Hog Bridegrooms
tales of Aarne-Thompson type 441in which a beautiful maiden
is forced to marry
a hog or a hedgehog
edited and/or translated by
D. L. Ashliman
© 1998-2000
edited and/or translated by
D. L. Ashliman
© 1998-2000
Return to D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.
Galeotto, King of Anglia, has a son who is born in the shape of a pig. This son marries three wives, and in the end, having thrown off his semblance, becomes a handsome youth.
Fair ladies, if man were to spend a thousand years in rendering thanks to his creator for having made him in the form of a human and not of a brute beast, he could not speak gratitude enough. This reflection calls to mind the story of one who was born as a pig, but afterwards became a comely youth. Nevertheless, to his dying day he was known to the people over whom he ruled as King Pig.
You must know, dear ladies, that Galeotto, King of Anglia, was a man highly blest in worldly riches, and in his wife Ersilia, the daughter of Matthias, King of Hungary, a princess who, in virtue and beauty, outshone all the other ladies of the time. And Galeotto was a wise king, ruling his land so that no man could hear complaint against him. Though they had been several years married they had no child, wherefore they both of them were much aggrieved.
While Ersilia was walking one day in her garden she felt suddenly weary, and remarking hard by a spot covered with fresh green turf, she went up to it and sat down thereon, and, overcome with weariness and soothed by the sweet singing of the birds in the green foliage, she fell asleep.
And it chanced that while she slept there passed by three fairies who held mankind somewhat in scorn, and these, when they beheld the sleeping queen, halted, and gazing upon her beauty, took counsel together how they might protect her and throw a spell upon her.
When they were agreed, the first cried out, "I will that no man shall be able to harm her, and that, the next time she lie with her husband, she may be with child and bear a son who shall not have his equal in all the world for beauty."
Then said the second, "I will that no one shall ever have power to offend her, and that the prince who shall be born of her shall be gifted with every virtue under the sun."
And the third said, "And I will that she shall be the wisest among women, but that the son whom she shall conceive shall be born in the skin of a pig, with a pig's ways and manners, and in this state he shall be constrained to abide till he shall have three times taken a woman to wife."
As soon as the three fairies had flown away Ersilia awoke, and straightway arose and went back to the palace, taking with her the flowers she had plucked. Not many days had passed before she knew herself to be with child, and when the time of her delivery was come, she gave birth to a son with members like those of a pig and not of a human being.
When tidings of this prodigy came to the ears of the king and queen they lamented sore thereanent, and the king, bearing in mind how good and wise his queen was, often felt moved to put this offspring of hers to death and cast it into the sea, in order that she might be spared the shame of having given birth to him. But when he debated in his mind and considered that this son, let him be what he might, was of his own begetting, he put aside the cruel purpose which he had been harboring, and, seized with pity and grief, he made up his mind that the son should be brought up and nurtured like a rational being and not as a brute beast.
The child, therefore, being nursed with the greatest care, would often be brought to the queen and put his little snout and his little paws in his mother's lap, and she, moved by natural affection, would caress him by stroking his bristly back with her hand, and embracing and kissing him as if he had been of human form. Then he would wag his tail and give other signs to show that he was conscious of his mother's affection.
The pigling, when he grew older, began to talk like a human being, and to wander abroad in the city, but whenever he came near to any mud or dirt he would always wallow therein, after the manner of pigs, and return all covered with filth. Then, when he approached the king and queen, he would rub his sides against their fair garments, defiling them with all manner of dirt, but because he was indeed their own son they bore it all.
One day he came home covered with mud and filth, as was his wont, and lay down on his mother's rich robe, and said in a grunting tone, "Mother, I wish to get married."
When the queen heard this, she replied, "Do not talk so foolishly. What maid would ever take you for a husband, and think you that any noble or knight would give his daughter to one so dirty and ill-savored as you?"
But he kept on grunting that he must have a wife of one sort or another. They queen, not knowing how to manage him in this matter, asked the king what they should do in their trouble, "Our son wishes to marry, but where shall we find anyone who will take him as a husband?"
Every day the pig would come back to his mother with the same demand, "I must have a wife, and I will never leave you in peace until you procure for me a certain maiden I have seen today, who pleases me greatly."
It happened that this maiden was a daughter of a poor woman who had three daughters. When the queen heard this, she had brought before her the poor woman and her eldest daughter, and said, "Good mother, you are poor and burdened with children. If you will agree to what I shall say to you, you will be rich. I have this son who is, as you see, in form a pig, and I would fain marry him to your eldest daughter. Do not consider him, but think of the king and of me, and remember that your daughter will inherit this whole kingdom when the king and I shall be dead."
When the young girl listened to the words of the queen she was greatly disturbed in her mind and blushed red for shame, and then said that on no account would she listen to the queen's proposition; but the poor mother besought her so pressingly that at last she yielded.
When the pig came home one day, all covered with dirt as usual, his mother said to him, "My son, we have found for you the wife you desire." And then she caused to be brought in the bride, who by this time had been robed in sumptuous regal attire, and presented her to the pig prince. When he saw how lovely and desirable she was he was filled with joy, and, all foul and dirty as he was, jumped round about her, endeavoring by his pawing and nuzzling to show some sign of his affection.
But she, when she found he was soiling her beautiful dress, thrust him aside; whereupon the pig said to her, "Why do you push me thus? Have I not had these garments made for you myself?"
Then she answered disdainfully, "No, neither you nor any other of the whole kingdom of hogs has done this thing."
And when the time for going to bed was come the young girl said to herself, "What am I to do with this foul beast? This very night, while he lies in his first sleep, I will kill him."
The pig prince, who was not far off, heard these words, but said nothing, and when the two retired to their chamber he got into the bed, stinking and dirty as he was, and defiled the sumptuous bed with his filthy paws and snout. He lay down by his spouse, who was not long in falling to sleep, and then he struck her with his sharp hoofs and drove them into her breast so that he killed her.
The next morning the queen went to visit her daughter-in-law, and to her great grief found that the pig had killed her; and when he came back from wandering about the city he said, in reply to the queen's bitter reproaches, that he had only wrought with his wife as she was minded to deal with him, and then withdrew in an ill humor.
Not many days had passed before the pig prince again began to beseech the queen to allow him to marry one of the other sisters, and because the queen at first would not listen to his petition he persisted in his purpose, and threatened to ruin everything in the place if he could not have her to wife. The queen, when she heard this, went to the king and told him everything, and he made answer that perhaps it would be wiser to kill their ill-fated offspring before he might work some fatal mischief in the city.
But the queen felt all the tenderness of a mother toward him, and loved him very dearly in spite of his brutal person, and could not endure the thought of being parted from him; so she summoned once more to the palace the poor woman, together with her second daughter, and held a long discourse with her, begging her the while to give her daughter in marriage.
At last the girl assented to take the pig prince for a husband; but her fate was no happier than her sister's, for the bridegroom killed her, as he had killed his other bride, and then fled headlong from the palace.
When he came back dirty as usual and smelling so foully that no one could approach him, the king and queen censured him gravely for the outrage he had wrought; but again he cried out boldly that if he had not killed her she would have killed him.
As it had happened before, the pig in a very short time began to importune his mother again to let him have to wife the youngest sister, who was much more beautiful than either of the others; and when this request of his was refused steadily, he became more insistent than ever, and in the end began to threaten the queen's life in violent and bloodthirsty words, unless he should have given to him the young girl for his wife.
The queen, when she heard this shameful and unnatural speech, was well-nigh broken hearted and like to go out of her mind; but, putting all other considerations aside, she called for the poor woman and her third daughter, who was named Meldina, and thus addressed her, "Meldina, my child, I should be greatly pleased if you would take the pig prince for a husband; pay no regard to him, but to his father and to me; then, if you will be prudent and bear patiently with him, you may be the happiest woman in the world."
To this speech Meldina answered, with a grateful smile upon her face, that she was quite content to do as the queen bade her, and thanked her humbly for deigning to choose her as a daughter-in-law; for, seeing that she herself had nothing in the world, it was indeed great good fortune that she, a poor girl, should become the daughter-in-law of a potent sovereign.
The queen, when she heard this modest and amiable reply, could not keep back her tears for the happiness she felt; but she feared all the time that the same fate might be in store for Meldina as her sisters.
When the new bride had been clothed in rich attire and decked with jewels, and was awaiting the bridegroom, the pig prince came in, filthier and more muddy than ever; but she spread out her rich gown and besought him to lie down by her side. Whereupon the queen bade her to thrust him away, but to this she would not consent, and spoke thus to the queen, "There are three wise sayings, gracious lady, which I remember to have heard. The first is that it is folly to waste time in searching for that which cannot be found. The second is that we should believe nothing we may hear, except those things which bear the marks of sense and reason. The third is that, when once you have got possession of some rare and precious treasure, prize it well and keep a firm hold upon it."
