World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
Rumpelstiltskin
侏儒怪
Rumpelstiltskin (侏儒怪, Zhūrú guài) is a fairy tale by Brothers Grimm, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale: a miller's boast, a room of straw, a tiny man who spins gold, and a queen who has three days to guess his name.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- Anna · 安娜 — The miller's kind daughter, who is forced to make gold.
- The Miller · 磨坊主 — A proud, talkative man whose big boast starts the trouble.
- The King · 国王 — A greedy king who always wants more gold.
- The Little Man · 小人 — A tiny, sly helper with a secret name.
- The Messenger · 信使 — A loyal servant who finds the secret name.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Miller's Big Mouth
稻草变金子
A miller brags that his daughter can turn straw into gold, and the king locks her in a room to prove it. Then a tiny man knocks at the door.
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Chapter 2: The Promise
戒指和孩子
On the second night, Anna gives away her ring. On the third, she has nothing left, and the little man asks for something much bigger.
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Chapter 3: Three Days
猜名字
A year later the little man comes for the baby, but gives the queen three days to guess his name. Her guesses are silly, and time is running out.
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Chapter 4: The Name
小人的名字
By a fire in the mountains, the little man sings his secret. Now Anna has one last day, and one last chance to guess.
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Key words in Rumpelstiltskin
Behind the story
Rumpelstiltskin is a German fairy tale collected by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who wrote down stories they heard from storytellers. It appeared in their collection of children's and household tales, first published in 1812. Chinese readers know the collection as 格林童话, and this story as 侏儒怪.
The heart of the tale is a name-guessing game. In many old folk stories, knowing a strange creature's true name takes away its power. Anna wins not by force but by patience, a little playacting, and a messenger who listened at the right fire.
Did you know?
- The Grimm brothers were German scholars. The first edition of their fairy tales came out in 1812, and 格林童话 has been translated into Chinese and enjoyed by children ever since.
- Other countries have similar stories. In England, a tale called Tom Tit Tot also has a helper who must be named.
- The Chinese title 侏儒怪 describes the creature: 侏儒 means a very small person, and 怪 means a strange being.