Summary:
This old folktale, a Caldecott winner, is similar to the children’s book Rumpelstiltskin. It starts out that a Squire is looking for some help for his housekeeper who is old and can not knit his clothes anymore. When he finds Duffy, she tells him she is a wonderful knitter and can also spin wool. She can not though, and calls upon a little devil who makes her agree that if after three years of him doing all her knitting she must guess his name right otherwise he will get to keep her and take her away for his own self. Three years passes and the housekeeper gets the devil drunk and finds out his name, Tarraway, and Duffy tells this to the devil. He disappears and so does all the work he has done, it turns into ashes.

Personal Reaction:
I enjoyed this version of Rumpelstiltskin. It teaches the reader that in the end run, lying is not good. The lie will come back to haunt you. The language throughout the book was well translated and it was a playful book. It had many difficult terms however, and it would be wise to have a dictionary for the students to look up terms. The illustrations were light and colorful. It looks like colored pencil. The detail within the pictures had a great humoristic aspect to them.

Classroom Extension Ideas:

1) Have the students write a different ending to this story. What if Duffy never guessed the correct name, what do the students think the devil wanted to do with Duffy? What if the clothes did not disappear and the devil left?
2) Read the story Rumpelstiltskin and compare and contrast the two books. Teach about comparing books and similar themes. How are the books different? ( )