When the maiden had finished speaking, the pig prince, who had been wide awake and had heard all that she had said, got up, kissed her on the face and neck and bosom and shoulders with his tongue, and she was not backward in returning his caresses; so that he was fired with a warm love for her.
As soon as the time for retiring for the night had come, the bride went to bed and awaited her unseemly spouse, and, as soon as he came, she raised the coverlet and bade him lie near to her and put his head upon the pillow, covering him carefully with the bedclothes and drawing the curtains so that he might feel no cold.
When morning had come the pig got up and ranged abroad to pasture, as was his wont, and very soon after the queen went to the bride's chamber, expecting to find that she had met with the same fate as her sisters; but when she saw her lying in the bed, all defiled with mud as it was, and looking pleased and contented, she thanked God for this favor, that her son had at last found a spouse according to his liking.
One day, soon after this, when the pig prince was conversing pleasantly with his wife, he said to her, "Meldina, my beloved wife, if I could be fully sure that you could keep a secret, I would now tell you one of mine; something I have kept hidden for many years. I know you to be very prudent and wise, and that you love me truly; so I wish to make you the sharer of my secret."
"You may safely tell it to me, if you will," said Meldina, "for I promise never to reveal it to anyone without your consent."
Whereupon, being now sure of his wife's discretion and fidelity, her straightway shook off from his body the foul and dirty skin of the pig, and stood revealed as a handsome and well shaped young man, and all that night rested closely folded in the arms of his beloved wife.
But he charged her solemnly to keep silence about this wonder she had seen, for the time had not yet come for his complete delivery from this misery. So when he left the bed he donned the dirty pig's hid once more. I leave you to imagine for yourselves how great was the great joy of Meldina when she discovered that, instead of a pig, she had gained a handsome and gallant young prince for a husband.
Not long after this she proved to with child, and when the time her delivery came she gave birth to a fair and shapely boy. The joy of the king and queen was unbounded, especially when they found that the newborn child had the form of a human being and not that of a beast.
But the burden of the strange and weighty secret which her husband had confided to her pressed heavily upon Meldina, and one day she went to her mother-in-law and said, "Gracious queen, when first I married your son I believed I was married to a beast, but not I find that you have given me the comeliest, the worthiest, and the most gallant young man ever born into the world to be my husband. For know that when he comes into my chamber to lie by my side, he casts off his dirty hide and leaves it on the ground, and is changed into a graceful handsome youth. No one could believe this marvel save they saw it with their own eyes."
When the queen heard these words she deemed that her daughter-in-law must be jesting with her, but Meldina still persisted that what she said was true. And when the queen demanded to know how she might witness with her own eyes the truth of this thing, Meldina replied, "Come to my chamber tonight, when we shall be in our first sleep; the door will be open, and you will find that what I tell you is the truth."
That same night, when the looked-for time had come, and all were gone to rest, the queen let some torches be kindled and went, accompanied by the king, to the chamber of her son, and when she had entered she saw the pig's skin lying on the floor in the corner of the room, and having gone to the bedside, found therein a handsome young man in whose arms Meldina was lying. And when they saw this, the delight of the king and queen was very great, and the king gave order that before anyone should leave the chamber the pig's hide should be torn to shreds. So great was their joy over the recovery of their son that they well-nigh died thereof.
And King Galeotto, when he saw that he had so fine a son, and a grandchild likewise, laid aside his diadem and his royal robes, and advanced to his place his son, whom he let be crowned with the greatest pomp, and who was ever afterwards known as King Pig. Thus, to the great contentment of all the people, the young king began his reign, and he lived long and happily with Meldina his beloved wife.
Once upon a time there was a peasant who had money and land enough, but as rich as he was, there was still something missing from his happiness: He had no children with his wife. Often when he went to the city with the other peasants, they would mock him and ask him why he had no children. He finally became angry, and when he returned home, he said, "I will have a child, even if it is a hedgehog."
Then his wife had a baby, and the top half was a hedgehog and the bottom half a boy. When she saw the baby, she was horrified and said, "Now see what you have wished upon us!"
The man said, "It cannot be helped. The boy must be baptized, but we cannot ask anyone to be his godfather."
The woman said, "And the only name that we can give him is Hans-My-Hedgehog."
When he was baptized, the pastor said, "Because of his quills he cannot be given an ordinary bed." So they put a little straw behind the stove and laid him in it. And he could not drink from his mother, for he would have stuck her with his quills. He lay there behind the stove for eight years, and his father grew tired of him, and thought, "if only he would die." But he did not die, but just lay there.
Now it happened that there was a fair in the city, and the peasant wanted to go. He asked his wife what he should bring her.
"A little meat, some bread rolls, and things for the household," she said. Then he asked the servant girl, and she wanted a pair of slippers and some fancy stockings.
Finally, he also said, "Hans-My-Hedgehog, what would you like?"
"Father," he said, "bring me some bagpipes."
When the peasant returned home he gave his wife what he had brought for her, meat and bread rolls. Then he gave the servant girl the slippers and fancy stockings. And finally he went behind the stove and gave Hans-My-Hedgehog the bagpipes.
When Hans-My-Hedgehog had them, he said, "Father, go to the blacksmith's and have my cock-rooster shod, then I will ride away and never again come back." The father was happy to get rid of him, so he had his rooster shod, and when it was done, Hans-My-Hedgehog climbed on it and rode away. He took pigs and donkeys with him, to tend in the forest.
In the forest the rooster flew into a tall tree with him. There he sat and watched over the donkeys and the pigs. He sat there for years, until finally the herd had grown large. His father knew nothing about him. While sitting in the tree, he played his bagpipes and made beautiful music.
One day a king came by. He was lost and heard the music. He was amazed to hear it, and sent a servant to look around and see where it was coming from. He looked here and there but only saw a little animal sitting high in a tree. It looked like a rooster up there with a hedgehog sitting on it making the music.
The king said to the servant that he should ask him why he was sitting there, and if he knew the way back to his kingdom. Then Hans-My-Hedgehog climbed down from the tree and told him that he would show him the way if the king would promise in writing to give him the first thing that greeted him at the royal court upon his arrival home.
The king thought, "I can do that easily enough. Hans-My-Hedgehog cannot understand writing, and I can put down what I want to."
Then the king took pen and ink and wrote something, and after he had done so, Hans-My-Hedgehog showed him the way, and he arrived safely at home. His daughter saw him coming from afar, and was so overjoyed that she ran to meet him and kissed him. He thought about Hans-My-Hedgehog and told her what had happened, that he was supposed to have promised the first thing that greeted him to a strange animal that rode a rooster and made beautiful music. But instead he had written that this would not happen, for Hans-My-Hedgehog could not read. The princess was happy about this, and said that it was a good thing, for she would not have gone with him in any event.
Hans-My-Hedgehog tended the donkeys and pigs, was of good cheer, and sat in the tree blowing on his bagpipes.
Now it happened that another king came this way with his servants and messengers. He too got lost and did not know the way back home because the forest was so large. He too heard the beautiful music from afar, and asked one of his messengers to go and see what it was and where it was coming from. The messenger ran to the tree where he saw Hans-My-Hedgehog astride the cock-rooster. The messenger asked him what he was doing up there.
"I am tending my donkeys and pigs. What is it that you want?" replied Hans-My-Hedgehog.
The messenger said that they were lost and could not find their way back to their kingdom, and asked him if he could not show them the way.
Then Hans-My-Hedgehog climbed down from the tree with his rooster and told the old king that he would show him the way if he would give him the thing that he first met at home before the royal castle.
The king said yes and signed a promise to Hans-My-Hedgehog.
When that was done, Hans-My-Hedgehog rode ahead on his rooster showing them the way, and the king safely reached his kingdom. When the king arrived at his court there was great joy. Now he had an only daughter who was very beautiful. She ran out to him, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, and was ever so happy that her old father had returned.
She asked him where he had been during his long absence, and he told her how he had lost his way and almost not made it home again, but that as he was making his way through a great forest he had come upon a half hedgehog, half human astride a rooster sitting in a tall tree and making beautiful music who had shown him the way, but whom he had promised whatever first met him at the royal court, and it was she herself, and he was terribly sorry.
But she promised that she would go with him when he came, for the love of her old father.
Hans-My-Hedgehog tended his pigs, and the pigs had more pigs, until there were so many that the whole forest was full. Then Hans-My-Hedgehog let his father know that they should empty out all the stalls in the village, because he was coming with such a large herd of pigs that everyone who wanted to would be able to take part in the slaughter.
