The Adventures of Rumpelstiltskin

My Story Begins

My name is Rumpelstiltskin.  Yeah, that guy.  From the story your mama and daddy used to read you when you kids?  Now I'm sure you remember how I helped that poor woman after her daddy told the king about her "magical" ability to weave straw into gold.  And I told her that I would need her to give me her kid if she wanted me to help her, right?  Then she threw a fit about it when I came to get him.  I felt bad for the lady.  So I told her that if she could find out my name she could keep the kid.  Well, she found out my name and I lost the boy.  
But there are many things about that story that I'll bet your mama never told you.  And I'm here to set things straight.
It all started about twenty-six years ago.  I was just returning home from a journey from a nearby kingdom.  A friend of mine had asked for help breaking into a jewelry store.  I'm one of the best wizards and thieves in the world and I am often asked for help with this sort of thing.  
I was taking a short-cut to get to my cabin.  It involved walking pass the palace, where the King lived.  As I walked pass, I noticed something very peculiar going on.  The King was having a conversation a middle-aged man and a lovely young woman.  A crowd had gathered around them.  Curiosity won out, and I pushed my way through the people, barely avoiding being stepped on by them (Hey, I'm not very tall).  A young boy, however, reached out and pulled on my beard.  
"Hey, you!  What was that for?"  I asked him.
"It's so long.  And your so short.  You look funny!"  the little boy replied.  I glared at him, pulling my magic wand out, intending to turn him into a sloth.
"Flippidy doo-dah!"  I shouted.  Nothing happened.  I threw the wand to the ground.
"It's broken," I told the little boy.  He giggled and rang away.  I turned my attention back to the king and his two acquaintances.  The man was telling the king about his daughter's special talent.
"She can spin straw into gold, Your Highness!"  the man told him.
"Straw into gold?  Is this true?"  the king repeated.  The man grinned and pushed the girl forward.  She looked back at him.  There was a look of confusion on her face.
"Of course, Your Highness.  And silver and diamonds!  She is a real treasure, this girl."  The king stared at the girl for a moment, then turned back to his father.  I moved closer.  This was getting interesting.
"If this is true, then I will make her my wife."  The girl's father beamed.  
"However, if it is a lie, I will have you both arrested and publicly executed."  The man's grin quickly disappeared.  The king went on with his plan.
"Tonight I will place the girl in a room inside my palace.  It will be full of straw and a spinning wheel.  She will have till morning to complete her task."  Two large men came forward and took the girl by arms, leading her toward the palace door.  Her father stared in horror as the king smirked at him and followed them inside.  He was lying obviously.  I've been studying magic my entire life, and I've never heard of anybody with the ability to spin straw into treasure.  But, with a plan forming in my head,  I pulled out a bag of my secret invisibility powder.  A threw a pinch of it over my head and followed them inside just as the big wooden door was closing.