So the poor miller's daughter sat down. She hadn't the least idea of how
to spin straw into gold, and at last she began to cry. Suddenly the door
opened, and in stepped a tiny little man who said: "Good evening, Miss
Miller-maid; why are you crying so bitterly?"

"Oh!" answered the girl, "I have to spin straw into gold, and haven't
the slightest notion how it's done." "What will you give me if I spin it
for you?" asked the manikin.

"My necklace," replied the girl.

The little man took the necklace, sat down at the wheel, and whir, whir,
whir, round it went until morning, when all the straw was spun away, and
all the bobbins were full of gold.

[Illustration: Rumpelstiltzken spinning.]

As soon as the sun rose, the King came, and when he saw the gold he was
astonished and delighted, but he wanted more of the precious metal. He
had the miller's daughter put into another room, much bigger than the
first and full of straw, and bade her, if she valued her life, spin it
all into gold before morning.

When the girl began to cry the tiny little man appeared again and said:
"What'll you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?"

"The ring from my finger," answered the girl. The manikin took the ring,
and when morning broke he had spun all the straw into glittering gold.