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Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book, (1889)
|AKA||Tom Tit Tot
|Published in||Grimm's Fairy Tales
English Fairy Tales
Rumpelstiltskin (also spelled as Rumplestiltskin) is the antagonist of a fairy tale that originated in Germany (where he is known as Rumpelstilzchen). The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales. It was subsequently revised in later editions.
In order to make himself appear more important, a miller lies to a king, telling him that his daughter can spin straw into gold. (Some versions make the miller's daughter blonde and describe the "straw-into-gold" claim as a careless boast the miller makes about the way his daughter's strawlike blonde hair takes on a goldlike luster when sunshine strikes it.) The king calls for the girl, shuts her in a tower room filled with straw and a spinning wheel, and demands that she spin the straw into gold by morning or he will cut off her head (other versions have the king threatening to lock her up in a dungeon forever). She has given up all hope until an imp-like creature appears in the room and spins the straw into gold for her in return for her necklace. When the king takes the girl, on the next morning, to a larger room filled with straw to repeat the feat, the imp spins in return for the girl's ring. On the third day, when the girl has been taken to an even larger room with straw and told by the king that he will marry her if she can fill this room with gold or kill her if she cannot, the girl has nothing left with which to pay the strange creature. He extracts from her a promise that her firstborn child will be given to him, and spins the room full of gold a final time.
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: "Now give me what you promised." The now-queen offers him all the wealth she has if she may keep the child. The imp has no interest in her riches, but finally consents to give up his claim to the child if the queen is able to guess his name within three days. Her many guesses over the first two days fail, but before the final night, her messenger (though he does not know the significance of his mission) comes across the imp's remote mountain cottage and watches, unseen, as the imp hops about his fire and sings. In his song's lyrics, "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll go to the king's house, nobody knows my name, I'm called "Rumpelstiltskin," he reveals his name.
When the imp comes to the queen on the third day and she, after first feigning ignorance, reveals his true name, Rumpelstiltskin, he loses his temper and his 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 a final 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.
The same story pattern appears in numerous other cultures: Tom Tit Tot in England (from English Tales by Joseph Jacobs), Whuppity Stoorie in Scotland (from Robert Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland), Gilitrutt in Iceland, Joaidane جعيدان in Arabic (he who talks too much), Khlamushka Хламушка (junker) in Russia, Rumplcimprcampr/ Rampelnik in Czech Republic, Martinko Klingáč in Slovakia, Ruidoquedito (meaning "little noise") in South America, Pancimanci in Hungary (from A Csodafurulya by Kolozsvari Grandpierre Emil), Cvilidreta (whine-screamer) in Serbia and Croatia, Tremotino in Italy, Ootz-li Gootz-li עוּץ-לי גוּץ-לי in Israel (a compact and rhymy touch to the original sentence and meaning of the story, "He advised me and then turned me into a joke"), Daiku to Oniroku (daiku means "a carpenter", to means "and", and Oniroku is an ogre's name), "大工と鬼六" in Japan and "Myrmidon" in France.
Another of the Grimm's tales revolves about a girl trapped by false claims about her spinning abilities, The Three Spinners. However, the three women who assist that girl do not demand her firstborn, but instead ask that she invite them to her wedding and say that they are relatives of hers. She complies, and when the three appear at the wedding, amazing the king with their ugliness, they tell the king that their various deformities (an overgrown thumb in one, a pendulous lip in the second, an enormous foot in the third) are the result of their years of spinning. The horrified king decrees that the bride will spin no more. In contrast to Rumpelstiltskin's self-seeking, therefore, these helpers ask only the "payment" of extending their benevolence to the heroine, and ensure that she will not need their help again. In one Italian variant, the girl must discover their names, as with Rumpelstiltskin, but not for the same reason: she must use their names to invite them, and she has forgotten them.
The name Rumpelstilzchen in German means literally "little rattle stilt". (A stilt is a post or pole which provides support for a structure.) A rumpelstilt or rumpelstilz was the name of a type of goblin, also called a pophart or poppart that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. The meaning is similar to rumpelgeist ("rattle ghost") or poltergeist, a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. (Other related concepts are mummarts or boggarts and hobs that are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.) The ending -chen is a German diminutive cognate to English -kin.
