Shady Friday, #7

Hello Bookworms!
I'm getting back in the routine of posting! Over the summer I hope to post a lot more. Today's post was something I did way back when for school, so I have decided to share it. Be warned, it's long; and I wrote it ages back. (And I wanted to have Rumpelstiltskin's name actually rhyme with the rest of the poem)
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Once, in a time not that long ago, in a land quite close by, there lived a miller. This miller wasn’t rich; however he made do on the money he attained from his work. One day, foolishly thinking of ways to improve upon his income, he chanced to spy the king in the market. He thought to himself, how can I use this great chance? Not thinking that this might be a test from God to reveal his true soul, he wandered over to the king.

“Good day, my liege, I hear that you are quite a rich and honorable man” This would have insulted the king, to think that anyone would confront him about his wealth, except that the miller had used the word ‘honorable’, and as most men do, he fell for the flattering instantly.

“Indeed, I have estates that roll until they reach the sun, and palaces made of the purest silver. What do you have, my good sir, that you would sense such wealth? For it takes one to know one.” The king had forgotten that he was known in the whole land, for he was quite shallow.

The miller, eager to please, bragged his heart out. “I have a daughter who can spin even the wettest straw into the purest gold.”

“Indeed, this is a trait that I had thought lost from the world, but you say that your daughter has perfected it?”

“Aye and she has the beauty of the whole kingdom itself in her eyes.”  The king thought to himself, and then decided.

“Very well, if you will give her unto me tomorrow, then I shall give you one bag of gold coins this very day.”

“What?! Part with my very own flesh and blood, the very apple of my eye, for only one bag of gold?! ‘Tis unspeakable that it is.”

“Two bags?”

“It’s a deal.” This man was clearly not her father, but had been given as her guardian since her parents had died.

As the miller went home to bid farewell to Myriad, he thought to himself what a great trade he had gotten, not realizing that the two bags of gold in his hands were made of nothing more than copper. And as the king left the market, he thought to himself what a great bargain he had made, not realizing that the girl was nothing more than a simple minded peasant with more care for books than for spinning even thread.

When Myriad arrived at the castle the next day, she expected there to be great parties, for the miller had told her that she was to be made queen; however, the courts were quiet and dull, and hardly a breeze stirred the hot air. When she entered into the kings halls, she was led to a dark room filled with straw.

“You must spin all this straw into gold by next morning, or else you will die,” the king told her, then closed and locked the door.

She began to cry, realizing that she had been tricked, and that this was very likely to be her last day alive. In her tears, she heard the door open, and a strange man materialized in the room. She sat up for a moment, and then shook herself. As she wiped away her tears, she asked,

“Who are you?”
“I’m just a traveler, coming in to see what is new. What is wrong right now, might I ask; as I have never before seen such a commotion from a girl.” The little man asked.

She replied snuffling; “the king said that I had to spin all this straw into gold by morning or else I will die. And you clearly haven’t seen many girls if you don’t know that they cry.”

He winced. “Would you, like some help?” He asked almost testily.

“Would you?! I would be ever so grateful if”

“Not so fast; I don’t do something for nothing. What will you give me in return?”
“My golden necklace,” she said after a moment’s thought.

He looked at it, and then shrugged. “Very well.”

He looked at the spinning wheel, and then set to work. Myriad watched as first one, then another, and then another spool of gold immerged from the spinning wheel. She soon became tired, and closed her eyes with the rhythmic hum of the machine. When she opened her eyes again, it was morning, the room was filled with gold, and the little man was gone.

When the guard looked in the room he eyed the gold, dropped his spear, and ran to summon the king. The king came immediately and looked into the room. His hunger for gold was not yet appeased though, so he sent Myriad to a larger room and proclaimed quiet haughtily, “If you do not change all the straw into gold, I will have you killed.”

She began to cry again, not out of fear, but out of the fact that she had not had food in more than a day. Soon, the little man immerged inside the room. He looked from her, to the straw, and back to her again. Wearily he asked, “What will you give me this time?”

She replied “The ring off my finger.” He nodded and set to work. Just like the last night, the gold piled up, and she soon fell asleep. When she awoke, the same thing happened as like the night before. When she was taken to a bigger room, the king told her, “Spin all this straw into gold by morning, and I will marry you.”

She was left alone, and she started to wonder why it was that God was letting these things happen to her. When the man came in again, she realized a problem.

“I have nothing left to give you!”

The little man thought, and finally said, “Give to me your first child after you are married, and then I will complete these tasks for you.”

She agreed, figuring that she would never have a child, and the man got to work.

When the guard looked in the room the next morning, he sighed, and walked to fetch the king. Finally a feast was prepared, and Myriad married the king with much joy throughout the land.

One year later, she gave birth to a little girl, who was very dear to her. She named her Miriam, for the Lord had been with the Miriam of old. Then, the man returned. “I have come for what you have promised me,” he proclaimed quite full of himself. Myriad begged him to let her keep her child, knowing that she would never see her daughter again if he took her. She offered him all the riches in the kingdom; however he held no interest for them.

Out of pity, he told her, “I helped you three times, so now you have three days. If you can guess my name in three days time, you may keep you baby.”

The first day she tried every name she could remember from her books.

“Is you name Kaspar, or Melchior, or even Balzer?”

But to each one he only replied, “That is not my name”

The next day she sent men out to all the reaches of the kingdom to find any names she might have forgotten. “Is your name Beastrib, or Muttoncalf, or Legstring?”

But to each one, he said, “That is not my name.”

Late into the night, Myriad prayed to the Lord and said, “Please, God, let me find his name, let justice be done upon that man, and let me not stray from your word.”

The next day, a rider came back from the far reaches of the kingdom. “Your majesty, I did not find any name; however, I did find a strange little man dancing round a fire. He sang a ditty and said, ‘Today I bake, tomorrow I’ll brew, then I’ll fetch the queens child new, It is good that no one knows, that my name is Rumpelsnows!’ Does this help you in any way?”

She breathed in deeply, and replied, “Thank you, I think that you have finally found the answer I have sought.”

When the little man returned the third time, he grinned at her. “Have you figured it out yet?”

“Is it Kunz?” She asked.

“That is not my name.”

“Is it Heinz?”

“That is not my name.”

“Is it perhaps, Rumpelsnows?”

“The devil told you that! The devil told you that!” he shrieked at her.

“The devil did not tell me, God told me.”

In his anger, Rumpelsnows jumped out of the window and ran away. As the guards charged in, she watched as that sprite little man ran all the way to the gate and vanished.

Five years later, when Miriam was playing in her garden, a soldier came running up.

“Your highness, the man has been found, the little man.”

“What happened to him, sir?” she asked him.

“He must have fallen down a ravine and broken his leg. All we found was his body. He must have died of starvation.”

“What an awful way to die. I feel remorse; however it was God’s will. I am glad that I did not halt God’s own judgment on that terrible man.” As Miriam played in the garden, Myriad thought about how God had saved the life of her and her family. And that he would continue to do so for all of time.
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Ok, well I have improved a lot since back then, but I still liked this assignment. I had to write his death like that because otherwise the boys in class would have wanted me to go into all the gory details. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any other suggestions please let me know! Habent sua fata libelli!