There once was a little man named Rumpelstiltskin who lived alone in a cottage at the top of the Wispy Mountains. He was an ugly little man with greasy brown hair, large hazel eyes, and a terribly sad smile. This little man was very lonely but had two extremely special gifts; he was able to spin straw into gold and give people their heart’s desire! Every day he sat in his cottage spinning straw into gold while weeping because of how lonely he was. He longed for someone to live with him.
One day, an evil thought weaseled its way into his brain, and he decided that he would make deals with people, giving them their heart’s desire in exchange for something of great value to them. He not only got joy from watching people give up the items they loved most for what they desired, but he also got the considerable attention he had craved for so long; however, there was still something missing, but he was not sure what that something was.
Every day he would travel to the kingdom to make these deals, and every day he would pass a small shack on the outskirts of the kingdom. In this shack lived a Miller and his beautiful daughter. This girl was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had waist length copper hair, bright green eyes, and a kind smile. She wore rags, and her shoes had holes in them, but she never seemed derailed by her misfortune. Every time Rumpelstiltskin passed their home, the Miller’s daughter would always wave and bid him a good morning or good afternoon while the Miller would say nothing. Because of her friendliness, Rumpelstiltskin took an interest in the girl and one day decided to wait and watch the family. That night he observed what a horrible person the Miller was. From what he could tell, there was no mother in the picture and the daughter seemed to be the Miller’s only child. Every night she would cook him dinner and he would do nothing but complain about the food and how she never did anything to help. He would tell her that he never even wanted her and that he did not love her. The Miller would often say that he would trade her just to make some sort of name for himself throughout the land. After hearing this, another evil thought crept into Rumpelstiltskin’s mind. He had finally figured out what he needed in his life, and he knew exactly how to get it.
The next day, Rumpelstiltskin came across this Miller and put his plan into place.
“Hello, kind sir,” said Rumpelstiltskin. “How are you on this fine afternoon?’
“I am very sad. I wish to be known throughout the land but have no way of doing so,” replied the Miller gloomily, “if only there was a way in which I could get what I want.”
“I believe I could help you,” replied Rumpelstiltskin with a cheeky grin on his face
“And how could a little man, who looks just about as poor as I am, help me?” sneered the Miller looking at Rumpelstiltskin in disgust.
“Well, you see, Mr. Miller, I can help anyone, but I must get something in return for my services.”
“I have nothing to give you; surely you can see this.”
“Oh, but there must be something you hold most dear to you.”
The Miller paused and finally said, “I have a beautiful daughter that I would be willing to trade.”
“She will do. Now, what you must do is go to the King tomorrow and tell him that your daughter can spin straw into gold. The King will be so overjoyed at this news; he will make you known throughout the land as the man whose daughter can spin gold. The catch, though, is you can never see her ever again.”
“It’s a deal!” replied the Miller, shaking hands with Rumpelstiltskin
After making this deal, Rumpelstiltskin went back to the kingdom; he had a very important deal to make that would help him get exactly what he wanted.
That night, Rumpelstiltskin went back to his cottage, feeling proud of himself for all the deals he had made that day, especially the deal with the Miller. He had a special plan for the lovely maiden and the king. This plan was going to unravel right under their noses, and he would never be lonely again.
The next day, Rumpelstiltskin headed to the kingdom, ready to watch the flawless unfolding of the first step of his plan. Inside the palace, the Miller brought forth his daughter. She walked forward with the grace and elegance of a queen, even though she was not of royal birth.
“And what have you brought me, Miller?” questioned the King
“My liege, I present to you my daughter. She is able to spin straw into gold!”
Rumpelstiltskin watched as the King’s eyes flashed with greed, for everyone throughout the land knew that the King was a very greedy man.  Not only was the King a greedy man, but an older man who, according to the courts, needed to be wed and was looking for a suitable, young wife. It was proclaimed that if he did not have his queen within the next year, he would be dethroned and all of his money would be taken away. He was also a very blood-thirsty man, feared by all for never taking any prisoners during war. Instead, he chose to slay as many of the vanquished as he possibly could, aiming for total annihilation rather than simple conquest.
