Elinore sits alone and weeps in the tower room where she has been told to spin straw into gold. No one can do such a thing, unless it's the strange little man who mysteriously appears at the stroke of midnight. He claims he can, but not unless the price is right. Elinore offers her necklace and ring, but they won't be enough. Only her firstborn child will satisfy the wicked little man. Afraid to make such a promise, and just as afraid not to, Elinore...