00:00of the king. Poor Anna was locked in the room and began to weep, for she knew that her father's
00:05boasting had brought her to this fate and there was nothing that she could do to save herself.
00:09She was startled, therefore, to hear a voice. Well now, my pretty, dry your tears, for I can
00:14take away your fears. And there stood beside her an ugly dwarf. Anna was too frightened even to
00:21scream. Who are you? Where did you come from? She whispered. Never mind, said the dwarf. Just know
00:27that I can save your life, but first you must give me something precious to you. At first,
00:33Anna could think of nothing of value she could give the dwarf. But then she said, I have only
00:38a necklace of worthless beads, but it is precious to me as it came from my grandmother, whom
00:42I love dearly. That will suffice, said the dwarf, putting it in his pouch. Now rest while I set
00:49about my work. Anna fell asleep almost immediately. And when she awoke in the morning, the dwarf
00:55had gone and the womb was full of spun gold. When the king saw the gold, he was delighted.
01:02But he was also greedy, so he said that the following night she must stay in a larger room
01:06filled with straw, which she must spin into gold before she could leave. Anna was too frightened
01:12to protest, and that evening she wept bitterly, fearing that nothing could save her. But as she
01:17wept, she heard the dwarf's voice again, saying, You've lived to see another knight, but only
01:23I can help your plight. Oh, cried Anna. Please, help me as you did before. What precious gift
01:30can you give me, asked the dwarf. Desperately, Anna showed him a plain brass ring on her finger.
01:37This simple ring given to me by my poor departed mother is all I have, she said. Give it to
01:42me, said the dwarf. And no sooner had he taken it than Anna fell sound asleep again. The following
01:49morning, the king arrived and was amazed to find all the straw transformed into gold. But
01:53instead of giving Anna her freedom, he said, I have just one more task for you. Tonight
01:58I shall fill the great hall with straw, and if you can spin that into gold, I shall reward
02:03you by making you queen. But if you fail, poor Anna. She looked around the great hall stacked
02:11with straw and feared that this time there was no hope. But the dwarf appeared again and
02:17said, Your task is greater than before. You need my skills to spin the straw. Oh, cried
02:24Anna, can you really spin all the straw? Of course, roared the dwarf. But what will you
02:30give me? Alas, I have nothing, said Anna. What am I to do? The dwarf looked at her and said,
02:38When you are queen, the king will expect us on an heir. Promise to give me the baby, and I
02:43will help you tonight. Yes, yes, said Anna hastily, whatever you wish, but please help
02:48me now. Very well, said the dwarf. Now close your eyes while I said about my work. When she
02:53awoke in the morning, to her amazement, the hall was full of gold. When the king arrived,
02:58he looked at the gold and smiled. Make plans for a royal wedding, he commanded. A girl with
03:04talent such as these is surely fit to be queen. The seasons passed. And within a year, Queen
03:13Anna gave birth to a beautiful boy who was great rejoicing throughout the land. One night,
03:20as the queen sat alone in the nursery with a child, a cloud plasped over the moon. And
03:25in a darkened corner of the room, a voice said, I saved your life with gold spun fine. And
03:32now, your promised child is mine. The queen stared at the figure of the dwarf, whom she
03:38had long ago forgotten. Oh, but you cannot mean to take my baby from you, she cried. Let
03:43me reward you in some other way. Is not your child your most precious possession, asked the
03:48dwarf? Oh, yes. Then this is what I must have, he snarled. But after a moment, he cocked his
03:56head to one side and said, I'll play with you a sporting game, if you can but divine my name.
04:02The child will then be yours to keep. If not, then my reward I'll reap. Then before the queen
04:09could answer, he had gone. All next day, the queen brooded on names that might fit the dwarf,
04:15and in the evening, she waited alone in her room for the dwarf to return. Sure enough, when the
04:20clouds covered the moon, the dwarf appeared as before and said, you know, the question is the
04:24same. Can you tell me what's my name? The queen tried all the names she had gathered, like Matthew,
04:30Mark, Luke, John, then Peter, Paul, Patrick. But the dwarf just laughed and said, when the moon comes
04:36into sight, I shall return tomorrow night. Then he disappeared again. The next day, the queen instructed
04:44her messengers, foresters, and huntsmen to search the land to discover the name of the
04:48dwarf. But at the end of the day, none had returned with any news. When the dwarf appeared again
04:53that night, she tried desperately to guess his name. Could it be long nose, squint eyes,
05:00putt belly, or perhaps dog ears, bandy legs, or flat foot, she asked. But the dwarf merely laughed
05:07as before and chanted, tomorrow night is your last chance, or with your child away I'll dance.
05:14The queen was distraught with worry. Once again, her servants were charged with scouring the country
05:19in search of the dwarf, and rewards were offered for any information. But it was not until late in
05:24the day that a breathless messenger arrived with a strange tale to tell.
