The True Tale as Told by Manikin

by Melchinafan

The story of Rumpelstiltskin, twisted into a more psychological trip.

A poem I wrote my last year of English. We were all given the original versions of various fairy tales, and told to turn them into poems. I decided to make Rumpelstiltskin a bit more...psychological. Two lines I borrowed from Kouta Hirano's Crossfire; in one chapter, a character speaks in Russian, and can be translated thus: (1)Bread for bread (2)Blood for blood

Or so I've been told.

---

Whirr, whirr, whirr.
Don't cry, pretty girl.
I can give you what you need,
Just give me what I need.
Scratch my back,
Eye for an eye;
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
Lovely necklace, pretty ring,
Give them to me, pretty girl.
I'll make this mess become a Glittering pile through the wheel;
I can do that favor, pretty girl.
Khleb za khleb. (1)
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
What's this you say?
Save your life so you can be Queen?
That's not so easy, pretty girl.
I need more leverage than trinkets.
I need a life from you in return.
Give me your baby, pretty girl.
Krov' za krov. (2)
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
Time to pay up, pretty girl.
I need that life now.
You promised it me,
You can't go back on your word…
But I like you, pretty girl.
Utter my name, no need for thrice,
And your baby's yours.
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
Time's up, pretty girl.
You haven't said my name;
Not Caspar,
Not Balthazar,
Not Sheepshanks,
Not Laceleg,
Not the name I forgot from that silly ghoul.
Time to give up your blood,
My pretty girl.
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
What did you say?
I must have misheard you, pretty girl.
That wheel sounds louder these days.
I can't drown it out, pretty girl.
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
I just can't make out what You say, pretty girl. This
Whirr
Wheel just keeps spinning, as if
Whirr
It's inside my head.
Whirr.
Can you repeat that, pretty girl? It
Whirr
Sounds oddly familiar, as if
Whirr
You were saying my name, pretty girl; but
Whirr
You didn't, pretty girl. Your baby's
Whirr
Mine now, pretty girl; my name, whirr name, you
Whirr
I have a splitting whirr headache,
I can't seem to
Whirr
Hold on, pretty girl. Pretty girl, you
Whirr
Broke my whirr soul, pretty girl.
Whirr, w h i r r , w h i r r . . .