Feminist Fairy Tale
by Jessica Durst

Once there was a miller who was poor, but had a wonderfully cheerful, energetic, fun-loving and talented daughter. One day, in talking to the king, and in fear of appearing inferior, he proceeded to brag about his wonderful daughter and all of her great characteristics. The king was not impressed by the young woman's kindness and how successful she was, rather, the only thing that caught his attention was her hidden talent of spinning straw into gold. This talent was so hidden, in fact, the girl herself did not even know she had it. To her dismay, the king invited her to the kingdom to demonstrate her skill.

The king immediately pushed her into a tiny room full to the ceiling with straw. The girl smiled brightly as the king explained what he wanted from her, "all of this straw shall be spun into gold by the first light of morning, and if not, you shall be killed!" With that, he left the room and locked the door.

Surprisingly, the girl did not panic. She knew she was a strong and quick-minded girl, and she could surely find her way out of this mess. After looking for an escape route, trying to pick the lock and even trying to spin the straw into gold, she still was not ready to give up. When she finally took a break from her hard work, a little man entered the room. He asked her why she looked so exhausted and why she was locked in this room full of straw. With nothing to lose, she quickly explained her situation. The little man laughed. He explained that he could spin straw into gold and would help her for a small price. The girl realized it was getting very close to morning and just this once she would accept his help and watch him spin so she could learn how to do it herself. She gave him the necklace, knowing that no material object was worth her life.

As she watched him spin, she quickly realized that this talent was beyond normal human abilities. There was something magical about it, which meant she would never be able to spin the straw into gold by herself. Surprisingly, this did not upset the girl. Instead, her face lit up with a brilliant smile, and her mind with a brilliant idea. In the event the king would ask for more, she would be prepared.

When morning came, the king entered the room and was completely delighted. However, instead of being content and thankful, he only wanted more. He quickly filled the room with even more straw, left the girl with the same instructions and shut and locked the door. The girl sat herself right down in the straw and relaxed, knowing that she had a long night ahead of her.

As she predicted, the little man entered the room when night fell. He approached the girl with a smirk and said, "I assume you need my help yet again. There is even more straw, which means I need more from you!" He asked her to promise him her first born child. The girl held in a laugh, not only was she far too young to be married and have children, she did not even know if she wanted either. She faked a look of devastation and sat silent for some time. After she was sure the man could sense her grief, she agreed to give him what he asked for.

The little man jumped right on the spinning wheel and began spinning the straw into gold as fast as he possibly could. When the girl could tell that he was very focused on the task at hand she untied her belt from around her waste and ripped a strip of material off of her sleeve. She crept up behind him, took a deep breath and scooped him up in her arms as she shoved the material in his screaming mouth. She held him up against the spinning wheel and while he twisted and kicked, she tightly wound the belt around his body, tying him securely to the wheel. When she was sure he was unable to escape, she laid down for a good night's sleep.

Morning came and once again the king entered the room, however this time with a look of horror. "What is the meaning of all this?" he screamed, "Who is this man and where is my gold?"

The girl calmly stood up, walked right up to the king and said, "My father lied to you. I cannot spin straw into gold, however, I have found you someone who can. Please set me free, for by capturing this man I give you the ability to have all of the gold and wealth you could ever imagine."

Impressed by her honesty and how brave she was, he honored her request. As she was leaving, she walked over to the little man, took her necklace off of his neck, grabbed an armful of gold and walked out the door. She left the castle and entered the free world where she would make a wonderful life for herself and live happily ever after.