Alternative ending to Problematic Fairytale

For this assignment we were asked to write an alternative ending to a pre existing, well known fairytale that shows women in a bad light.

The ending has to be something that does justice to the female protagonist in the story.

I chose Rumpelstiltskin because I thought that the girl marrying the greedy king and then getting played by a creature not even human was a little unnecessary.

---

If you don't already know the story you can ready the summary below, or just scroll past it to read my version.

Summary of the Fairy Tale:

This is the story of a miller who has the habit of telling boastful lies. He gets his daughter in hot water by falsely telling the King she can spin straw into gold. The king locks her in a room full of straw and forces her to prove her abilities by the next morning, if she does not wish for her and her father to die. When the helpless girl is crying in the room, a goblin like creature appears out of thin air. He tells the girl that he will turn the straw into gold if she can offer something in exchange. She gives her necklace. When the king sees the gold straw he is extremely happy and instead of letting her go he puts her in a bigger room full of more straw. The girl cries-the creature appears- converts the straw into gold- takes her ring, and disappears. The king then puts her in an even bigger room and says that this time he will marry her if she turns the straw into gold. She cries and the creature appears again. This time she has nothing to give him. The creature says. Promise me your first born in exchange. The girl agrees. The creature then disappears without ever telling the girl his name. The king marries her and she becomes queen. They have a child a year later. The creature appears again, to take the baby as promised. The queen begs him not to. The creature gives her a chance and strikes a deal again. He gives her 3 days to guess his name correctly. She is now queen so she puts her messengers to work. One of the messengers by chance spots the creature in the forest and finds out his name. On the third day when the creature appears the queen guesses the name correctly. Rumpelstiltskin gets upset that the queen guessed his name correctly. In frustration bangs his foot into the ground. He cracks in two and disappears. That is the end of Rumpelstiltskin. The queen lives happily ever after with her king and child.

---

My version of the story

Once upon a time in a small kingdom, at the edge of a dark wood forest. Tales were told about a dark presence that lived in the forest. Still people in the kingdom lived happily under the rule of wise young king.

There lived a poor miller with his daughter. She was very beautiful and charming. The miller was a chatterbox and had a habit of exaggerating what he told to others. The miller had fooled many people many times, so they complained about the miller to the king. The king decided to teach him a lesson and called him to visit.

So the miller goes to the king. While introducing himself to the king, he said “It is an honor to meet you your majesty. Since you don’t know anything about me, I would like to tell you about my daughter and me. I have a daughter who is the most beautiful girl in the world, but more than that she can spin gold from straw!!!” On hearing this the king was happy, because this is exactly what he needed to trap the miller in his own lies. He told the miller that he was delighted to hear that and would love to see the miller's daughter so he can put her to the proof. The miller went home flustered and told his daughter all about it. “I told you to never lie to anyone, now you are trapped in your own lie.” The girl told her poor father. The miller feels ashamed of himself.

Both left for the castle to face the upcoming disasters. The king saw the girl and said, “You are as beautiful as your father described you to be.'' He then led her to a room full of straw, and a spindle. “Now set to work, if by morning you have not sown this straw into gold, you and your father shall die” said the king to the girl. He locked her there and left.

The poor miller's daughter was so distressed she started to weep. Suddenly a bright light beamed and there appeared a fearsome looking little man. He asked the girl, “What will you give me if I spin this straw into gold for you” Seeing no other way she gave him her necklace. He set to work and in three spins the bobbin was filled with gold. She thanked the little man and asked him for his name. He laughed and disappeared in an instant.

At sunrise came the king and when he saw the gold he was astonished. He says, “Oh my goodness I thought your boastful father was lying to me, you go and take some rest, I’ll see you in the evening” said the king. The miller’s daughter was in disbelief because she thought that the king would let her go home peacefully.

But in the evening the king took her in an even bigger room full of straw. “If you value you and your father’s life, you must spin all this into gold tonight”, he told her.

Now, the girl realized that the king was greedy and he would keep using her to turn more and more straw into gold. She started to look for a way to escape the room. Unfortunately there was none. Suddenly, a bright light beamed and there appeared again the fearsome looking little man. He asked the same question again, “What will you give me if I turn this straw into gold?”

After giving it a careful thought she asked the little man instead, “What is it that you want? What is something you really wanted in life and did not get?” He laughed and replied to the girl, “I have lived alone all my life but what can you do about it? Now tell me, do you have another jewel you can give me?”

On hearing these words from the creature the girl smiled. She tells him, “You can come and live with me then” He looked at her in shock. “I would look after you as my own and father will also be thrilled to have a new family member. The creature laughed and said, “What do you want from me?”

The girl then told the creature her plan and that she wished to trap the greedy king in his own game.

She asked the creature to turn the straw into gold but this time to cast a special spell on the gold so that when anyone with a greedy heart touched the gold it would turn into stone.

Without saying a word the little man set to work.. He sat on the spindle; three turns and all the bobbins are filled with glistening gold. He then casted the spell as the girl had asked. The girl thanked the little creature. “May I know your name?” she asked. The little man laughed and disappeared.

The next morning the king came in and was rejoiced beyond measure. He told the girl that he would now marry her. But the girl said to the king, “Your majesty, if you touch this gold and it does not turn to stone then I will marry you. But if it does turn to gold then you will let me go home peacefully and without asking any questions.” The king in his haste agreed. The girl was sure that the gold straw would turn to stone and so it happened.

The king let her leave the palace. When the girl reached home she saw her father waiting at the door to welcome her. Along with him stood a little who smiled at the girl and said, “I am Rumpelstiltskin”. The three of them lived happily ever after.