The earliest known mention of Rumpelstiltskin occurs in Johann Fischart's Geschichtklitterung, or Gargantua of 1577 (a loose adaptation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel) which refers to an "amusement" for children named "Rumpele stilt or the Poppart".
Names used in translations
Translations of the original Grimm fairy tale (KHM 55) into various languages have generally substituted different names for the dwarf, whose name is Rumpelstilzchen in the original.
For some languages, a name was chosen that comes close in sound to the German name: Rumpelstiltskin in English, Repelsteeltje in Dutch, and Rumpelstichen in Portuguese. He is known as Päronskaft in Swedish (literally "Pear stalk"); the sense of stilt or stalk of the second part is retained. In Danish and Norwegian, he is known as Rumleskaft (literally "Rumble shank"). In other languages an entirely different and generally meaningless name was selected, such as Barbichu, Broumpristoche, Grigrigredinmenufretin, Outroupistache, Tracassin or Perlimpinpin in various translations to French. Polish translations use Titelitury or Rumpelsztyk, Greek translations use Κουτσοκαλιγέρης, Czech translations use Rumplcimprcampr or Rampelník, Slovak translations use Martinko Klingáč, and Finnish ones Tittelintuure. Italian has Tremotino, Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian Cvilidreta, and Hebrew עוץ לי גוץ לי (Ootzly-Gootzly), a name chosen by the poet Avraham Shlonsky when using the fairy tale as the basis of a children's play, now a classic among Hebrew children's plays. In Spain, the character's name is Rumpelstinski and Rumpelestíjeles. The name Rumpelstiltskin comes from the Italian novelist Diego Tehslub who wrote the original novel titled 'Diablo el negro' about a young English girl called Elizabeth Shepherd (a school teacher).
Appearances in media
- The Rumpelstiltskin problem by Vivian Vande Velde.
- The Witch's boy By Michael Gruber.
- Rumpelstiltskin appeared in "The book of lost things" with the nickname "Crooked Man".
- In Diane Stanley's short fiction, Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, Rumpelstiltskin falls in love with and marries the miller's daughter and helps her escape from the king. The main character turns out to be their only daughter, Hope.
- Elizabeth C. Bunce's novel A Curse Dark as Gold was inspired by the story of Rumpelstiltskin. The miller's daughter is written as a strong female character determined to save the failing mill and the town that depends on it.
- Susanna Clarke's On Lickerish Hill, found in The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, is a version of Tom Tit Tot.
- Saviour Pirotta's "Guess My Name", published in the "Once Upon a World" series, is a retelling of the Welsh version of the story.
- Rumpelstiltskin appears in the issue 4 of The Muppet Show that was a part of "The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson" arc.
- Rumplestiltskin makes a brief appearance at the beginning of Red Hood's Revenge- the third in Jim C. Hines's Princesses series, starring Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White as active heroines-, where he has abducted several children by luring princes in with promises of marriage to the children who can spin straw into gold; he is captured by the three heroines, but is subsequently killed by Roudette- the adult Little Red Riding Hood, now an efficient and deadly assassin- while being sent to Fairytown to answer for his crimes.
- In Walter Tevis's science fiction novel The Man Who Fell To Earth, Thomas Newton tells Nathan Bryce "My name is Rumplestiltskin." [sic]
- Jonathan Carroll's novel Sleeping in Flame is a modern variant on the story, which refers explicitly to the Grimms' version.
- In George Orwell's novel 1984, a character of the Ingsoc party is described as being a "Rumpelstiltskin figure" (Ch.IX, p. 188).
- In Einstein's Mistakes, Hans Ohanian characterizes the physicist Isaac Newton as a Rumpelstiltskin-like character, because he kept his great discoveries in gravity and light to himself for many years.
- In John Katzenbach's novel The Analyst, a man who calls himself Rumplestiltskin threat a New York psychoanalyst, "In two weeks, Starks must guess his tormentor’s identity. If Starks succeeds, he goes free. If he fails, Rumplestiltskin will destroy, one by one, fifty-two of Dr. Starks’ loved ones—unless the good doctor agrees to kill himself".
- Breeana Puttroff, author of the Dusk Gate Chronicles series, has a new book Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, scheduled to debut in September or October 2014, in which Rumpelstiltskin's story is told from another point of view, where the king makes the queen spin gold and Rumplestiltskin is not the villain.
- The tale is adapted in the fourth issue of Zenescope's series Grimm Fairy Tales, but it is given an alternative, more tragic ending.