It saddened the father to hear this, for he thought that Hans-My-Hedgehog had long since died. But Hans-My-Hedgehog mounted his cock-rooster, drove the pigs ahead of himself into the village, and had them butchered. What a slaughter! What a commotion! They could hear the noise two hours away!
Afterward Hans-My-Hedgehog said, "Father, have my cock-rooster shod a second time at the blacksmith's. Then I will ride away and not come back again as long as I live." So the father had the cock-rooster shod, and was happy that Hans-My-Hedgehog was not coming back.
Hans-My-Hedgehog rode into the first kingdom. The king had ordered that if anyone should approach who was carrying bagpipes and riding on a rooster, that he should be shot at, struck down, and stabbed, to prevent him from entering the castle. Thus when Hans-My-Hedgehog rode up, they attacked him with bayonets, but he spurred his rooster on, flew over the gate and up to the king's window. Landing there, he shouted to him, to give him what he had promised, or it would cost him and his daughter their lives.
Then the king told the princess to go out to him, in order to save his life and her own as well. She put on a white dress, and her father gave her a carriage with six horses, magnificent servants, money, and property. She climbed aboard and Hans-My-Hedgehog took his place beside her with his rooster and bagpipes. They said farewell and drove off.
The king thought that he would never see them again. However, it did not go as he thought it would, for when they had traveled a short distance from the city, Hans-My-Hedgehog pulled off her beautiful clothes and stuck her with his quills until she was bloody all over. "This is the reward for your deceit. Go away. I do not want you." With that he sent her back home, and she was cursed as long as she lived.
Hans-My-Hedgehog, astride his cock-rooster and carrying his bagpipes, rode on to the second kingdom where he had also helped the king find his way. This one, in contrast, had ordered that if anyone looking like Hans-My-Hedgehog should arrive, he should be saluted and brought to the royal castle with honors and with a military escort.
When the princess saw him she was horrified, because he looked so strange, but she thought that nothing could be done about it, because she had promised her father to go with him. She welcomed Hans-My-Hedgehog, and they were married. Then he was taken to the royal table, and she sat next to him while they ate and drank.
That evening when it was time to go to bed, she was afraid of his quills, but he told her to have no fear, for he would not hurt her. He told the old king to have four men keep watch by their bedroom door. They should make a large fire. He said that he would take off his hedgehog skin after going into the bedroom, and before getting into bed. The men should immediately pick it up and throw it into the fire, and then stay there until it was completely consumed by the fire.
When the clock struck eleven, he went into the bedroom, took off the hedgehog skin, and laid it down by the bed. The men rushed in, grabbed it, and threw it into the fire, and as soon as the fire consumed it, he was redeemed, and he lay there in bed entirely in the shape of a human. But he was as black as coal, as though he had been charred. The king sent for his physician, who washed him with good salves and balms. Then he became white and was a handsome young gentleman.
When the princess saw what had happened, she was overjoyed, and they got up and ate and drank. Now their wedding was celebrated for real, and Hans-My-Hedgehog inherited the old king's kingdom.
Some years later he traveled with his wife to his father, and said that he was his son. But the father said that he did not have a son. He had had one, but he had been born with quills like a hedgehog and had gone off into the world. Then he said that he was the one, and the old father rejoiced and returned with him to his kingdom.
|
My tale is done, |
Once upon a time there was a king. His wife bore him only one son, and he had not much pleasure with him, for a wicked witch had transformed him into a wild pig. The king and queen were very sad about this, but because things that have happened cannot be changed, they finally came to terms with the situation. They allowed the wild pig to run about the courtyard and the palace garden, where he behaved himself very well and did no one any harm.
Not far from the king's castle there was another castle where a rich lord lived who had three daughters, each one more beautiful than the others. One day the wild pig ran off further than usual and saw the oldest daughter as she was picking flowers in a field. She pleased him so much that he fell head over heels in love with her, and with all his might he wanted to marry her.
The king tried to convince him, that this would not be possible, but to no avail. The wild pig would hear none of this, saying further that if she would not become his wife then he would die of grief. So the king sent someone to the lord of the castle and informed him how things stood. At first the lord was not very pleased with the proposal, but after considering that the prince would otherwise die, he gave his consent. However, the daughter did not approve and said -- to the contrary -- that she would rather do God-knows-what than to have a disgusting pig for a husband. But that did not help her, and over her objections, the king forced her to accept, and the wedding was celebrated with the greatest pomp in the world.
When it got late, and everyone was going to bed, the bride too lay herself down to sleep. The wild pig wanted to lie next to her, but when he jumped into bed, he unfortunately struck her on the neck with his heavy feet, and -- she was dead. No pen can describe how sad were the wild pig and the king and the parents of the bride.
One year later the wild pig ran astray once again and found the rich lord's second daughter in the field. She pleased him so much that he wanted to marry her, whatever it might cost. The king made many excuses, but it was like throwing oil into the fire, and in the end there was nothing left to do but to talk with the lord about it. He did not want to hear anything about it, and he opposed the marriage with all his power, saying that he had not raised his daughters for pigs and the like.
The king reported this to his son, who insisted even more fervently than before. Thus the king had to force the parents to marry off their daughter. With tears and crying the bride was taken from her castle and dragged to the wedding. It was a sad affair, as though each of the guests could foresee that the second bride would fare no better than had the first one. And that is exactly what happened, because when the bridegroom wanted to jump into bed, he hit her on the neck with his plump feet, and -- she was dead.
The sorrow cannot be described that ruled in the king's castle as well as in the other castle. The wild pig was beside himself because of what had happened, and he struck his head against the walls as if he were tired of living. The bride's parents could not be consoled. Of three daughters, they now had only one, who was still a tender young girl, and they were afraid of losing her as they had the others. Thus they wanted to pack their belongings and move to a foreign country. When the king heard this, he became even sadder than before, and even angrier with his son. He asked the rich lord to remain in his castle and promised him that he would drive away the wild pig immediately.
And he kept this promise. The poor prince was driven out of the castle without pity or compassion, and he ran into a nearby forest.
The rich lord's third daughter was a beautiful girl, and because she was as good as an angel, her parents no longer thought about the terrible way they had lost their other daughters.
One day everyone left castle to go walking in the woods. The girl liked the beautiful wildflowers so much that she could not pick enough of them, and the birds sang so beautifully that she could not hear them enough. She picked and picked, and listened and listened. Thus she fell further behind the others until she was finally all by herself. While she sat there picking flowers, a wild pig suddenly ran up to her, took her on his back, and ran away with her.
Her father and mother called and called, and the other people looked everywhere, but the girl could not be found, and that evening they had to return to the castle without the poor girl.
The wild pig did not eat her up, but instead carried her a long way off to a deep cave, where no person would dare to enter. He set the girl down quietly and gently and made a bed for her from soft moss. He ran back into the woods and returned with flowers and strawberries. In short, he did everything he could to please the girl, as far as he could tell from her eyes.
Now I don't have to tell you that the wild pig was none other than the enchanted prince. The girl felt more and more at ease, and finally she began to stroke the wild pig's coarse bristly head with her hands. He licked her hands and was so happy that tears ran from his eyes.
"Why are you crying?" asked the girl.
"Why should I not cry?" said the wild pig. "You could redeem me, but I know that you will not do so."
This saddened the girl, and she herself began to cry, saying, "Oh yes, I want to redeem you, wild pig, just tell me what I have to do."
The pig answered, "And what if I tell you, and you still don't do it? But I will tell you: You must take me as your husband, and marry me, and be my wife."
With that the girl laughed and jumped up and said, "If that is all I have to do, then I will redeem you."
When the wild pig heard this he jumped up three times with joy. Then he ran off and brought back enough soft green moss to make a bed in which they could comfortably sleep together.
That night the girl had an unusual dream. She thought that someone told her to get up early the next morning and take the large pelt that she would find next to the bed. Then she should leave the cave, close it off with a stone, and on this stone burn the pelt to ashes. This seemed very strange to her.
At the day's first dawning she looked out of the bed and did indeed see a large pelt, like one from a wild pig, lying there. The girl took courage, went to the cave's entrance, and with all the power she could muster rolled a heavy stone that lay nearby to the entrance. Then she made a large fire, and as soon as it was burning well, she threw the pelt into it. It had scarcely begun to burn when a pitiful crying and moaning sounded from within the cave. The girl would have liked to open the cave, but the stone had become too hot, and she would have burned her hands terribly on it. After the fire was out and the stone had cooled off a little, she shoved the stone aside, as best she could. The most handsome prince that one can imagine stood before her. He threw his arms around her neck and cried, "Now do you see that you have redeemed me? You are mine and I am yours, and if your two sisters had been as willing as you, then they would not be dead!"
