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In order to appear superior, amiller brags to the king and people of his kingdom by claiming his daughter canspinstraw intogold.[note 1] The king calls for the girl, locks her up in a tower room filled with straw and aspinning wheel, and demands she spin the straw into gold by morning or he will have her killed.[note 2] When she has given up all hope, a littleimp-like man appears in the room and spins the straw into gold in return for her necklace ofglassbeads. 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 thethird 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 herfirst child. She reluctantly agrees, and he sets about spinning the straw into gold.[note 3]
Illustration byAnne Anderson fromGrimm's Fairy Tales (London and Glasgow 1922)
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.[note 4]
The queen's many guesses fail. But before the final night, she wanders into the woods[note 5] 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."[note 6]
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.
Grimms' fairytale stamp series ofRumpelstilzchen stamp set from theDeutsche Post of the BRD by artist Michael Kunter, 2022Grimms' fairytale stamp series ofRumpelstilzchen stamp set front cover from theDeutsche Post of the BRD by artist Michael Kunter, 2022Grimms' fairytale stamp series ofRumpelstilzchen stamp set inner cover from theDeutsche Post of the BRD by artist Michael Kunter, 2022, reciting the concise version of the story and the song Rumpelstilzchen sings
In Celtic fairytales, theCornish tale ofDuffy and the Devil plays out an essentially similar plot featuring a "devil" namedTerry-top.[9]The Lazy Beauty and her Aunts in Ireland (fromThe Fireside Stories of Ireland, 1870 byPatrick Kennedy), though subsequent research[10] has revealed an earlier published version calledThe White Hen[11] by Ellen Fitzsimon.[12] Two tales inWelsh folklore feature magical creatures with secret names, theGwarwyn-a-throt must conceal their own name in order to preserve their power, but are as often caught out in a careless moment. TheGwarwyn-a-throt is undone by foolishly repeating his own name to himself, until he is overheard by his intended victim.[13]John Rhys recorded another Welsh tale where possession of a fairy maiden's name constrains her to marry the man who discovers it.[14]
The story also appears as جعيدان (Joaidane "He who talks too much") in Arabic; Хламушка (Khlamushka "Junker") in Russia;Rumplcimprcampr,Rampelník orMartin 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[15]);Daiku to Oniroku (大工と鬼六 "The carpenter and the ogre") in Japan andMyrmidon in France.
An earlier literary variant inFrench was penned byMme. L'Héritier, titledRicdin-Ricdon.[16] A version of it exists in the compilationLe Cabinet des Fées, Vol. XII. pp. 125–131.
All these tales are classified in theAarne–Thompson–Uther Index as tale type ATU 500, "The Name of the Supernatural Helper".[17][18] According to scholarship, it is popular in "Denmark, Finland, Germany and Ireland".[19]
Illustration by Walter Crane fromHousehold Stories by the Brothers Grimm (1886)
"Rumpelstiltskin" is usually explained as literally meaning "little rattle stilt". The ending-chen in the German form Rumpelstilzchen is adiminutive cognate to English-kin.
Rumpelstilzchen is regarded as containingStilzchen, diminutive ofStelze "stilt".[20][22] This etymology seems endorsed byHans-Jörg Uther's handbook on the GrimmsKinder- und Hausmärchen. Uther citesHdA [de] which gives the examples ofBachstelze,Wasserstelze (names of birds;stilt) as paralleling examples.[23][24] However, this was not the etymology hinted at byJacob Grimm.[25]
Harry Rand's book on this fairy suggests thatRumpel 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".[26]
Grimm suggested-stilt,-stiltchen from Old Germanstalt with some uncertainty,[25] and did not much elaborate.Graff's dictionary indicates that Rumpelstilts, or rather the form Rumpelstilz was corrupted phonetically towardsStolz 'haughtiness', but the correct etymology points tostalt as Grimm suggested, and this goes to "stal (1)" meaning "locus, location, place" andstellen meaning to "set, place".[28][note 7]
The meaning is similar torumpelgeist ("rattle-ghost") orpoltergeist ("rumble-ghost"), a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. The name is believed to be derived fromJohann Fischart'sGeschichtklitterung, or Gargantua of 1577 (a loose adaptation ofRabelais'sGargantua and Pantagruel), which refers to an "amusement" for children, a children's game named "Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart". Thus arumpelstilt orrumpelstilz was also known by such names aspophart orpoppart,[24] that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. (Other related concepts aremummarts orboggarts andhobs, which are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.)
Illustration for the tale of "Rumpel-stilt-skin" fromThe heart of oak books (Boston 1910).
Translations of the original Grimm fairy tale (KHM 55) into various languages have generally substituted different names for the dwarf whose name isRumpelstilzchen. For some languages, a name was chosen that comes close in sound to the German name:Rumpelstiltskin orRumplestiltskin in English,Repelsteeltje inDutch,Rumleskaft inNorwegian andDanish,Rumpelstichen in BrazilianPortuguese,Rumpelstinski,Rumpelestíjeles,Trasgolisto,Jasil el Trasgu,Barabay,Rompelimbrá,Barrabás,Ruidoquedito,Rompeltisquillo,Tiribilitín,Tremolín,El enano saltarín andel duende saltarín inSpanish,Rumplcimprcampr orRampelník inCzech.
InJapanese, it is transcribed asルンペルシュティルツヒェン,Runperushutirutsuhyen. TheRussian name is close to the original German,Румпельштильцхен,Rumpel'shtíl'tskhen.
In other languages, the name was translated in a poetic and approximate way. ThusRumpelstilzchen is known asPäronskaft (literally "Pear-stalk") orBullerskaft (literally "Rumble-stalk") inSwedish,[30] where the sense ofstilt orstalk of the second part is retained.