- Mister Mxyzptlk is an impish supervillain who appears in DC's Superman comic books. His origin story somewhat resembles the legend of Rumpelstiltskin.
- The song "Split Myself in Two" by the Meat Puppets is inspired and loosely based on the tale.
- "Rumplestiltskin" is a song by the Columbus, Ohio underground band Earwig from their album Gibson Under Mountain,
- Rumplestiltskin's Resolve is an album by folk-rock musician Shawn Phillips.
- Stiltskin is a Scottish rock band, notable for the fact that one of its band members, Ray Wilson, was temporarily a lead vocalist of progressive rock band Genesis.
- The industrial metal band Megaherz released a song named "I.M. Rumpelstilzchen" on their album Herzwerk II, which quotes the original German fairy tale.
- "Rumpofsteelskin" is a song by funk band Parliament from the album Motor Booty Affair. The song title is reminiscent of the fairy tale's title.
- The ballet "Rumpelstiltskin" by the British composer David Sawer is based on the tale.
- In the 2013 song by Eminem titled The Monster.
- Rumpelstiltskin appears in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child voiced by Robert Townsend.
- Rumpelstiltskin was also featured in NBC's Grimm, where the tale is the inspiration for the Season 2 episode "Nameless". He is a type of creature ('Wesen') called a 'Fuchsteufelwild'. The episode featured a Fuchsteufelwild named "Trinket Lipslums", (an anagram of "Rumpelstiltskin"), who is revealed to have helped a team of video game programmers finish an enormously popular MMORPG. The programmers hid his involvement (possibly unintentionally) so they wouldn't have to share credit, so Lipslums starts hunting them down one by one; as in the original tale, much of the story centers around determining the character's name.
- In an episode of the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine titled "If Wishes Were Horses", Miles O'Brien reads his daughter the story of Rumpelstiltskin at bedtime and then leaves her room. She comes out shortly afterward to inform her father that Rumpelstiltskin is in the room with her. O'Brien assumes that it is just her imagination and goes into the room with her only to discover that Rumpelstiltskin is indeed in her room. At the end of the episode it is revealed that Rumpelstiltskin (along with various other manifestations) are in fact aliens that were studying imagination.
- In the TV show Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, the second episode, aired originally in 1982, titled "Rumpelstiltskin", stars Hervé Villechaize as Rumpelstiltskin, Ned Beatty as the king, and Shelley Duvall as the miller's daughter.
- The fairy tale was spoofed in the Fractured Fairy Tales segment of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. 
- In the German TV series Spuk unterm Riesenrad, Rumpelstiltskin is the only one of the three evil, living dummies (witch, giant, and Rumpelstiltskin) who doesn't turn good at the end and is frozen by a policeman with a fire extinguisher. He also tries to take over Burg Falkenstein by blackmailing the owner with a fire.
- The German TV aired in 2009 an adaptation of the original story of the Grimm Brothers. Rumpelstiltskin was played by Robert Stadlober. According to the film makers: "We did not want overgrown dwarf, but a prince of the forest, and Stadlober is exactly the right thing." In this adaptation the title character was not created as the usual evil man "who comes out of the woods to do evil", but also shows the human side ". Their Rumpelstiltskin has a desire, namely, to have a man around. The filming location was the same Schloss Bürresheim, which appears as Castle Grunewald in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'.
- In the ABC television series Once Upon a Time, Rumplestilskin, played by Robert Carlyle is one of the central characters and is shown as a malevolent trickster who can spin straw into gold and prefers his payment in the form of firstborn children. An expert on black magic and the dark arts, this creature has wizardly powers to make him a fair match for anyone in the land - even the Evil Queen.
- A 1955 live action film produced in West-Germany, but also released in the U.S. by K. Gordon Murray in 1965 and re-released by Paramount Pictures in 1974, directed by Herbert B. Fredersdorf starring Werner Krüger as the title character. The film is still aired on German Television.
- In 1962's The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, a dream sequence featured Rumpelstiltskin (played by Arnold Stang) alongside other Grimm characters such as Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Tom Thumb.
- Rumpelstiltskin is one of the fairy tales featured in the direct-to-video film Muppet Classic Theater where the character was played by Gonzo the Great.
