Once upon a time,

in a land far, far away

oh! How the church bells did chime,

the day this child was born to his parents dismay.

 

Alas, this abandoned child,

he had no fairies watching over him,

no one but an old highwayman who smiled.

 

This crooked man sang hymns,

and taught the orphaned child how to kindle, and swindle

by entertaining even the finest of men’s whims.

 

How does a child swindle you ask?

 

Well,

the poor orphans clothing was always rumpled,

and when one happened upon him after saying farewell

in the middle of a dark night, they were disgruntled.

 

But those golden eyes shone,

(and) they cried; “help me lord”

well, those who stopped did bemoan,

but because he struck a chord,

even the hardest of hearts stopped; and oh how they flocked!

 

And once they stopped, fooled by their hearts;

stopped for this poor orphan boy,

the deed was done, an art.

 

“Rumpled boy” was soon a known threat-

so with a heavy heart,

he left.

 

He wandered among the silt and the soil,

He stopped among the towns,

he saw new kingdoms, even gargoyles!

He learnt the ways of men, tended grounds,

and never stopped to kindle, and to swindle

to remember the one he left, to whom

he was bound.

 

Through these travels

he learnt the art of exchange.

The advantage of leverage he channeled;

a piece of bread for a shirt was arranged,  

a shirt for a spindle, he slowly became dismantled.

 

And one day

he picked up a golden goose pen

a pen, taken from the King of the Bay,

he wrote, and wrote again

a contract, which would make men pray.

 

And that was the day the poor orphan child

protege of a highwayman, went out on a lark

the one known as “Rumpled Clothes”, later exiled

sold his soul, went dark

and became

“Rumplestiltskin,” who bore the mark.