Slovak translations useMartinko Klingáč.Polish translations useTitelitury (orRumpelsztyk) andFinnish onesTittelintuure,Rompanruoja orHopskukkeli. TheHungarian name is Tűzmanócska and inSerbo-CroatianCvilidreta ("Whine-screamer"). TheSlovenian translation usesŠpicparkeljc ("Pointy-Hoof").
InItalian, the creature is usually calledTremotino, which is probably formed from the worldtremoto, which means "earthquake" inTuscan dialect, 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.
ForHebrew, the poetAvraham Shlonsky composed the nameעוּץ־לִי גּוּץ־לִיUtz-li gutz-li, a compact and rhymy touch to the original sentence and meaning of the story, "My-Adviser My-Midget", fromיוֹעֵץ,yo'etz, "adviser", andגּוּץ,gutz, "squat, dumpy, pudgy (about a person)", when using the fairy-tale as the basis of a children'smusical, now a classic among Hebrew children's plays.
Greek 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 versions of the tale used the nameTees Mar Khan for the imp.
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 thetrue name of a being is to have power over it. See Adam's naming of the animals inGenesis 2:19-20 for an example.
The 1973 Turkish superhero film3 Dev Adam features Rumpelstiltskin in a cameo appearance as a voyeur puppet in a bedroom intercourse scene withSpider-Man and his girlfriend Nadya. Appearing alongside him in the scene are two other voyeur puppets that areKing Friday XIII and Policeman Bobby. This film features several unauthorized characters includingCaptain America andEl Santo.
Adapted into the 1987-1989 anime seriesGrimm's Fairy Tale Classics, the miller's daughter's name is Gretchen (Helga in the Japanese version).
The 1994 direct-to-videoMuppet Classic Theater adapted the story, starringThe Great Gonzo as the title character,Miss Piggy as the miller's daughter, andKermit The Frog 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.
In the 1999 animated seriesSimsala Grimm, the miller's daughter's name is Sissi, the king's name became Friedrich Ferdinand, and the count's name is Sir Randolph. This version swapped the first two givings, first, the ring; then, the necklace of Sissi's dear departed mother. Upon the help of Yoyo and Doc Croc, King Friedrich Ferdinand realizes Sir Randolph's plan and banishes him from the castle, banning his return, before marrying Sissi. Rumpelstiltskin gives Yoyo and Doc Croc a few hours to reach Sissi before the end of the third day.
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.
InOnce Upon a Time,Rumplestiltskin is one of the integral characters, portrayed byRobert Carlyle. Within the interconnected fairy tale narrative, he acts as a composite character for the Crocodile fromPeter Pan, the Beast ofBeauty and the Beast andCinderella's fairy godfather. The creators rewrote his character into the Dark One, 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 inEver After High 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 seriesRainbow acted out the story in a 1987 episode. Zippy played the title character,Geoffrey played the king,Rod played the miller, Bungle played the miller's daughter, George played the baby,Jane played the maid, andFreddy played a peasant.
The video gamePaper 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".
In aCourage the Cowardly Dog episode "Rumpledkiltskin", a Scottish man lures Courage and Muriel to his castle by posing as Muriel's great uncle and forces her to make 5,000 kilts so he can profit them. In order to escape, Courage arranges a game of charades with him to guess his real name to earn their freedom, to which Courage won. Admitting his defeat and feeling humiliated by his name, Muriel suggest he should change his name to "Rumpelstiltskin", which he happily accepts and offers her to be business partners.
InHappily N'Ever After, Rumpelstiltskin successfully steals the miller's daughter baby and assistCinderella's evil stepmother Frieda after she tampers with the Scales of Good and Evil. He appears again in thesequel where he helpsLady Vain to ruinSnow White's reputation by giving her an apple that makes her publicly say bad things to everyone in her kingdom.
^Some versions make the miller's daughterblonde 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.
^Other versions have the king threatening to lock her up in a dungeon forever, or to punish her father for lying.
^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.
^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.
^In some versions, she sends a servant into the woods instead of going herself, in order to keep the king's suspicions at bay.
^The German song is "Heute back ich, morgen brau ich, übermorgen hol ich der Königin ihr Kind. Ach, wie gut ist, dass niemand weiß, dass ich Rumpelstilzchen 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."
^Graff lists as parallel example the German wordHagestolz meaning 'confirmed bachelor', which seems also to contain the steimStolz 'haughtiness' but is also actually rooted fromstalt.[28] The explanatory on thisHagestolz word byRudolf Steiner and Christopher Bamford is illuminating.[29]
^Hunt, Robert (1871).Popular Romances of the West of England; or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall. London: John Camden Hotten. pp. 239–247.
^Rhys, Sir John.Celtic folklore, Welsh and Manx. p. 45.
^László Arany:Eredeti népmesék (folktale collection, Pest, 1862, in Hungarian)
^Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier:La Tour ténébreuse et les Jours lumineux: Contes Anglois, 1705. In French
^Uther, Hans-Jörg (2004). The Types of International Folktales: Animal tales, tales of magic, religious tales, and realistic tales, with an introduction. FF Communications. p. 285 - 286.
Ní Dhuibhne, Éilis (2012). "The Name of the Helper: "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" and Ireland".Béaloideas.80:1–22.ISSN0332-270X.JSTOR24862867.
Rand, Harry (2000). "Who was Rupelstiltskin?".The International Journal of Psychoanalysis.81 (5):943–962.doi:10.1516/0020757001600309 (inactive 22 July 2025).PMID11109578.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
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The full text ofRumpelstiltskin at Wikisource
