When
the little man came on the first day, the queen recited every name that she had collected.
“Could it be Caspar, Melchior, or Balthazar?” she asked.
But no matter how many
names she gave him, the little man simply replied, “No, that is not my name.”
On the second day, the queen asked the people of the countryside nearby. She acquired some very strange
names indeed. When the little man came again, the queen recited these names. “Could it be Skinnyribs? Muttonchop? Or – Or! Perhaps it is Spindleshanks? Yes it must be Spindleshanks!” the
queen cried.
But no matter how many names she gave him, the little man replied, “No, that is not my name.”
By now the queen was desperate. In her desperation the queen sent
out her most trusted servant to search the forbidden wood for any names he could find.