2. SYNOPSIS
The King was making his rounds around his kingdom. The King visits Lisa’s cottage.
Lisa’s parents began to praise Lisa and claim that she can bake the best pies in the
world. In order to make himself appear more important, Lisa’s father lies to the
king that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The King knows that his kingdom
is poor, thus, the king called for the girl, shut her in a tower room with straw and a
spinning wheel, and demanded that she spin the straw into gold by morning or be
executed. She had given up all hope, when a strange little man appeared in the
room and spun straw into gold for her in return for her necklace; then again the
following night for her ring. But on the third night, with nothing left, the strange
creature spun straw into gold for a promise that the girl’s first-born child would
become his.
The greedy king was so impressed that he married Lisa, but when their first child
was born, the strange little man returned to claim his payment. The queen was
frightened and offered him all the wealth she had if she could keep the child. The
strange little man refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the
queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed. Later, Lisa’s parents
follow the little man and see him dance around a small fire and they hear him say
out loud, “Tricks and riddles are my game, Rumpelstiltskin is my name.”
3. PLOT
Exposition
• This is first stage of a fictional or dramatic plot, in which necessary background information is
provided. It introduces characters, scene, time, and situation
• The King visits a cottage. The cottage belongs to Lisa’s parents. The King was lured by the
smell of freshly baked apple pie. Lisa’s parents praised Lisa in an attempt to make the King
marry their daughter. They tell the King that she bakes the best pies in the world. To impress
the King further, they also tell the King that Lisa can spin straw into gold. The King brings her
to his palace and asks her to turn straw into gold. If she fails she will be beheaded.
Rising Action
• This is a set of conflicts and crises that constitute the part of a story’s plot leading up to the
climax.
• Lisa sits and cries in the high tower. Then she hears scratching noise. A strange little man
appears and promises to spin the straw into gold in exchange of her necklace. The King was
impressed and takes her to another bigger room filled with straw. The King asks her to turn
the straw into gold. If she fails she will be beheaded. That night the strange little man
appeared again and promises to spin the straw into gold in exchange for her ring. The King
was impressed and takes her to another bigger room filled with straw. This time he promises
to marry her. Lisa has nothing else to offer to the little man. Her parents advised her to give
whatever he asks for. That night, when the strange little man appeared, she promises her first
born child.
4. Climax
• This is the turning point of the action in the plot of a story. The climax represents the point of
greatest tension in the work.
• A year passed. Lisa is the queen and she has a baby boy. The strange little man suddenly appears
and reminds her of her promise. Lisa pleaded to the little man not to take her baby away as she is
willing to give him all her money. The little man refuses but finally agrees to give her three days to
guess his name. She fails to guess his name on the first and second day. Lisa’s parents follow the
little man and find out his name.
Falling Action
• In the plot of a story, the action following the climax of the work that moves it towards its
denouement or resolution.
• On the third day, the little man comes to the nursery. Lisa guesses his name as “Rumpelstiltskin”.
• The strange little man gets angry and stamps his feet hard on the floor and disappears in a puff of
smoke.
Resolution
• The ending of the story, the final stage or unraveling of the plot; usually very brief. Here the tension
is over, and unanswered questions may be explained. The resolution is reached following a major
crisis and climax.
• Lisa’s baby boy is now safe. Lisa’s parents promises that they will never boast again.
5. SETTING
Place:
• Cottage where Lisa lives with her parents.
• Castle where the King lives
• Nursery where Queen Lisa looked after the baby and
where the strange little man appeared.
• Woods where the strange little man lives.
Time:
• Medieval Times
• The story is set at a time when people talked about
magical creatures.
6. CHARACTERS
Lisa:
• She is a young, sweet girl. She lives with her parents in a cottage.
She loves to do household chores such as baking. She is very
obedient as she listens to her parents.
Rumpelstiltskin:
• A strange little man. He has magical powers. He is able to help Lisa
by spinning the straw into gold. He likes riddles. Rumpelstiltskin is a
fairy tale character, not a real person.
The King:
• He is an opportunist. He uses Lisa to get him gold. He is rather cruel
as he keep Lisa alone in a tower and he threatens to kill her if she
cannot spin the straw into gold. However he is very gullible as he
believes that straw can be turned into gold.
7. Lisa’s Father :
• He is rather foolish as he goes to far to boast about his
daughter. He is also greedy as he is willing to sacrifice Lisa’s
life in order to get wealth. He was remorseful when he
promised Lisa that he will not make the same mistake.
Nevertheless, he is a loving father as he tries to solve the
riddle for Lisa.
Lisa’s Mother:
• She is very proud of her daughter. She is kind hearted as
she invites the King into her house and offers food. She is
rather silly as she agrees with her husband that Lisa can
spin straw into gold. She is also remorseful and promised
never to boast again. It cannot be denied that she is a
loving mother as she helps Lisa to solve the riddle.
8. THEMES
1. Telling lies
• When people lie they are often trapped by their own
deceit. In this story, claiming to be able to weave gold
from straw got Lisa the attention of the king but also
got her locked in a dungeon with a haystack and a
spinning wheel.
2. Using one’s survival skills
• Persistence pays off in the long run and to never give
up. Lisa tried her best to find the answer to the strange
man’s riddle. She did not give up.
9. MORAL VALUES
1. We must be more careful of what we say, and think of the
consequences.
• Lisa’s father lied to the king, just to impress him.
• Lisa lost her head and promised something without realising the
implications of her promise, just to save herself.
• Rumpelstiltskin is so confident that the queen will not guess his
name that he makes the terrible mistake of saying it out loud.
2 Honesty and Integrity
• We must always keep our promises. It is when we are able to keep
our promises that people will respect us. Although the King was
greedy, he kept his promise to marry Lisa once she was able to spin
the straw into gold. Even the strange little man kept his promise to
Lisa when she was able to guess his name. He did not try to cheat
her.
10. POINT OF VIEW
• Since this is a drama, the author uses the third
person point of view. He is omniscient- this
means that he knows everything in the story.
However, the characters do think aloud when
they are thinking. Thus, the readers are able
to understand what the characters are doing.
11. TONE AND MOOD
• There are two contrasting tones. Firstly, there
is an ordinary tone when the writer shows the
ordinary lifestyle of Lisa’s family. The second
tone is the extraordinary tone. It is used when
describing the events related to the King. It
shows things that are magical. It shows the
readers that straw can be spun into gold. It
shows a mood of fantasy. The drama ends
with a positive note that is all’s well that ends
well.
