Once upon a time, there was a young maiden who was the most talented spinner in her village. She lived at home with her father, who worked as a miller. The miller was so proud of his daughter, she was all he ever talked about. In fact, some of the villagers grew tired of him bragging about her.
One night, while he was getting drinks with friends at a tavern, he went on and on about how gifted his daughter was. He had been served too much and was making outlandish claims that he wouldn’t have made if sober.
“My daughter is such a brilliant spinner, she could spin hay into gold!” he said.
The other men in the tavern laughed and raised their drinks to the miller and his daughter. Despite his constant boasting, it was charming to see such a supportive father.
He never expected that singing his daughter’s praises would put her in harm’s way. Unfortunately, one of the king’s soldiers happened to also be drinking in the tavern that night. Neither the king nor the soldier had any sense of humor whatsoever. When he heard about the maiden who could spin hay into gold, the soldier took it quite seriously. And since the kingdom was experiencing its worst financial troubles since the Dark Ages, he thought the maiden was the answer they had been looking for.
The soldier raced back to the castle and awoke the king to tell him the fortunate news.
“Your Majesty, something wonderful has happened,” the soldier said. “There is a young maiden in the village who has been blessed with the power to spin hay into gold!”
“She must be a witch!” the king exclaimed. “We must arrest this woman at once and burn her at the stake!”
“Actually, Your Highness,” the soldier said, “I thought a young woman like her would be most useful to the kingdom in a time like this. If she spun enough hay into gold, we would become the wealthiest nation in the world!”
“You’re absolutely right,” the king said. “I order you to find this maiden and bring her to the castle at once! We will put her to work straightaway!”
The soldier organized a squad and charged into the village. They knocked down the miller’s door and seized the maiden. The soldiers carried her off to the castle. She was locked in a tower with nothing inside it but a spinning wheel and a stack of hay.
The maiden couldn’t have been more frightened and confused. The king entered the tower, and she bowed to him.
“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty,” the maiden said. “But what is the meaning of this?”
“Word of your abilities has reached the castle,” the king told her. “While we should punish you for keeping such a gift from our attention, we have brought you here to redeem yourself.”
“Excuse me, sir,” she said. “What abilities are you referring to?”
“You have been blessed with the power of spinning hay into gold,” the king said. “And now you shall do it for me.”
“Your Majesty, I believe there’s been some kind of mistake,” the maiden said. “I am a very gifted spinner, but I most certainly cannot spin hay into—”
“Do not lie to me! We heard it from your father’s lips,” the king said. “You will spin the hay in this tower into gold by sunrise tomorrow morning, or your head shall be chopped off.”
The king promptly turned on his heel and left. The maiden was locked in the tower alone. She fell on the floor and sobbed hysterically. It was as if she were living a nightmare. There was no way she could accomplish what the king had ordered. For all she knew, such a thing was impossible.
Just when she thought she’d most certainly lose her head, a small whirlwind spun around the tower, and a dwarf magically appeared.
“Hello, fair maiden,” the dwarf said. “It seems you’ve found yourself in quite a predicament.”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“The question isn’t who but what,” the dwarf said.
“Then what are you?”
“I may be your salvation,” he said. “The king expects you to spin all the hay in this tower into gold by morning, is that correct?”
“Yes, but he is mistaken,” the maiden said. “I’ve never been capable of such a thing. He must have misunderstood what my father said. Tomorrow morning when the king finds this tower still full of hay, I will lose my head for it.”
The dwarf excitedly rubbed his hands together.
“Luckily for you, spinning hay into gold is one of my specialties. I’d be willing to help you if you’d like.”
“Yes, of course!” the maiden said. “I would be so grateful!”
“I don’t do anything for free,” the dwarf said. “I will only spin the hay into gold if we can make a trade.”
The maiden didn’t have much to offer, but she was willing to trade anything if it would save her life. The dwarf looked her up and down and then side to side.
“I’ll do it in exchange for your ring,” he said.
“But the ring was my mother’s,” the maiden said. “I could never part with it.”
“It’s the ring or your head,” he said. “What do you choose?”
It was an easy choice. The maiden quickly took the ring off her finger and handed it over to the dwarf. The dwarf kicked his feet up and down in a happy little jig. Nothing made him happier than a trade. He sat at the spinning wheel and went to work.
The maiden watched in amazement as the dwarf did the impossible. In just a few hours, the entire haystack had been transformed into a glimmering pile of gold.