“What!” he said, “have you no reward for me? Then you must promise me your first child after you become Queen.”
There seemed nothing to do but to promise the little fellow what he asked. “Lots of things may happen before the promise is fulfilled,” she thought.
So the straw was spun into gold, and the King was greatly pleased. Soon after this the miller’s daughter became Queen.
“this time she had to pay him with her ring”
A year passed, and the whole kingdom was celebrating the birth of a son to the King and Queen. The Queen was so happy about her child that she quite forgot the promise she had made to the manikin who had saved her life. But he had not forgotten.
“Give me that child,” said he one day, appearing, as was his habit, out of nowhere. The Queen was frightened, yet refused to give up her child. She offered him anything else he would name, but the child he could never have.
“The child,” he answered, “is the only thing I want.” Yet he was sorry for the Queen.
“Well,” he said finally, “I’ll let you have the child for three days. If you can tell me my name before this time is up, you can keep your little one.”
The Queen sent messengers to search the country and bring her all the unusual names they could discover.