp. 189–205. DOI
Thème et variations : l'épreuve du « nom inconnu » dans les contes d'Afrique noire.
www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1971_num_11_42_2800


External links

* * *
Free version of translation of "Household Tales" by Brothers Grimm from Project Gutenberg

'Tom Tit Tot: an essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale' by Edward Clodd (1898)

Parallel German-English text in ParallelBook format

1985 TV movie
{{Authority control Grimms' Fairy Tales Goblins Fairy tales about goblins Fairy tales about dwarves Fairy tales about magic Fairy tale stock characters Male characters in fairy tales Male literary villains Fictional German people Fictional characters who use magic Folklore featuring impossible tasks ATU 500-559 Imps