As he was presented with the girl, after his greedy heart had quickly made its calculations, he looked into the crowd of commoners, searching for Rumpelstiltskin. When their eyes met, the King gave Rumpelstiltskin a questioning look and Rumpelstiltskin replied with a knowing smile and a wink, affirming to the King that this girl was the one.
“I will be the judge of her talent. I will fill a room with straw. If she cannot turn every stalk of straw into gold by morning, I will have both your heads!” proclaimed the King
“As you wish,” replied the Miller anxiously, bowing to the King.
The King and his guards escorted the Miller’s daughter to the room and locked her in.
For the following two nights, Rumpelstiltskin returned to the castle and spun the straw into gold for the Miller’s daughter. The first two nights, he asked for little as payment for his service. She had given him a necklace that was in her family for years, and a precious ring that had belonged to her mother.
The King was overjoyed. As his piles of gold grew, so did his affection for the “gifted girl” until he finally sought to wed her after the third night.
On the third night though, the stakes were much higher. On the third night, the deal he struck with the beautiful girl was as follows: in order for her to keep her life and marry the greedy king, she must give her first born child to Rumpelstiltskin.
The horrified, yet foolhardy, girl agreed, and the deal was struck. He had done it! His plan had worked out perfectly. The lonely little man was finally going to get what he desired most: a child to call his own.
One year had passed, and Rumpelstiltskin made his way to the castle to collect his royal reward. He had heard from a rather talkative hedgehog that the Queen had borne her first child that night. He made his way to the kingdom with glee, knowing that, from this day forward, he would never be alone again. When he arrived at the castle, he made his way to the nursery. Upon opening the door, the Queen was holding her daughter, gazing at the child with the love and affection that only a mother’s eyes could hold.
“I’ve come to collect my payment, dear,” said Rumpelstiltskin, startling the Queen.
The Queen caught her breath.
“You can have all the riches in the kingdom! Just please, don’t take my child!” the Queen pleaded with Rumpelstiltskin.
He decided that he would play with her emotions and get her hopes up, so he offered her a deal.
“If, in three night’s time you can guess my name correctly, you may keep your child. If not, she is mine.”
The Queen gladly struck the deal, and Rumpelstiltskin left knowing the Queen would never be able to guess his name. No one knew his name! He cheerfully returned on the first night and snidely asked the Queen if she knew his name. She produced some splendid names, but none that matched his. The second night was no different from the first; none of the names she gave matched his. Rumpelstiltskin went home that night, overjoyed that he would finally have a child to call his own, and he would no longer live the lonely life he had known up to this point.
He spent the entire day singing and preparing for his new daughter. He sang of how no one knew his name and how happy he was to finally have a child. He was so excited that it felt like days, instead of hours, before it was time to return to the castle and collect his little bundle of joy. When nightfall came, he made his way to the castle, giddy as can be. Again upon entering, he asked the Queen for his name. She began rattling off names such as:
“Bartholomew?”
Rumplelstiltskin shook his head
“Baelfire?”
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head yet again
“Fitzgerald?”
Rumplestiltskin shook his head again, as a sly smile began to form on his face.
“Perhaps your name might be,” she paused, “Rumpelstiltskin?” the Queen spoke with a coy tone in her voice.
He froze. The blood ran cold in his veins when he heard his name roll off her tongue like notes from a bird’s beak.
At first he was shocked, then he became angry. He began shouting and screaming that the devil had told her, that she had cheated until finally the sadness set in. As he stopped shouting, he felt something tear in his chest. His heart was being ripped in two from the weight of constant solitude, his constant manipulation, and the heartbreak of not getting his own child. His heart was broken. Then he, himself, began to split into two pieces until there was nothing but a broken heart and two halves of a tiny man on the floor. The Queen quietly cleaned up his remains. She vowed never to tell the King of this little man, and they all lived happily ever after.