Rumpelstiltskin felt slighted by Queen Malory when she refused to pay him for work he did in magically changing straw into gold. His work led her to marrying King Ray and becoming royalty. So he took her to court, seeking a financial resolution.

The civil lawsuit was part of a mock trial hosted by the Omaha Bar Association in connection with local Law Day celebrations. The trial pitted Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine against Omaha defense attorney Joe Bradley. Kleine served as the plaintiff Rumpelstiltskin's attorney, while Bradley defended the Queen.

The trial, before a jury of Westside school district fourth graders, provided insight into the American judicial system, said Dave Sommers, executive director of the OBA.

The courtroom action featured actors from the Rose Theater performing as witnesses, bringing the fairy tale to life. Federal judge Robert Rossiter presided over the case.

With about 50 students from Paddock Road Elementary School taking part as members of the jury and viewing gallery, as well as two students sitting at the lawyers' tables, the courthouse visit culminated their study of the American judicial branch, said teacher Katherine Pedersen.

The OBA uses fairy tales as part of the mock trial series to help relate to the eight and nine year olds. Previous trials have included the Three Bears vs. Goldilocks and the Three Pigs vs. The Big Bad Wolf.

The trial was conducted similar to an actual civil lawsuit, with witnesses taking an oath to tell the truth. As each character took the stand, they brought personality quirks with them.

With the trial’s opening remarks, Kleine painted Rumpelstiltskin as a fun-loving person, who sought to improve his lot in life by using his talents to help a person in need.

“This case is about the struggle of a poor, but honest, man to collect payment for work he did for Queen Malory,” Kleine said. “As the evidence unfolds before you, you will learn how Rumpelstiltskin, despite his poverty and small size, was able to help the Queen to such an extent that he saved her life. For this, the Queen was very grateful and promised to pay Rumpelstiltskin $50,000. You will see that Queen Malory even signed a written promise to pay this sum to Rumpelstiltskin, but that she has repeatedly refused to pay what she owes.”

Bradley described a different tale during his opening statement.

“This case is about money all right, but it’s also about lies, deception and threats of violence, as well,” Bradley said. “The evidence will show that Rumpelstiltskin tricked my client, the Queen, into believing that he had saved her life. In exchange, he wanted Prince Rufus, Queen Malory’s young son. Only after he failed in that attempt, did he make up this story about money. You will see that Rumpelstiltskin is twisted and evil, and you may well come to believe that he brought this case more from a desire for revenge than for any hope of a verdict in his favor.”

Rumpelstiltskin was flamboyant as he testified about the agreement he believed Malory, then a commoner, had made with him. The King had taken the miller's daughter to his castle with the understanding she could spin straw into gold.

“I am what you might call a jack-of-all-trades,” Rumpelstiltskin testified. “I cut wood. I farm a small plot of ground. I do a little plumbing. I fix things for people, and I work as a wool spinner and weaver.”

Locked in a room, Queen Malory was visited by Rumpelstiltskin, a gnomelike figure, who claimed he could turn the straw into gold. In the fairy tale, he sought Malory's first born child as payment. For the trial, it was a monetary agreement.

As Rumpelstiltskin spun the gold, the King wanted more from Malory. They eventually married and she became queen. She allegedly reneged on the deal, Kleine argued before the jury.

“Well, I saved her life,” Rumpelstiltskin said. “As a matter of fact, I saved her life three times. And without me, she wouldn’t be queen at all.”

Bradley's defense was that Rumpelstiltskin misrepresented himself to Malory, thus voiding the agreement.

“Mr. Rumpelstiltskin, did you say you fooled the King with gold-plated wire, and he never knew the difference?” Bradley said during his cross-examination.

“That’s right. If he’s here today, he might be just finding out,” Rumpelstiltskin said.

As she testified in her defense, Bradley characterized Queen Malory as the victim. Rumpelstiltskin lied to her about threats to her life, the Queen said.

“That geeky little dweeb Rumpelstiltskin had gotten in somehow,” she said. “He was telling me that the King expected me to spin the straw into gold, or something like that, or I would die. I was still half asleep when he said it, but I do remember that I noticed a spinning wheel in the room at the time. I hadn’t seen it before.”

After the King entered the room the next morning, he noticed piles of straw had been transformed into gold, she said. As the King held her captive, the gnome figure returned nightly, bringing other people with him, she said.

Asked by Bradley if she agreed to pay Rumpelstiltskin for his work, the Queen denied it.

“I most certainly did not,” she said. “This is a new one on me anyway. Back in the palace, he was talking about taking my first-born child as payment. I mean, really.”

During his cross of the Queen, Kleine hammered away at her credibility.

“He (the King) didn’t say you would die if you failed (to spin the gold)?” he said.

“Never,” the Queen responded. “The King is my husband. He’d never do anything like that.”

Questioning her about where the straw came from, Kleine asked if her father had brought some of it to the room. She acknowledged he did.

Then, he closed his cross with a simple question for the Queen.

“All that straw came out of your mattress?” Kleine said.

“That’s right,” she said.

Throughout the trial, Judge Rossiter explained to students what was taking place and its importance to the proceedings, including being sworn in and an attorney's objection to questions.

After six witnesses testified, including both the plaintiff and defendant, the jury convened in a meeting room away from the courtroom.

A few minutes later, they returned with a verdict. Finding in favor of Rumpelstiltskin, forepersons Rowan Lindberg and Avery Liekhus said jury members believed that Queen Malory had agreed to pay Rumpelstiltskin for his services. He fulfilled the deal, and she reneged on her end, they said.

It was another win for Kleine, who's been involved with the mock trial for more than a decade.

For Bradley, his losing record against the Douglas County Attorney continued in the series. Though he beamed, recalling his lone victory over Kleine at a mock trial.

"I got the Big Bad Wolf off," he said.

After the trial, the legal professionals discussed aspects of law with students. Rossiter explained the difference between civil and criminal cases.

“This was a civil case, which means that we're talking about money,” he said. “That's what a civil case generally is. A criminal case would be when somebody would go to jail or prison for crimes committed.”

The mock trial was conducted to determine who the jury believed was telling the truth, the judge told students.

“Today we're talking about the amount of money to make Rumpelstiltskin whole,” Rossiter said. “That's really the crux of what's going on here. There's a lot of undertow here, like there's Rumpelstiltskin. Is he telling the truth? He's got all these things going on. Queen's got her new power and her role. There's a lot of different character motivations here.”

Both attorneys said they enjoy spending time with the children, sharing their knowledge of law. Each hopes they instill a love of the profession in some of them.

“I really enjoy it because you're getting a bunch of young people here,” Kleine said. “Maybe they're in the courthouse for the first time. They’re just getting a little bit of a flavor of what goes on here. So it's very enjoyable for me to teach them a little bit about what happens in the system. Hopefully, maybe they aspire to be a defense attorney or a judge or just become a lawyer. That's the fun part of it. Just to give them the opportunity to see it.”

Bradley said he enjoys seeing the youthful enthusiasm of the fourth graders.

“I love hearing their questions and, just even giving them an idea about what the process is,” Bradley said. “Like what the path is to become a lawyer or a judge or anything in this system. We like getting them at this age before they're totally cynical and still kind of open to things.”