She could not spin a single thread,
She could not reel a skein.
But the door swung back, and through the chink,
With the same droll smile and merry wink,
The dwarf peered, saying, “What will you do
If I’ll spin the straw once more for you?”
“Ah me, I can give not a single thing,”
She cried, “except my finger-ring.”
He took the slender toy,
And slipped it over his thumb;