In the Brothers Grimm tale “Rumpelstiltskin,” the miller’s daughter spins straw into gold.
The king orders the miller’s daughter to perform the impossible task after her father boasts that she can turn straw into gold. Locked in a room with straw, she receives help from a mysterious little man. In exchange for jewelry and later for a promised child, he completes the spinning.
The story’s central conflict comes from the girl’s attempt to discover the helper’s name. A messenger eventually overhears the little man singing and learns that his name is Rumpelstiltskin. Once the queen names him, his power over the bargain ends.
The tale appears in the Grimms’ collection under the German title Rumpelstilzchen. Translations vary in spelling, but the magical material is consistently gold, not silver or another precious substance. The story is related to older European traditions about secret names and impossible bargains.