Rumpelstiltskin and the Knight

The ancient fairy sat beside the road and felt the wind brushing through his leafy hair as he kissed the moonlight causing her to give a shy giggle which made him smile.
“Its going to be a while isn't it?” Rumpelstiltskin asked the wind, which blew in affirmation. So he sat on an old rock which bent and softened itself for him providing an unnatural cushion. Rumpelstiltskin knew that three young men would soon be passing his way, one after the other, and while he’d already determined that it was the third and youngest of them which deserved to rule Whispershire he still felt he should give the others a chance to prove him wrong. He whistled cheerfully as he looked out over what remained of the wild rye meadow. Perhaps he’d let the trees grow too far he mused as a deer and her fawn were forced to stand so close to the forests that they would have had no warning had wolves been on the prowl. He closed his eyes and began to envision how the forest would look if he allowed the grass to push the trees back just a little more. He was contemplating all the ways he could change the forest when the oldest of the young men started to walk past.....

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I wanted an introduction to Rumpelstiltskin that fit with my analysis of him as a helper of the downtrodden and of kingdoms, it didn't take me long to find the role of Männleins in giving advice to people setting  out to seek their fortune or knights going to rescue someone. This gave me the perfect set up for my first Flash Fiction about Rumpelstiltskin, as the fairy waiting to help those setting off to seek their fortune, while at the same time assuring that a kingdom gains a good king.

Read My Analysis of Rumpelstiltskin