Part 5/12:
The dwarf returns each time, and each time the maiden offers something valuable—her necklace, and later, her ring—in exchange for his aid. Finally, in desperation, she promises him her firstborn child, a sacrifice rooted in her shortsightedness and inability to see the long-term consequences.
The dwarf performs his task, and she becomes queen. But her troubles are far from over. When her first child is born, the dwarf reappears, demanding her promised promise—the child she thought she had bought herself free from. She pleads and offers riches, but the dwarf’s attachment to the promise remains firm.