Old Rinkrank

Name: Old Rinkrank
Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

The story revolves around a poor miller who boasts about his son's abilities to the king, claiming he can spin straw into gold. The king imprisons the son and sets him a task: spin all the straw in the castle into gold by dawn or face death. A mysterious figure appears and offers to help the young man in exchange for his shirt, then his coat, and finally his boots. He is able to complete the task but is left with nothing but his bare feet. The king's daughter visits him and he asks her to take pity on him. She agrees to marry him if he can spin all the straw in the castle into gold again by dawn. The mysterious figure reappears, demanding his last possession: his hat. The young man completes the task once more but is left with nothing. He marries the king's daughter and becomes wealthy.

By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm · First published 1819 · Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Adventure · 935 words

First lines

There was once on a time a King who had a daughter, and he caused a glass mountain to be made, and said that whosoever could cross to the other side of it without falling should have his daughter to wife. Then there was one who loved the King's daughter, and he asked the King if he might have her. "Yes," said the King; "if you can cross the mountain without falling, you shall have her. " And the princess said she would go over it with him, and would hold him if he were about to fall. So they set out together to go over it, and when they were half way up the princess slipped and fell, and the glass-mountain opened and shut her up inside it, and her betrothed could not see where she had gone, for the mountain closed immediately. Then he wept and lamented much, and the King was miserable too, and had the mountain broken open where she had been lost, and though the would be able to get her out again, but they could not find the place into which she had fallen. Meanwhile the King's daughter had fallen quite deep down into the earth into a great cave. An old fellow with a very long gray beard came to meet her, and told her that if she would be his servant and do everything he bade her, she might live, if not he would kill her. So she did all he bade her.

What this Textopian page supports

Old Rinkrank is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, dated 1819 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Fable
Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Date: 1819 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Adventure, Folklore, Romance
Length: 935 words
Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Work identity for Old Rinkrank by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering Old Rinkrank?
How does this fable by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Fairy Tale first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

Fairy Tale — The story features classic fairy tale elements such as a princess, a magical challenge, and a moral lesson.
Fantasy — The narrative includes fantastical elements like a glass mountain and a magical ladder.
Adventure — The plot revolves around the princess's journey and her eventual escape from captivity.
Folklore — The story is rooted in traditional folklore themes and motifs, typical of oral storytelling traditions.