The Sweetest Secret of Rumpelstiltskin

In a land where rivers flowed with chocolate milk and trees sprouted lollipop leaves, lived a talented young candy maker named Millerella. Her father, the Sugar Miller, was a boastful fellow. One day, he declared to the Candy King, "My daughter, Millerella, can spin plain, boring sugar into shimmering, golden spun-sugar, fit for your royal sweet tooth!"

The Candy King, whose crown was made of crystallised sugar and whose cape was of rich dark chocolate, loved nothing more than new, impossible sweets. "Is that so?" he boomed, his eyes wide as jelly beans. "Then bring her to the Gingerbread Castle! If she can turn this room full of plain white sugar threads into golden spun-sugar by morning, she shall be rewarded. If not… well, let's just say my royal sweet tooth will be very disappointed!"

Millerella was led to a grand kitchen, its walls made of gingerbread tiles and its floor of peppermint swirls. Piles of plain sugar threads filled the room, stretching from floor to ceiling. Millerella, though a gifted candy maker, knew no one could spin plain sugar into shimmering gold. She slumped onto a giant marshmallow stool, tears like clear sugar syrup welling in her eyes. "Oh dear," she whispered, "what ever shall I do?"

Suddenly, a tiny, nimble creature with skin like pistachio paste and eyes like sparkling jelly beans popped out from behind a giant gumdrop. He wore clothes woven from licorice whips and striped candy canes. "What's wrong, my sugary friend?" he chirped, his voice sounding like tiny bells. "Are you in a sticky situation?" Millerella explained her predicament. The imp's grin widened. "I can help you, for a price. Give me that beautiful candy-cane heart locket you wear, and I'll spin all this sugar into spun-sugar gold by dawn!" Millerella hesitated, but with the King's disappointment looming, she agreed. With a flick of his wrist and a sprinkle of glittery sugar dust, the imp began to spin, and before her eyes, the plain sugar transformed into dazzling, golden spun-sugar, shimmering like sunshine.

The next morning, the Candy King gasped with delight. "Magnificent! The most delicious gold I've ever seen!" But his sweet tooth was insatiable. He led Millerella to an even bigger room filled with sugar threads. "Do it again tonight, and I'll grant you a whole jar of rainbow sprinkles!" Again, the little imp appeared. This time, he asked for Millerella's favorite chocolate swirl charm. She gave it up, and again, by morning, the room glowed with spun-sugar gold.

On the third night, the King promised, "If you succeed one more time, you shall be my Royal Candy Chef, and live in the Gingerbread Castle forever!" This room was enormous, filled to the very top with sugar. When the imp appeared, he looked at Millerella with his jelly-bean eyes. "For this last task," he squeaked, "I want something truly precious. I want your very own secret recipe for the Sparkling Starfruit Drops! The one only you know!" Millerella loved her Starfruit Drop recipe, which tasted like starlight and joy, but she desperately wanted to be free. With a heavy heart, she agreed. The imp spun the last room of sugar into the most magnificent golden spun-sugar ever seen.

Months passed, and Millerella, now the Royal Candy Chef, was happy. But then, one day, the imp appeared in her kitchen. "Time to collect my payment, Royal Candy Chef!" he giggled. "The secret recipe for your Sparkling Starfruit Drops!" Millerella's heart sank. "Oh, please," she begged, "take all my candy jewels, take my marshmallow sofa, but not my recipe!" The imp shook his head. "A bargain is a bargain! Unless… you can guess my name!" He gave her three days.

Millerella worried. She sent her candy guards across the land, asking every gummy bear and gingerbread man for strange names. On the third day, she had no idea. But then, a little sugar mouse scurried in, whispering, "I overheard a tiny green creature dancing around a chocolate fountain, singing, 'Tomorrow, the Royal Candy Chef's recipe will be mine! For no one knows that Rumpelstiltskin is my name!'" Millerella's eyes twinkled like rock candy. When the imp returned, he demanded, "What is my name?" Millerella took a deep breath and declared, "Is your name… Rumpelstiltskin?" The imp shrieked, stomped his tiny feet, and vanished in a puff of glittering sugar dust, never to be seen again. Millerella kept her recipe, and continued making the most wonderful, magical sweets in all of Candy Land.