- Rumpelstiltskin appears in the Shrek films:
- The character has also appeared as the antagonist and archenemy in the film Shrek Forever After, voiced by Walt Dohrn, manipulating Shrek into making a wish that would erase Shrek from existence after the ogre indirectly thwarted Rumpelstiltskin's chance to become the ruler of Far, Far Away (The king and queen had been about to make a deal with him to free their daughter Fiona from her prison before Shrek saved her). It is implied throughout the film that Rumpelstiltskin's deals have fallen out of favour in Shrek's world as people have learned to be more comfortable with who they are thanks to Shrek's example (such as Pinocchio rejecting the offer to become a real boy), and Shrek's friend Donkey also mentions that Rumpelstiltskin has changed the clauses in his deals as now everybody knows his name.
- Rumpelstiltskin already made an earlier appearance in Shrek the Third as a member of the gang of fairy tale villains Prince Charming rounds up in an attempt to take over Far, Far Away, where he mistakes his name as "frumpypigskin". However, he had a very different look and was voiced by Conrad Vernon.
- Rumpelstiltskin is one of the deceased characters brought back during the Thriller parody.
- Rumpelstiltskin appeared in Happily N'Ever After and its sequel, voiced by Michael McShane. In the first film, he is one of the fairy tale villains that side with Cinderella's wicked stepmother Frieda after she alters his story.
- A 1987 live-action musical film, a fairly direct retelling of the fairy tale, starring Amy Irving as the miller's daughter and Billy Barty as the title character.
- A 1996 supernatural horror B-movie wherein Rumpelstiltskin is trapped in a jade rock for five hundred years until a woman is compelled to purchase the rock from an unusual antique shop. The woman makes a wish that her dead husband come back to life to see their child. Rumpelstiltskin grants her wish, bringing her husband back for one night, then tries to steal the baby from the mother with an attempt to eat the baby's soul. This movie stars Max Grodénchik (as Rumpelstiltskin), and Kim Johnston Ulrich (as the mother of the child).
- Rumpelstiltskin appears briefly in the Dark Parables sixth installment, Jack and the Sky Kingdom, as a stone imp, (having once been a stone idol animated by a sorcerer, and having since its captivity reverted back to stone). He also appears in the bonus chapter, "Rumpelstiltskin and the Queen", where having claimed the Sky Kingdom's new queen newborn daughter, the queen quests to reclaim her child. After the queen has subdued the imp, the Sky King, corrupted by the imp's magic, keeps the imp hostage to spin him more gold.
- He also makes an appearance in the game by Roberta Williams called King's Quest, in the first game of the series he appears and while there are variants to his name (In some versions of the game the name is spelled with a backwards alphabet a = z, b = y, etc. or it is spelled backwards as Nikstlitslepmur) he offers the knight Graham (hero of the story) a reward for guessing his name, and when the task is done (however version you have) he gives magic beans that allows you to go up to the land of the giants to get the treasure chest of gold, a main quest item in the game.
- 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, and credit the queen's messenger for knowledge of the significance of his mission.
- "Tales Similar To Rumpelstiltskin". SurLaLune Fairy Tales. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
- Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (2008). Bröderna Grimms sagovärld (in Swedish). Bonnier Carlsen. p. 72. ISBN 91-638-2435-3.
- Elavsky, Cindy (18 September 2014). "Q and A: Week of Sept. 18". Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- "Mr. Mxyzptlk (mix-yiz-pittle-ick): The History of Superman's Most Powerful Villain - Yahoo Voices". voices.yahoo.com. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
- This comes from a section of Schumann's journals that is difficult to find and has not been translated into English. See "Rapunzel in Music" and "Sleeping Beauty in Music" for more corroboration.
- Roots, Kimberly (2013-03-26). "Grimm Season 2 Spoilers — Rumplestiltskin Pages from Nick’s Books". TVLine. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
- "Rumpelstilzchen | rbb Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg". Rbb-online.de. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
- "Rumpelstiltskin (1955)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
- "Rumpelstilzchen | rbb Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg". Rbb-online.de. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
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- Free version of translation of "Household Tales" by Brothers Grimm from Project Gutenberg
- The Brothers Grimm's 'Rumpelstiltzkin'
- Rumpelstiltzkin with illustration by Mary Ellsworth
- 'Tom Tit Tot: an essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale' by Edward Clodd (1898)
- Web Essay on the Origin of Rumpelstiltskin
- Parallel German-English text in ParallelBook format