In fact I took the translation from the 33 volume
German dictionary that was started by the Grimm brothers. Although they only got as far as to letter F, many scholars finished the dictionary until the 1960s with the same thoroughness as the Grimm brothers.
There is still "rumpeln" in modern
German (rumble, rattle; an onomatopoetic word), but I'm not sure about the "Stilzchen" part. "Stelzen" means "stalk" or "walk on stilts" (!). "Stelzfuß" can mean "wooden leg" or "crippled foot", so maybe this is where the goblin comes in.
Now I'm pretty sure that the "skin" interpretation is secondary, it seems to be just a matter of transscription from
German, but I'd like to know more about the original intention of the tale.
Andy ;—)
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