The Name of the Imp

They say my name is a secret, a riddle spun from shadows and gold that you can only hear if you listen to the wind whistle through the deep, dark woods. I am the creature who appears when all hope is lost, a maker of impossible bargains and a weaver of golden thread. They call me a villain, but is it my fault that humans are so greedy and foolish? My story, the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, is one of foolish boasts, desperate promises, and the forgotten magic that lives inside a name. It began, as so many of my adventures do, with a lie told to a greedy king.

It all started with a poor miller who, wanting to feel important, told his king the most absurd lie I had ever heard. He boasted his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king, whose heart was as cold and yellow as a coin, immediately summoned the girl. I watched from the shadows as he locked her in a tower room piled high with straw. 'Spin this into gold by morning,' he demanded, 'or else.' The lock clicked, and the girl was left alone with her father's lie and her own tears. That’s when I knew my time had come.

Just as her last bit of hope flickered out, I made my entrance, appearing in a puff of dust and mischief. 'Why the tears?' I asked, though I knew perfectly well. When she explained her impossible situation, I offered my services. 'What will you give me,' I chirped, 'if I spin it for you?' She handed over a pretty necklace, and I got to work. Whir, whir, hum, and the room was filled with gold. But the king’s greed was a bottomless pit. The next night, it was a larger room and a similar deal; she gave me her ring. On the third night, in a vast hall, the king promised marriage if she succeeded. She had nothing left to offer me. 'Then promise me,' I whispered, relishing the moment, 'your firstborn child when you are queen.' In her terror, she agreed. Oh, how easy it is to make the desperate agree to anything.

The king kept his word, and the miller's daughter became a queen. A year passed, and she held a beautiful baby in her arms, her promise to me completely forgotten in her newfound joy. But I do not forget. I appeared in her chambers to claim my payment. The look of horror on her face was exquisite. She offered me all the riches in the kingdom, but what is gold to one who can spin it from straw? 'A living being,' I told her, 'is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world.' She wept so bitterly that I felt a tiny sliver of pity and decided to offer her a game. 'I will give you three days,' I declared. 'If you can guess my name by then, you may keep your child.'

For two days, I was thoroughly entertained. On the first day, the queen recited every common name she knew, but none were mine. On the second, her messengers returned with the most bizarre and peculiar names from across the land, but still, she failed. I was certain I had won. Feeling triumphant, I danced around my fire deep in the woods, singing my secret to the moon. 'Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, the next I'll have the young queen's child,' I sang, hopping on one foot. 'Ha! Glad it is that no one knew, that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled!' It was a foolish, careless moment of pride, and it would be my undoing. One of her meddling messengers was hiding nearby.

When I arrived on the final day, I was smug, ready to collect my prize. The queen played her part well, hiding her secret knowledge. 'Is your name Conrad?' she asked sweetly. 'No.' 'Is your name Harry?' 'No.' Then, her eyes glinted with triumph as she spoke the fateful words: 'Then perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin?' The world stopped. Rage, pure and absolute, consumed me. How could she know? I shrieked and stomped my foot with such incredible fury that it plunged right through the floorboards and deep into the earth. In my frantic struggle to pull free, I tore myself in two and vanished from her sight forever.

So my story was written down, captured on paper on December 20th, 1812, by the Brothers Grimm so my tale of bargains and secrets would never be forgotten. It serves as a warning, doesn't it? A warning about the dangers of a miller's boast, a king's greed, and a queen's desperate promise. But it also whispers a deeper truth that people have always known: there is real power in a name. Knowing my true name was my one weakness, the key that unlocked my magic and led to my demise. My story lives on in books and movies, a lesson that cleverness can overcome frightening challenges, and a reminder that your identity—your name—is a treasure more powerful than any gold.

Reading Comprehension Questions

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Answer: At the beginning, Rumpelstiltskin is smug, mischievous, and confident. He says he was 'thoroughly entertained' by the queen's guessing and 'certain' he had won. At the end, when his name is guessed, his attitude changes to pure rage. He 'shrieked' and stomped his foot with 'incredible fury,' which led to his own destruction.

Answer: A 'sliver' is a very small, thin piece of something. By using the word 'sliver,' the storyteller suggests that Rumpelstiltskin felt only a tiny, almost insignificant amount of pity. It was just enough to make him offer her a game, but not enough to make him truly compassionate or give up his claim.

Answer: The story teaches that words and promises have serious consequences. The miller's lie put his daughter in terrible danger, and the queen's desperate promise almost cost her her child. The lesson is to be careful with what you say and to understand that you must be prepared to face the consequences of your promises.

Answer: The main conflict is that Rumpelstiltskin appears to take her baby, fulfilling the promise she made when she was a miller's daughter. The conflict is resolved when she successfully guesses his name, which was the condition he gave her for being able to keep her child.

Answer: This idea is central to the story because Rumpelstiltskin's power is tied to the secrecy of his name. As long as no one knows it, he is in control and can claim the queen's child. The moment the queen speaks his true name, she gains power over him, breaking his bargain and causing his defeat. His name is his one weakness.