On the third day the queen's men began to come back from all parts of
the kingdom. They had been far and wide to find new names.
One of these men said, "I could not find any new names, but going by
some deep woods, I heard a fox wish good-night to a rabbit.
[Illustration]
Soon I came upon a little house, in front of which a fire was burning.
Around this fire danced a little man. He wore a pointed cap, and had a
long nose and bandy legs. As he went hopping and jumping about, first on
one leg and then on the other, he sang:
My baking and brewing I will do to-day,
The queen's son to-morrow I will take away,
No wise man can show the queen where to begin,
For my name, to be sure, is Rumpelstiltskin."
The queen clapped her hands for joy. She knew that at last she had found
the name.
She sent the servant away with a bag of gold, and waited for the queer
little man to come to her. At sunset the little fellow came hopping and
skipping up to the queen.
"Now, O queen," he said, "this is your last chance. Tell me my name."