“Alas!” answered the girl, “I have to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it.”
“What will you give me,” said the Little Man, “if I do it for you?”
“My necklace,” said the girl.
The Little Man took the necklace, seated himself in front of the wheel, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three turns, and the reel was full. Then he put another on, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times round, and the second was full too. And so it went on till the morning, when all the straw was spun, and all the reels were full of gold.
By daybreak, the King was there, and when he saw the gold, he was astonished and delighted, but his heart became only more greedy. He had the miller’s daughter taken into another room full of straw, which was much larger, and commanded her to spin that also in one night if she valued her life.
The girl knew not how to help herself, and was crying, when the door again opened, and the Little Man appeared, and said, “What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?”
“The ring on my finger,” answered the girl.
The Little Man took the ring, again began to turn the wheel, and, by morning, had spun all the straw into glittering gold.
The King rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but still he had not gold enough. He had the miller’s daughter taken into a still larger room full of straw, and said, “You must spin this, too, in the course of this night. But if you succeed, you shall be my wife.” “Even if she be a miller’s daughter,” thought he, “I could not find a richer wife in the whole world.”
When the girl was alone the Little Man came again for the third time, and said, “What will you give me if I spin the straw for you this time also?”