Rum ‧ pel ‧ stilt ‧ skin /ˌrʌmp ə lˈstɪltskɪn/ BrE AmE
the main character in a story called Rumpelstiltskin by Jacob and Wilhelm ↑ Grimm . Rumpelstiltskin is an ugly ↑ dwarf (=a creature like a very small man) who teaches a young girl how to make ↑ straw into gold thread by using a ↑ spinning wheel . As a reward for teaching her this, he says she must give him her first child. She becomes queen and has a child, but Rumpelstiltskin says he will not take her child if she can discover what his name is within three days. By chance a servant hears him saying his name, and when the girl tells him what it is, he gets so angry that he dies.