The prince left the cave with the girl and went to the king's castle and explained everything to him and to the queen. The girl's parents were summoned from the other castle, and he explained everything to them. Three days later they held the wedding with great pomp and ceremony, and one has never seen a more handsome bridegroom than the prince or a more beautiful bride than the girl.
Not long afterward the old king died. The prince came to the throne, and the girl became his queen, and if they have not stood up from throne, then they are still seated upon it.
Once upon a time there lived a king who had three daughters. Now it happened that he had to go out to battle, so he called his daughters and said to them, "My dear children, I am obliged to go to the wars. The enemy is approaching us with a large army. It is a great grief to me to leave you all. During my absence take care of yourselves and be good girls; behave well and look after everything in the house. You may walk in the garden, and you may go into all the rooms in the palace, except the room at the back in the right-hand corner; into that you must not enter, for harm would befall you."
"You may keep your mind easy, father," they replied. "We have never been disobedient to you. Go in peace, and may heaven give you a glorious victory!"
When everything was ready for his departure, the king gave them the keys of all the rooms and reminded them once more of what he had said. His daughters kissed his hands with tears in their eyes, and wished him prosperity, and he gave the eldest the keys.
Now when the girls found themselves alone they felt so sad and dull that they did not know what to do. So, to pass the time, they decided to work for part of the day, to read for part of the day, and to enjoy themselves in the garden for part of the day. As long as they did this all went well with them. But this happy state of things did not last long. Every day they grew more and more curious, and you will see what the end of that was.
"Sisters," said the eldest princess, "all day long we sew, spin, and read. We have been several days quite alone, and there is no corner of the garden that we have not explored. We have been in all the rooms of our father's palace, and have admired the rich and beautiful furniture; why should not we go into the room that our father forbad us to enter?"
"Sister," said the youngest, "I cannot think how you can tempt us to break our father's command. When he told us not to go into that room he must have known what he was saying, and have had a good reason for saying it."
"Surely the sky won't fall about our heads if we do go in," said the second princess. "Dragons and such like monsters that would devour us will not be hidden in the room. And how will our father ever find out that we have gone in?"
While they were speaking thus, encouraging each other, they had reached the room; the eldest fitted the key into the lock, and snap! the door stood open.
The three girls entered, and what do you think they saw?
The room was quite empty, and without any ornament, but in the middle stood a large table, with a gorgeous cloth, and on it lay a big open book.
Now the princesses were curious to know what was written in the book, especially the eldest, and this is what she read, "The eldest daughter of this king will marry a prince from the East."
Then the second girl stepped forward, and turning over the page she read, "The second daughter of this king will marry a prince from the West."
The girls were delighted, and laughed and teased each other.
But the youngest princess did not want to go near the table or to open the book. Her elder sisters however left her no peace, and will she, nill she, they dragged her up to the table, and in fear and trembling she turned over the page and read, "The youngest daughter of this king will be married to a pig from the North."
Now if a thunderbolt had fallen upon her from heaven it would not have frightened her more.
She almost died of misery, and if her sisters had not held her up, she would have sunk to the ground and cut her head open.
When she came out of the fainting fit into which she had fallen in her terror, her sisters tried to comfort her, saying, "How can you believe such nonsense? When did it ever happen that a king's daughter married a pig?"
"What a baby you are!" said the other sister; "has not our father enough soldiers to protect you, even if the disgusting creature did come to woo you?"
The youngest princess would fain have let herself be convinced by her sisters' words, and have believed what they said, but her heart was heavy. Her thoughts kept turning to the book, in which stood written that great happiness waited her sisters, but that a fate was in store for her such as had never before been known in the world.
Besides, the thought weighed on her heart that she had been guilty of disobeying her father. She began to get quite ill, and in a few days she was so changed that it was difficult to recognize her; formerly she had been rosy and merry, now she was pale and nothing gave her any pleasure. She gave up playing with her sisters in the garden, ceased to gather flowers to put in her hair, and never sang when they sat together at their spinning and sewing.
In the meantime the king won a great victory, and having completely defeated and driven off the enemy, he hurried home to his daughters, to whom his thoughts had constantly turned. Everyone went out to meet him with cymbals and fifes and drums, and there was great rejoicing over his victorious return. The king's first act on reaching home was to thank Heaven for the victory he had gained over the enemies who had risen against him. He then entered his palace, and the three princesses stepped forward to meet him. His joy was great when he saw that they were all well, for the youngest did her best not to appear sad.
In spite of this, however, it was not long before the king noticed that his third daughter was getting very thin and sad looking. And all of a sudden he felt as if a hot iron were entering his soul, for it flashed through his mind that she had disobeyed his word. He felt sure he was right; but to be quite certain he called his daughters to him, questioned them, and ordered them to speak the truth. They confessed everything, but took good care not to say which had led the other two into temptation.
The king was so distressed when he heard it that he was almost overcome by grief. But he took heart and tried to comfort his daughters, who looked frightened to death. He saw that what had happened had happened, and that a thousand words would not alter matters by a hair's breadth.
Well, these events had almost been forgotten when one fine day a prince from the East appeared at the court and asked the king for the hand of his eldest daughter. The king gladly gave his consent. A great wedding banquet was prepared, and after three days of feasting the happy pair were accompanied to the frontier with much ceremony and rejoicing.
After some time the same thing befell the second daughter, who was wooed and won by a prince from the West.
Now when the young princess saw that everything fell out exactly as had been written in the book, she grew very sad. She refused to eat, and would not put on her fine clothes nor go out walking, and declared that she would rather die than become a laughing-stock to the world. But the king would not allow her to do anything so wrong, and he comforted her in all possible ways.
So the time passed, till lo and behold! one fine day an enormous pig from the North walked into the palace, and going straight up to the king said, "Hail! oh king. May your life be as prosperous and bright as sunrise on a clear day!"
"I am glad to see you well, friend," answered the king, "but what wind has brought you hither?"
"I come a wooing," replied the pig.
Now the king was astonished to hear so fine a speech from a pig, and at once it occurred to him that something strange was the matter. He would gladly have turned the pig's thoughts in another direction, as he did not wish to give him the princess for a wife; but when he heard that the court and the whole street were full of all the pigs in the world he saw that there was no escape, and that he must give his consent. The pig was not satisfied with mere promises, but insisted that the wedding should take place within a week, and would not go away till the king had sworn a royal oath upon it.
The king then sent for his daughter, and advised her to submit to fate, as there was nothing else to be done. And he added, "My child, the words and whole behavior of this pig are quite unlike those of other pigs. I do not myself believe that he always was a pig. Depend upon it some magic or witchcraft has been at work. Obey him, and do everything that he wishes, and I feel sure that Heaven will shortly send you release."
"If you wish me to do this, dear father, I will do it," replied the girl.
In the meantime the wedding day drew near. After the marriage, the pig and his bride set out for his home in one of the royal carriages. On the way they passed a great bog, and the pig ordered the carriage to stop, and got out and rolled about in the mire till he was covered with mud from head to foot; then he got back into the carriage and told his wife to kiss him. What was the poor girl to do? She bethought herself of her father's words, and, pulling out her pocket handkerchief, she gently wiped the pig's snout and kissed it.
By the time they reached the pig's dwelling, which stood in a thick wood, it was quite dark. They sat down quietly for a little, as they were tired after their drive; then they had supper together, and lay down to rest. During the night the princess noticed that the pig had changed into a man. She was not a little surprised, but remembering her father's words, she took courage, determined to wait and see what would happen.
And now she noticed that every night the pig became a man, and every morning he was changed into a pig before she awoke. This happened several nights running, and the princess could not understand it at all. Clearly her husband must be bewitched. In time she grew quite fond of him, he was so kind and gentle.
One fine day as she was sitting alone she saw an old witch go past. She felt quite excited, as it was so long since she had seen a human being, and she called out to the old woman to come and talk to her. Among other things the witch told her that she understood all magic arts, and that she could foretell the future, and knew the healing powers of herbs and plants.
"I shall be grateful to you all my life, old dame," said the princess, "if you will tell me what is the matter with my husband. Why is he a pig by day and a human being by night?"
"I was just going to tell you that one thing, my dear, to show you what a good fortuneteller I am. If you like, I will give you a herb to break the spell."
"If you will only give it to me," said the princess, "I will give you anything you choose to ask for, for I cannot bear to see him in this state."
