My father has bragged to the king that I can spin straw into gold. Now the king has locked me in a room and I must show that I can do it. How can I do it? It’s an impossible task!

I’m furious! I’m frightened! I’m disheartened. I’m dismayed.

Yet I must stay open. Some unimagined magic is my only hope….

The Spinning Daughter in Rumpelstiltskin, Grimms. Illustration by A.H. Watson.