<blockquote>“Help us,” my mother begged the rishi. “Pray to Sri Lakshmi, and ask her to take away this boon.”
The old woman shook her head. “That might anger the goddess. You shouldn’t appear ungrateful.”
After some discussion, the rishi devised a curse, one whose words I know by heart because my mother repeated them to me every night before I slept and every morning when I awoke: “If Rampalalakshmicharan turns an object into gold for another person, they must give him whatever he demands in return. If they don’t, the golden object will turn to ash and he will lose his ability forever.”
It wouldn’t guarantee my safety, especially not while I was too young to understand the consequences of my actions, but it meant that no one could abuse my gift forever.</blockquote>
➤ retelling of Rumpelstiltskin from the Rumpelstiltskin character's pov, making him a sympathetic character