"Here, then, my dear child," said the witch, "take this thread, but do not let him know about it, for if he did it would lose its healing power. At night, when he is asleep, you must get up very quietly, and fasten the thread round his left foot as firmly as possible; and you will see in the morning he will not have changed back into a pig, but will still be a man. I do not want any reward. I shall be sufficiently repaid by knowing that you are happy. It almost breaks my heart to think of all you have suffered, and I only wish I had known it sooner, as I should have come to your rescue at once."
When the old witch had gone away the princess hid the thread very carefully, and at night she got up quietly, and with a beating heart she bound the thread round her husband's foot. Just as she was pulling the knot tight there was a crack, and the thread broke, for it was rotten.
Her husband awoke with a start, and said to her, "Unhappy woman, what have you done? Three days more and this unholy spell would have fallen from me, and now, who knows how long I may have to go about in this disgusting shape? I must leave you at once, and we shall not meet again until you have worn out three pairs of iron shoes and blunted a steel staff in your search for me." So saying he disappeared.
Now, when the princess was left alone she began to weep and moan in a way that was pitiful to hear; but when she saw that her tears and groans did her no good, she got up, determined to go wherever fate should lead her.
On reaching a town, the first thing she did was to order three pairs of iron sandals and a steel staff, and having made these preparations for her journey, she set out in search of her husband. On and on she wandered over nine seas and across nine continents; through forests with trees whose stems were as thick as beer barrels; stumbling and knocking herself against the fallen branches, then picking herself up and going on; the boughs of the trees hit her face, and the shrubs tore her hands, but on she went, and never looked back. At last, wearied with her long journey and worn out and overcome with sorrow, but still with hope at her heart, she reached a house.
Now who do you think lived there? The moon.
The princess knocked at the door, and begged to be let in that she might rest a little. The mother of the moon, when she saw her sad plight, felt a great pity for her, and took her in and nursed and tended her. And while she was here the princess had a little baby.
One day the mother of the moon asked her, "How was it possible for you, a mortal, to get hither to the house of the moon?"
Then the poor princess told her all that happened to her, and added "I shall always be thankful to Heaven for leading me hither, and grateful to you that you took pity on me and on my baby, and did not leave us to die. Now I beg one last favor of you; can your daughter, the moon, tell me where my husband is?"
"She cannot tell you that, my child," replied the goddess, "but, if you will travel towards the East until you reach the dwelling of the sun, he may be able to tell you something."
Then she gave the princess a roast chicken to eat, and warned her to be very careful not to lose any of the bones, because they might be of great use to her.
When the princess had thanked her once more for her hospitality and for her good advice, and had thrown away one pair of shoes that were worn out, and had put on a second pair, she tied up the chicken bones in a bundle, and taking her baby in her arms and her staff in her hand, she set out once more on her wanderings.
On and on and on she went across bare sandy deserts, where the roads were so heavy that for every two steps that she took forwards she fell back one; but she struggled on till she had passed these dreary plains; next she crossed high rocky mountains, jumping from crag to crag and from peak to peak. Sometimes she would rest for a little on a mountain, and then start afresh always farther and farther on. She had to cross swamps and to scale mountain peaks covered with flints, so that her feet and knees and elbows were all torn and bleeding, and sometimes she came to a precipice across which she could not jump, and she had to crawl round on hands and knees, helping herself along with her staff.
At length, wearied to death, she reached the palace in which the sun lived. She knocked and begged for admission. The mother of the sun opened the door, and was astonished at beholding a mortal from the distant earthly shores, and wept with pity when she heard of all she had suffered. Then, having promised to ask her son about the princess's husband, she hid her in the cellar, so that the sun might notice nothing on his return home, for he was always in a bad temper when he came in at night.
The next day the princess feared that things would not go well with her, for the sun had noticed that some one from the other world had been in the palace. But his mother had soothed him with soft words, assuring him that this was not so. So the princess took heart when she saw how kindly she was treated, and asked, "But how in the world is it possible for the sun to be angry? He is so beautiful and so good to mortals."
"This is how it happens," replied the sun's mother. "In the morning when he stands at the gates of paradise he is happy, and smiles on the whole world, but during the day he gets cross, because he sees all the evil deeds of men, and that is why his heat becomes so scorching; but in the evening he is both sad and angry, for he stands at the gates of death; that is his usual course. From there he comes back here."
She then told the princess that she had asked about her husband, but that her son had replied that he knew nothing about him, and that her only hope was to go and inquire of the wind.
Before the princess left the mother of the sun gave her a roast chicken to eat, and advised her to take great care of the bones, which she did, wrapping them up in a bundle. She then threw away her second pair of shoes, which were quite worn out, and with her child on her arm and her staff in her hand, she set forth on her way to the wind.
In these wanderings she met with even greater difficulties than before, for she came upon one mountain of flints after another, out of which tongues of fire would flame up; she passed through woods which had never been trodden by human foot, and had to cross fields of ice and avalanches of snow. The poor woman nearly died of these hardships, but she kept a brave heart, and at length she reached an enormous cave in the side of a mountain. This was where the wind lived. There was a little door in the railing in front of the cave, and here the princess knocked and begged for admission. The mother of the wind had pity on her and took her in, that she might rest a little. Here too she was hidden away, so that the wind might not notice her.
The next morning the mother of the wind told her that her husband was living in a thick wood, so thick that no axe had been able to cut a way through it; here he had built himself a sort of house by placing trunks of trees together and fastening them with withes and here he lived alone, shunning human kind.
After the mother of the wind had given the princess a chicken to eat, and had warned her to take care of the bones, she advised her to go by the Milky Way, which at night lies across the sky, and to wander on till she reached her goal.
Having thanked the old woman with tears in her eyes for her hospitality, and for the good news she had given her, the princess set out on her journey and rested neither night nor day, so great was her longing to see her husband again. On and on she walked until her last pair of shoes fell in pieces. So she threw them away and went on with bare feet, not heeding the bogs nor the thorns that wounded her, nor the stones that bruised her. At last she reached a beautiful green meadow on the edge of a wood. Her heart was cheered by the sight of the flowers and the soft cool grass, and she sat down and rested for a little. But hearing the birds chirping to their mates among the trees made her think with longing of her husband, and she wept bitterly, and taking her child in her arms, and her bundle of chicken bones on her shoulder, she entered the wood.
For three days and three nights she struggled through it, but could find nothing. She was quite worn out with weariness and hunger, and even her staff was no further help to her, for in her many wanderings it had become quite blunted. She almost gave up in despair, but made one last great effort, and suddenly in a thicket she came upon the sort of house that the mother of the wind had described. It had no windows, and the door was up in the roof. Round the house she went, in search of steps, but could find none. What was she to do? How was she to get in? She thought and thought, and tried in vain to climb up to the door. Then suddenly she bethought her of the chicken bones that she had dragged all that weary way, and she said to herself, "They would not all have told me to take such good care of these bones if they had not had some good reason for doing so. Perhaps now, in my hour of need, they may be of use to me."
So she took the bones out of her bundle, and having thought for a moment, she placed the two ends together. To her surprise they stuck tight; then she added the other bones, till she had two long poles the height of the house; these she placed against the wall, at a distance of a yard from one another. Across them she placed the other bones, piece by piece, like the steps of a ladder. As soon as one step was finished she stood upon it and made the next one, and then the next, till she was close to the door. But just as she got near the top she noticed that there were no bones left for the last rung of the ladder. What was she to do? Without that last step the whole ladder was useless. She must have lost one of the bones. Then suddenly an idea came to her. Taking a knife she chopped off her little finger, and placing it on the last step, it stuck as the bones had done. The ladder was complete, and with her child on her arm she entered the door of the house. Here she found everything in perfect order. Having taken some food, she laid the child down to sleep in a trough that was on the floor, and sat down herself to rest.
When her husband, the pig, came back to his house, he was startled by what he saw. At first he could not believe his eyes, and stared at the ladder of bones, and at the little finger on the top of it. He felt that some fresh magic must be at work, and in his terror he almost turned away from the house; but then a better idea came to him, and he changed himself into a dove, so that no witchcraft could have power over him, and flew into the room without touching the ladder. Here he found a woman rocking a child. At the sight of her, looking so changed by all that she had suffered for his sake, his heart was moved by such love and longing and by so great a pity that he suddenly became a man.
The princess stood up when she saw him. and her heart beat with fear, for she did not know him. But when he had told her who he was, in her great joy she forgot all her sufferings, and they seemed as nothing to her. He was a very handsome man, as straight as a fir tree. They sat down together and she told him all her adventures, and he wept with pity at the tale. And then he told her his own history.
