raw.

Early in the morning the King came. He could hardly wait to learn
whether the girl had done her difficult task. When he saw the room
heaped with gold he fairly danced with joy, although that was not very
dignified for a King. Having one room full of gold only made him want
another. So he took the miller's daughter to a larger room, where there
was even more straw. Once more he told her that if she wanted to live
she must turn the straw to gold.

The little Dwarf helped her out again. This time she had to pay him
with her ring.

In the morning, when the King saw all the gold, he was still not
satisfied. He was getting rich so easily that he hated to stop. So he
had the miller's daughter led to the largest room in the palace, and
had it filled with straw for her to spin into gold.

This time, however, he told the girl that if she succeeded for the
third time in her task she should become his wife. "She's only the poor
miller's daughter," he said to himself, "but look how rich she is."

The girl was not surprised to see the Dwarf come in. He was quite
disagreeable, though, when she said she had nothing to give him this
time for spinning the gold.

"What!" he said, "have you no reward for me? Then you must promise me
your first child after you become Queen."

There seemed nothing to do but to promise the little fellow what he
asked. "Lots of things may happen before the promise is fulfilled," she
thought.

So the straw was spun into gold, and the King was greatly pleased.
Soon after this the miller's daughter became Queen.

[Illustration: "THIS TIME SHE HAD TO PAY HIM WITH HER RING"]

A year passed, and the whole kingdom was celebrating the birth of a son
to the King and Queen. The Queen was so happy about her child that she
quite forgot the promise she had made to the manikin who had saved her
life. But _he_ had not forgotten.

"Give me that child," said he one day, appearing, as was his habit, out
of nowhere. The Queen was frightened, yet refused to give up her child.
She offered him anything else he would name, but the child he could
never have.

"The child," he answered, "is the only thing I want." Yet he was sorry
for the Queen.

"Well," he said finally, "I'll let you have the child for three days.
If you can tell me my name before this time is up, you can keep your
little one."

The Queen sent messengers to search the country and bring her all the
unusual names they could discover.

After o