Rumplestilzchen part 2 侏儒妖 英文故事 原版

Rumplestilzchen part 2

Copyright: https://www.bedtimestoriesonline.org/fairy-tales/rumpelstilzchen/

“Who knows how that may be, or how things may turn out between now and then?” thought the girl, but in her perplexity she could not help herself: so she promised the little man what he desired, and he spun all the straw into gold.

When the king came in the morning, and saw that his orders had been obeyed, he married the maiden, and the beautiful miller’s daughter became a queen. After a year had passed she brought a lovely baby into the world, but quite forgot the little man, till he walked suddenly into her chamber, and said, “Give me what you promised me.” The queen was frightened, and offered the dwarf all the riches of the kingdom if he would only leave her her child; but he answered, “No; something living is dearer to me than all the treasures of the world.”

Then the queen began to grieve and to weep so bitterly, that the little man took pity upon her and said, “I will give you three days; if in that time you can find out my name, you shall keep the child.”

All night long the queen thought over every name she had ever heard, and sent a messenger through the kingdom, to inquire what names were usually given to people in that country. When, next day, the little man came again, she began with Caspar, Melchoir, Balthazar, and repeated, each after each, all the names she knew or had heard of; but at each one the little man said, “That is not my name.”

The second day she again sent round about in all directions, to ask how the people were called, and repeated to the little man the strangest names she could hear of or imagine: to each he answered always, “That is not my name.”

The third day the messenger returned and said, “I have not been able to find a single new name; but as I came over a high mountain by a wood, where the fox and the hare bid each other good-night, I saw a little house, and before the house was burning a little fire, and round the fire danced a very funny little man, who hopped upon one leg, and cried out:–

To-day I brew, to-morrow I bake,
Next day the queen’s child I shall take;
How glad I am that nobody knows;
My name is Rumpelstilzchen!

You may guess how joyful the queen was at hearing this; and when, soon after, the little man entered and said, “Queen, what is my name?” she asked him mischievously, “Is your name Kunz?”

“No.”

“Is your name Carl?”

“No.”

“Are you not sometimes called Rumpelstilzchen?”

“A witch has told you that–a witch has told you!” shrieked the poor little man, and stamped so furiously with his right foot that it sunk into the earth up to the hip; then he seized his left foot with both hands with such violence, that he tore himself right in two.