"I am a king's son. Once when my father was fighting against some dragons, who were the scourge of our country, I slew the youngest dragon. His mother, who was a witch, cast a spell over me and changed me into a pig. It was she who in the disguise of an old woman gave you the thread to bind round my foot. So that instead of the three days that had to run before the spell was broken, I was forced to remain a pig for three more years. Now that we have suffered for each other, and have found each other again, let us forget the past."
And in their joy they kissed one another.
Next morning they set out early to return to his father's kingdom. Great was the rejoicing of all the people when they saw him and his wife; his father and his mother embraced them both, and there was feasting in the palace for three days and three nights.
Then they set out to see her father. The old king nearly went out of his mind with joy at beholding his daughter again. When she had told him all her adventures, he said to her, "Did not I tell you that I was quite sure that that creature who wooed and won you as his wife had not been born a pig? You see, my child, how wise you were in doing what I told you."
And as the king was old and had no heirs, he put them on the throne in his place. And they ruled as only kings rule who have suffered many things. And if they are not dead they are still living and ruling happily.
Once upon a time there was an old man who had an old wife; the old man was 100 and his wife 90. Both these old people had snow-white hair, and both were as gloomy as a rainy day and all because they had no children. They kept on wishing they had even one child, for all day and night they were as lonely as lonely, and their ears tingled with boredom. And as well as all that, they were as poor as church mice. Their cottage was an old ramshackle place, covered with ragged tarpaulin. Their beds were some boards covered with a blanket. And that was all. For some time past, life had become even more unbearable, for not a living soul ever came near them, as if they were ill of the plague, poor things!
One day, the old woman gave a loud sigh and said to the old man, "Dear me, old man, dear me! Just think! In all our life no one has ever said to us, 'father' or 'mother.' There's no sense in going on living in this world, for I believe God will not bless a house where there are no children."
"Well, old woman, what are we to do if it is God's will?"
"That's all very well, old man, but do you know what I was thinking last night?"
"I will know, if you'll tell me, old woman."
"Tomorrow morning, as soon as it is daylight, get up and go out; just follow your nose; and the very first thing which crosses your path -- whether it is a person, or a snake or an animal at all -- you must pick it up, put it in your knapsack, and bring it home. We will bring it up as best we can, and that will be our child."
The old man, sick of loneliness and longing for children, got up early next morning, took his sack and his stick and did as the old woman told him. He set out and followed some ravines until he came to a swamp. And what should he see there but a sow and twelve little pigs wallowing in the mud and basking in the sun. As soon as the sow saw the old man, she began to grunt and took to her heels, followed by the little pigs -- all except one who stuck in the mud -- being scraggy, skinny, and sickly, and unable to follow the others.
The old man seized it, thrust it in his bag, mud and all, and set off home.
"Thank goodness," he said, "that I have found something to console my old woman! I am just wondering whether it was God or the Devil who put that thought in her head last night."
And on arriving home he said, "Look, my old dear, what a treasure I brought you! Good luck to him! A boy with beautiful eyes and long lashes and as pretty as a picture! He's the very image of you!... Now, get him bathed and take care of him as only you know how to take care of little boys, for, as you see, he's rather dirty, poor little mite!"
"Old man, old man!" said the old woman, "you mustn't joke about him; for isn't he one of God's creatures, just like ourselves, and perhaps even more innocent, poor thing!"
Then, sprightly as a child, she got some soap and water and prepared to bath him, and because she knew all about newborn pigs, she bathed him, rubbed him gently all over with oil, twigged his nose and cast a spell on him, so as to frighten away the evil eye from her treasure! Then she combed him and looked after him so well, that, at the end of a few days, he became quite strong; and with bran and peelings, he began to recover and to grow so that it was a joy to look at him. And the old woman was beside herself with the joy of having such a fine boy, so comical, and podgy, and round as a melon. For everyone who said he was ugly or cheeky, she always had the answer -- that her boy was quite different form all others! Only one thing still troubled the old woman: that he couldn't say "mother" and "father."
One day the old man wanted to go to town to buy a few odds and ends.
"Old man, don't forget to bring some delicacy for the boy, for he must be longing for something, the darling!"
"Very well, old woman." But to himself, he thought, "Deuce take him, for I've had enough of your nagging about him. We haven't enough bread and salt for ourselves, let along stuff him up with good things. If I did everything my old woman tells me, I should go mad!"
At last the old man went to the town, bought what he had to buy and when he came home, the old woman asked him, as she always did, "Well, old man, what did you hear in the town?"
"What did I hear, old woman? Not very good news: The emperor wants to get his daughter married."
"And you call that bad news, old man?"
"Now, be patient for a little, my dear, for that isn't all, and when I heard the rest, my hair stood on end. When I tell you the whole story, I believe your flesh will creep."
"But why, old man? Dear me!"
"Then this is why, old woman. Now listen: The emperor has sent his heralds through the whole world to proclaim that the man who can build a golden bridge from his own house to the royal palace -- a bridge paved with precious stones and planted on both sides with all kinds of trees with different kinds of birds singing in the branches, which are not to be found anywhere else in the world -- may have the hand of his daughter, and even more -- half of his kingdom. Whoever dares to come and ask for the hand of the princess, without having succeeded in making the bridge as I described it to you, will have his head cut off on the spot. Till now, a crowd of kings' and emperors' sons -- dear know where they all come from! -- have arrived and not one has succeeded. And every single one has been mercilessly beheaded by the emperor without any exception, till the people are weeping for pity. Now, old woman, what have you to say? Is that good news? And what is more, the emperor has fallen ill with worry."
"Woe, woe, old man, the emperor's ill health is our health! What you have told me about the emperors' sons breaks my heart when I think of the sorrow and sadness of the bereaved mothers! What a good thing our child can't speak, and that he won't be tempted by such extravagance."
"A good thing, old woman, but what a good thing it would be to have a boy who could build a bridge and win the emperor's daughter, for I know it would be the end of all our wants, and what a blessing that would be!"
While the old couple were talking, the pig sat in his bed in a corner by the fire, his snout in the air, his eyes fixed on them, listening to everything they said and only puffing from time to time.
And as the old people chatted together, they suddenly heard a voice from the fireplace: "Father and mother, I will do it."
The old woman fainted with joy; the old man, however, thinking it was the Devil, took fright and, in great bewilderment stared into every corner of the hut to see where the voice could have come from, but seeing no one, came to his senses.
But the young pig cried again, "Father, don't be afraid! It is I! Wake mother up and go and tell the emperor that I will build the bridge."
Then the old man said hesitatingly, "But, will you be able to do it, my darling?"
"Don't worry about that father, as long as you are with me. Just go and tell the emperor the news!"
Then the old woman, recovering, kissed the boy and said to him, "Mother's darling, don't run your head into danger. And you are going to leave us alone again, sad at heart and without any support!"
"Don't worry at all, mummy, for you will see who I am."
Then the old man, finding nothing else to say, combed his beard nicely, took his stick, left the house, and set out for the emperor's palace.
A sentry, seeing him hanging about, asked, "What do you want, old man?"
"I have to see the emperor about something. My son bets he can make the bridge."
The sentry, knowing the command of the emperor, wasted no time in further talk, but led the old man into the presence of the emperor.
On seeing the old man, the emperor asked, "What do you want, old man?"
"May you live long, illustrious and all-powerful emperor! My son, on hearing that you have a daughter to be married, has sent me, on his behalf, to inform your majesty that he can build the bridge."
"If he can build it, let him do so, old man; then my daughter and half my kingdom will be his. But if he does not succeed, then ... perhaps he has heard what has happened to others, more highly bred than he? If you undertake this, then go and bring your son to me. If not, then begone and get rid of any foolish nonsense in your head."
The old man, on hearing these words right from the emperor's lips, bowed down to the ground, then left and set off towards his hut to bring his son. When he arrived home, he told his son what the emperor had said.
Then the pig, bursting with happiness, began to skip about the cottage, dived under the bed, upset several pieces of crockery with his snout and said, "Come on, daddy, let us go to the emperor."
Then the old woman began to weep and said, "It seems I am not to have any luck in this world! Till now I have struggled to bring him up and provide him with all his needs and now ... it seems as if I am to be deprived of him!" And still weeping, she fell into a swoon with worry.
But the old man kept his word; put on his fur hat, pushed it down over his ears, and took his stick in his hand, and went out, saying, "Come on with your father, boy, let us go and buy your mother a daughter-in-law."
Then the pig, out of sheer joy, took one more dive under the bed, then followed the old man, and until they arrived, he trotted behind grunting and snuffing on the ground, as a pig should do. They had hardly arrived at the gates of the imperial palace, when the guards, catching sight of them, began to look at each other and burst out laughing.
"What does this mean, old man?" said one of them.
"Well, this is my son, who reckons he can build the bridge for the emperor."
"Good gracious, old man, you still have a lot to learn; it's easy to see you are doting," said an old guardsman.
"Well! Every man's fate is written on his forehead, and everyone must die once."
"It seems to us that you, old man, are looking for trouble with a candle in broad daylight," said the sentries.
"That has nothing to do with you. Be careful, mind what you say, and go and tell the emperor that we have arrived," replied the old man.
The sentries looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
Then one of them went and told the emperor of the arrival of the new candidates: the old man and his pig! The emperor commanded them to present themselves. The old man, on entering, bowed low and remained humbly standing at the door. But the pig, grunting, trotted ahead up the carpet, and began to sniff through the room.
Then the emperor, seeing such frightful impertinence, wanted on one hand to laugh, but on the other, he was very angry and said, "Well, old man! When you came last time, it seemed to me you had all your wits about you, but now what are you thinking of? Wandering about followed by a pig! And who, may I ask, gave you the idea of making fun of me?"
"Heaven forbid, your majesty, that I, an old man, should ever think of such a thing! I crave your forgiveness, your imperial majesty, and this is my son who sent me to you before, if your majesty remembers?"
"And it is he who will build the bridge for me!"
"It is our hope, your majesty, that he will be the one to do it."
"Now! Take your pig and get out. If the bridge is not built by tomorrow morning, old man, your head will be where your feet are now. Do you understand?"
"God is merciful, your majesty. If, however, the desire of your majesty should be fulfilled, then with your majesty's permission, we should like the princess sent home to us."
So saying, he left, and taking the pig, set off home, followed by some soldiers, who had been ordered by the emperor to keep an eye on him until next day, to see what it all meant. What a lot of chatter, what roars of laughter, and what speculation this joke caused in the palace and all over the country!
Towards evening, when the old man and the pig arrived home, the old woman was overcome by fear and trembling and began to weep, saying, "Oh me! Old man, what are you up to now? What do I want with soldiers?"
"You dare to ask that! It's your doing! I allowed myself to be carried away by your foolish head, and to be coaxed to bring you an adopted child, so to speak. And now you see what a pickle we're in! I didn't bring any soldiers. They brought me! And my head is only to stay on my shoulders until tomorrow morning!"
The pig, meantime, was wandering about the cottage, sniffing around for food, and was not at all concerned about the trouble he had caused. The old couple quarreled and squabbled for a while, but worried and all as they were about the events of the day, they at last fell asleep.
Then the pig jumped lightly on the bed, broke a window, and the breath from his nostrils shot out like two tongues of fire and reached from the old man's cottage -- which was now no longer a cottage -- to the emperor's palace. And the bridge with everything commanded by the emperor, was now complete. The old man's cottage was now a palace -- much grander than that of the emperor. And suddenly the old couple were clad in imperial purple, and their palace was full of all the good things in the world. And the pig romped about and frisked all over the fine carpets.
Meanwhile, extraordinary rumors were spreading all over the kingdom, and even the emperor and his counselors were overawed when they beheld this great miracle. And the emperor, fearing lest some misfortune should befall him, took counsel and was advised to hand over his daughter to the old man; so he sent for her immediately. Because the emperor, however powerful, was overcome by fear owing to the great wonder which had just happened.
The wedding did not take place. Well, how could it, when there was no one to marry! When the princess arrived at the bridegroom's house, she was very pleased with it and liked her mother- and father-in-law, but when she caught sight of the bridegroom, she was very astonished. But, after a few moments, she shrugged her shoulders, saying to herself, "If this is what God and my parents wished for me, let it be so." And she at once set about her housekeeping.
The pig snuffed about the house during the daytime as was his custom, but each night when it was time to go to bed, his pig's skin dropped off, and out stepped a handsome prince! And before long, his wife grew quite accustomed to him, for he was no longer ugly as he had been at the beginning.
After a week or two, the young princess, very homesick, set out to visit her parents, leaving her husband at home, for she was ashamed to be seen with him. When her parents saw her, they were overjoyed and asked her all about her new home and her husband. She told them all she knew.
Then the emperor began to advise her saying, "My darling! You mustn't be led into doing him any harm, in case misfortune should overtake you; for, as far as I can see, the man, or whatever he is, has great magic powers. There must be something strange about him, since he has done something which is beyond human strength."
Then the empress and her daughter went out to stroll in the garden, and the mother gave her daughter quite different advice: "My dear! What kind of life will you lead, if you can't appear in society with your husband? I give you this advice: See to it that there is always a good fire in the stove, and when your husband falls asleep, take that pigskin and put it in the fire and let it burn, and then you will be rid of it."
"What a good idea, mother! Such a thought never entered my head...."
And when the young princess returned home, she ordered a good fire to be lit in the stove. When her husband was fast asleep, she took the pigskin from the place where he had put it, and threw it on the fire. Then the hairs on it began to singe and the skin began to sizzle, turning into burnt rind and ashes. Such a frightful odor spread through the house that it woke her husband, who jumped up terrified and looked sorrowfully towards the stove.
And when he saw this great misfortune, he burst into tears saying, "Alas! Stupid woman! What have you done? If someone told you to do that, you were ill advised; but if you did it on your own initiative, it was a great mistake."
Then the young wife noticed that she was girt round the waist with a belt of iron, while her husband said, "You have listened to the advice of others and brought misfortune to the old couple and to us as well. If ever you need me, remember my name is Prince Charming, and I will be found at the Incense Monastery."
Just as he finished speaking, a sudden gust of wind blew, and a terrifying whirlwind whisked the emperor's son-in-law off his feet and carried him out of sight. Then the wonderful bridge immediately began to crack and crumbled to the ground, so that it was impossible to say what had become of it; and the palace where the old couple and their daughter-in-law lived with all its riches and all its magnificence, turned once more into the miserable little cottage which the old couple had inhabited. When they saw this great misfortune and their daughter-in-law in such misery, they began to scold her with tears in their eyes and ordered her sharply to go back home as they had no means of supporting her.
Finding herself so forlorn and deserted, she wondered what was to be done; where to go. Should she go home? She was afraid of her father's severity and the dangerous gossip of the people. Should she stay there? But she had none of the things she needed and was tired of the remorse of her parents-in-law.
At last she decided to go and search throughout the whole world for her husband. And having taken this decision, she said, "Please help me, God?" and set out, just wandering where her fancy led her. She went on straight ahead, through the wilderness for a whole year until she came to a desolate place she had never seen before. And here, seeing a little hidden house, the roof moss-covered (which showed how old it was), she knocked on the door.
Then she head the voice of an old woman inside saying, "Who's there?"
"It is I. A lost traveler."
"If you are a good person, come into my little den; but if you are a wicked person, get away out of this, for I have a fierce dog with teeth of steel, and if I let him out he will make short work of you."
"I am a good person, good woman."
Then the old woman opened the door, and the traveler entered.
"But what chance brought you here, and how did you ever find your way through this desolate land where no magic bird ever penetrates, let alone a human being?"
Then the traveler heaved a deep sigh and said, "My sins have brought me here, good woman. I am looking for the Incense Monastery and don't know in which part of the world to find it."
"Evidently you still have some luck if you have chanced to find me. I am Saint Wednesday. Perhaps you may have heard of me?"
"Your name is familiar, good woman, but it never entered my head that I should find you here."
"You see!"
Then Saint Wednesday gave a loud shout and immediately all the creatures in her domain assembled. She asked them about the Incense Monastery, and all replied at once that they had never heard of it. Saint Wednesday, hearing this, was very disappointed, but, being unable to help, she gave the traveler a piece of holy bread and a small glass of wine to have something to eat on the way, and she also gave her a golden distaff which could spin alone and said kindly, "Take care of it, for it will come in useful when you are in need."
Then she directed her to the house of her eldest sister, Saint Friday.
The princess set out and wandered for another whole year, still through wild, unfamiliar places, until, with great difficulty, she arrived at the house of Saint Friday. And here the same thing happened as at the house of Saint Wednesday, except that Saint Friday gave her a piece of holy bread, a little glass of wine, and a golden reeling machine, which could wind alone; and she, too, directed her, with great kindness and gentleness to the house of her eldest sister, Saint Sunday.
The princess set out again from there the very same day and wandered for another whole year through places which were even more desolate than those through which she had already traveled. And being weary with three years of wandering, it was with difficulty that she arrived at the house of Saint Sunday. And Saint Sunday received her with the same ceremony and just as warmly as her sisters had done. And taking pity on the wretched weary girl, Saint Sunday shouted out once with all her might, and immediately, all living things in her domain assembled: from the waters, from the land, from the air. And then she asked them whether any of them had ever heard of the Incense Monastery. They all replied, with one voice, that they had never even heard the name mentioned. Then Saint Sunday gave a deep sigh from the depths of her heart, looked sadly at the unfortunate princess and said, "It looks as if God is angry with you or something, because you cannot find what you are looking for, my daughter! For this is the end of a world which even I don't know, and however much you or anyone else should wish to go further, it is quite impossible."
And at that moment a lame lark was seen limping along as best he could. And warbling, warbling, warbling, he stopped before Saint Sunday. Then she asked him too, "Lark, do you by any chance know where the Monastery of Incense is?"
"Of course I know, mistress. My heart's desire took me there, and there I broke my leg."
"If you do, then go there at once and take this woman with you, as you know the way, and give her the best advice you can."
Then the lark, sighing, replied humbly, "With all my heart, I obey your command, O mistress, although it is very difficult to get there."
Then Saint Sunday too, gave the traveler a piece of holy bread and a little wine to have something to eat on the way to the Monastery of Incense; and she also gave her a large gold clucking hen and chickens also made of gold in case of need on the way. Then she entrusted her to the care of the lark, who set off at once, warbling as he went.
Sometimes the lark went on foot; sometimes the princess flew through the air; sometimes she went on foot; sometimes he flew. And when the poor princess could no longer go either way, the lark at once took her on his back and flew along with her. Going on like this for another whole year, with great difficulty and hardship, they flew over innumerable countries and seas, over terrifying forests and deserts, where dragons crept along, poisonous asps, basilisks with the evil eye, otters, each with twenty-four heads, and thousands of other dreadful monsters who lay with open mouths, just ready to gobble them up; it would be quite impossible for any human tongue to describe the greed, the cunning, and the wickedness of these animals.
In the end, after so much trouble and so much danger, they succeeded in arriving at the entrance to a cave. Here the princess mounted once more onto the lark's wings which were now scarcely able to flutter, and he alighted into another world which was more beautiful than Paradise.
"Here we are at the Monastery of Incense," said the lark. "Prince Charming, whom you have sought through so many difficulties, lives here. Is there not something familiar here?"
Then, although her eyes were dazzled by so much splendor, she looked more closely and at once recognized the wonderful bridge from the other world and the palace where she and Prince Charming had lived for such a short time, and her eyes filled with tears of joy.
"Wait a moment! Don't be in such a hurry to rejoice, for you are still a stranger in these parts, and you are not yet out of danger," said the lark.
He then showed her a well where she must go three days in succession; he told her who she would meet and what she should say; he advised her what to do in turn with the distaff, with the reeling machine, and the golden clucking-hen and chickens, given to her by the three sisters, Saint Wednesday, Saint Friday, and Saint Sunday.
Then, saying good-bye to the princess entrusted to his care, he turned back suddenly, flying without stopping, afraid lest someone should break his other leg too. And the unhappy princess watched him as he flew, her eyes full of tears. Then she went towards the well which he had pointed out.
And when she reached the well, she took out first of all the spindle from the place where she had carried it, and then sat down to rest.
Shortly afterward, a servant came to draw water, and seeing an unknown woman and the miraculous distaff, spinning golden thread by itself (thread which was thousands of times finer than the hair of your head), fled to her mistress to tell her the news.
The mistress of this servant was the old witch who turned the Devil's hair gray, the housekeeper of Prince Charming's palace, a marvelous sorceress, who could make water curdle, and knew all the Devil's mischief in the world. But there was only one thing the old hag didn't know: man's thoughts. The old witch, on hearing about this wonder, sent the servant at once to ask this strange woman to come to the palace. And when she arrived, the witch asked, "I have heard that you have a golden distaff which can spin alone. Would you sell it to me, woman, and how much do you want for it?"
"Will you allow me to spend one night in the room where Prince Charming sleeps?"
"Of course. Give me the distaff and stay here until the evening when the prince returns from the hunt."
Then the princess gave up the distaff and remained. The hunchbacked, toothless old woman, knowing that the prince was accustomed to drink a cup of sweet milk every evening, now prepared one for him to make him sleep right through till the next morning. And as soon as he returned from the hunt and lay down on his bed, the old hag sent him the milk; and as soon as he had drunk it, he fell fast asleep. Then the old woman called the unknown traveler into the room of the prince, as had been arranged, and left her there, whispering softly, "Sit here until the morning. I will come and fetch you then."
The old woman whispered and went on tiptoe so that the prince should not hear, and she took good care that a faithful servant who accompanied him to the hunt every day and who was sleeping in the same room, should not hear either.
And as soon as the old woman had left the room, the unhappy princess knelt down by her husband's bed and began to week bitterly, saying, "Prince Charming! Prince Charming! Put your right arm round my waist so that the spell may be broken."
And poor thing, she persevered like this until the morning, but in vain, for the prince seemed to have gone to the next world. At daybreak, the witch came along and sulkily told her to leave the courtyard and go away. The unfortunate princess came out without having succeeded in making her husband hear, and very unhappy, went once more to the well and this time took out her reeling machine. Again the servant came to fetch water and seeing this second wonderful object, rushed off to her mistress and said that the woman had now a golden reel, which could wind alone and which was even more wonderful than the distaff she had given her. Then the old witch sent the servant to summon her and took possession of the reeling machine with the same craftiness, and the next morning took her out of the prince's room and chased her out of the palace.
That night, however, the prince's faithful servant sensed what was happening and taking pity on the poor stranger, set out to discover the old woman's trick. And when the prince rose and was setting off to hunt, his faithful servant told him in detail what had happened in his room on the two previous nights. And the prince, on hearing this, gave a sudden start, as if the sky had fallen. Then he cast down his eyes and began to weep. And while tears were streaming from his eyes, at the well, his spell-bound and tormented wife now took out her golden hen and chickens -- her last hope. And while she stood by the well, the servant came along once more to fetch water.
And when she saw still another wonder, she didn't even wait to draw water, but rushed to her mistress, saying, "Good gracious, mistress! Imagine what I have seen! That woman now has a golden hen with chickens also of gold -- so beautiful they are that they could steal your eyesight."
When the old woman heard that, she sent for her at once, saying to herself, "She won't get what she's looking for."
And when the princess came in, the old witch took possession of the golden hen and chickens by the same sly means.
But the prince, when he returned that evening from the hunt and when his milk was brought in, said to himself, "I won't drink any more of this milk."
So he threw it away and lay down, pretending to fall sound asleep.
When the old woman thought he was asleep, and was confident that he was now under the spell of the magic milk, she once more brought the princess into the room, just as she had done on the preceding nights; and leaving her there, she went off. The, the troubled girl, falling on her knees by her husband's bedside, dissolved in a flood of tears, again saying these words, "Prince Charming! Prince Charming! Have pity on an innocent soul who has been tortured for four years with the most cruel suffering, and put you right arm round my waist so that the spell may break, for I cannot bear this any longer."
And when she had finished speaking, Prince Charming stretched out his hand, as if in sleep, and when he touched her waist -- bang! The belt burst open, and the spell was broken. Then the princess told her husband how much she had suffered since he had disappeared.
Then Prince Charming rose, and, although it was the middle of the night, awoke the whole court and ordered the old witch to be brought to him, together with all the treasures taken so slyly from the princess. Then he ordered a wild mare be brought to him and a sack of nuts. And he ordered the old witch and the sack of nuts to be tied to the mare's tail and to set the mare galloping. And this was done. And when the mare began to gallop, each time a nut dropped from the bag, a little bit of the witch dropped too; and when the sack fell, the witch's head dropped off.
The old witch was the sow with the pigs from the swamp -- one of which had been brought home by the old man, Prince Charming's foster father. By her wicked tricks she had turned her master, Prince Charming, into the miserable, mangy little pig, so that later on she could make him marry one of her eleven daughters who followed her from the swamp. That is why Prince Charming punished her so severely. The faithful servant was handsomely rewarded with gifts by the prince and princess who keep him in their service as long as he lived.
And very soon a son was born to the prince and princes.
Now remember, good people, that Prince Charming had no wedding ceremony when he was married. But now he celebrated both a wedding and a christening, a thing which never happened before and which I'm sure will never happen again. Prince Charming took a wish, and immediately the parents of the princess arrived and his foster parents, the old man and the old woman -- once more dressed in imperial purple. And he seated them at the head of the table. And millions of people assembled for that large and sumptuous wedding reception, and the gaiety went on for three days and three nights, and unless it has ended, it must still be going on.
Revised October 10, 2000.