The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen/The Little Swineherd
The Little Swineherd
THE PRINCE IN DISGUISE
HERE was once a poor prince, who had but a very small kingdom; still, as it was large enough to support a wife, he had a mind to marry.
It was, to be sure, rather bold of him to venture to say to the emperor’s daughter: “Will you have me?” Yet, venture he did; for his name was celebrated both far and near, and there were scores of princesses who would gladly have said “Yes”, but the question was, whether she would say so or not?
Now we shall see, presently.
Over the grave of the prince’s father there grew a rose-tree, and a beautiful rose-tree it was. It only bloomed once in every five years, and then it only bore one rose; but what a rose it was! Its perfume was so exquisite, that everybody forgot their cares and sorrows when they smelt it. Besides this, he had a nightingale, who sang as though all the lovely melodies in the world had been assembled in its little throat. He resolved to make the princess a present of this rose and this nightingale, and accordingly they were placed in two large silver shrines, and sent to her.
The emperor had them brought to him in a large room, where the princess was playing at “There came a knight a-wooing” with her ladies-in-waiting; and when she saw the silver shrines containing the presents, she clapped her hands for joy.
“GOOD MORNING,” SAID HE.
“If it could but be a kitten!” said she. But out came the rose-tree with the beautiful rose.
“How very elegantly it is made!” exclaimed all the court ladies.
“It is more than elegant,” said the emperor; “it is charming.”
But the princess, having felt it, was ready to cry.
“Fie, papa!” said she; “it is not an artificial rose, but merely a natural one.”
“Fie!” echoed all the ladies-in-waiting, “it is merely a natural rose.”
“Let’s see what the other shrine may contain, before we fly into a passion,” said his majesty; and then out came the nightingale, and sang so sweetly, that nobody at first thought of any spiteful fault-finding
“Superbe! charmant!” cried the court ladies; for they all chattered French, however badly.
“The bird reminds me of the late empress’s musical-box,” observed an old lord-in-waiting; “it has the same tone and the same execution.”
“Yes,” said the emperor, crying like a little child.
“But it is not a real bird, I trust ?” asked the princess.
“Yes, it is a real bird,” said those who had brought it.
“Then let it fly away,” said the princess, who would not hear of the prince coming to pay his respects to her.
But he was not to be discouraged. He painted his countenance brown and black, drew his cap over his forehead, and then knocked at the palace door.
“Good morning, emperor,” said he; “can I find any employment at the palace?”
“Why,” said the emperor, “there are so many that apply for places, that I really don’t know whether we can do anything for you; however, I’ll bear it in mind. But, now I think of it, I am in want of somebody to take care of the swine; for I have a vast number of pigs.”
THE PRINCE BECAME SWINEHERD.So the prince became the imperial swineherd. They gave him a wretched little room near the pig-sty, and here he was obliged to remain. But he sat and worked the whole day, and by the evening he had made a neat little pipkin, and round it was a set of bells, and the moment the pot began to boil, they fell to jingling most sweetly, and played the old melody:—
All’s gone clean away!”
But the most ingenious part of the business was, that if one held one’s finger in the steam of the pipkin, one could immediately smell what dinner was cooking on every hearth in the town. This was indeed something far superior to the rose!
The princess now happened to be walking out with her ladies-in-waiting; and on hearing the melody, she stood still, and appeared highly delighted; for she could play “Oh! dearest Augustine.” It was, indeed, the only tune she could play, but then she played it with one finger.
“Why, that’s what I play!” cried she. “He must be a very intellectual swineherd. I say, go and ask him the price of his instrument.”
So one of the ladies-in-waiting was obliged to go down to speak to him; but she put on pattens.
“How much do you ask for your pipkin?” inquired the lady.
“I ask ten kisses from the princess,” said the swineherd.
THE SWINEHERD GOT TEN KISSES.“Good gracious!” said the lady-in-waiting.
“I will not take less,” answered the swineherd.
“Well, what did he say?” asked the princess.
“I dare not repeat it,” replied the lady-in-waiting.
“Then whisper it into my ear.”
“He is very ill bred!” observed the princess, as she turned away. But after walking a few steps, the bells jingled so sweetly—
All’s gone clean away!”
“WHAT’S THE MEANING OF THIS?” CRIED HE.
“I’m much obliged to you,” said the swineherd; “either I’ll have ten kisses from the princess, or else I’ll keep my pipkin.”
“How tiresome he is!” said the princess. “Then you must stand round me, so that nobody may see me.”
Accordingly, the ladies-in-waiting stood before her, and spread out their clothes, and the swineherd got the ten kisses, and she obtained the pipkin.
And how delighted she was! All that evening, and the whole day following, was the pipkin set to boil; and there was not a hearth in the kingdom on which anything could be cooked without their knowing it—from my lord-chamberlain’s down to the shoemaker’s. The ladies-in-waiting clapped their hands and jumped with joy.
“WHAT A MISERABLE CREATURE I AM!” SOBBED THE PRINCESS.“We now know who is going to eat sweet porridge and an omelet, or who will have gruel and broiled meat. How interesting, to be sure!”
“Very interesting,” quoth the mistress of the robes.
“But you must not blab, because I am the emperor’s daughter.”
“Of course not,” said they in a breath.
The swineherd, or rather, the prince—though they took him to be a real swineherd—did not let a day go by without working at something; and so he next fashioned a rattle, which only required springing to play all the waltzes, galops and polkas known since the creation of the world.
“Really, this is superbe!” said the princess, as she passed by. “I never heard a finer composition. I say, go in and ask him what’s the price of the instrument. Only I will not give any more kisses.”
“He wants a hundred kisses from her royal highness!” said the lady-in-waiting, who had been in to inquire.
“He must be crazy, I should think!” said the princess, turning away. But after going a few steps, she stopped short. “We must encourage the fine arts,” said she, “and I am the emperor’s daughter. So tell him that he shall have ten kisses as before, and he may take the rest from my ladies-in-waiting.”
“Nay, but we should not much relish that,” said the ladies-in-waiting.
“Nonsense!” said the princess; “if I can kiss him, surely you may. Remember I give you board, and lodging, and wages.” And so the ladies-in-waiting were obliged to go in once more to speak to him.
“A hundred kisses from the princess,” said he, “or it’s no bargain.”
Stand before me, said she; and the ladies-in-waiting did as they were bid, and he began kissing the princess.
“What’s that mob after, near the pig-sty?” asked the emperor, who had just stepped into the balcony. He rubbed his eyes, and then put on his spectacles. “Why, it’s the ladies-in-waiting, who are after some trick, I’ll be bound. I must go down and see.” So he drew up his slippers, for they were shoes down at heel.
My goodness! what haste he did make!
As soon as he had reached the yard, he walked very softly, and the ladies-in-waiting were so busy counting the kisses, that there might be no cheating, that they did not perceive the emperor. He stood on tiptoe.
“What’s the meaning of this?” cried he, on seeing them kissing away at such a rate, and he flung his slipper at their heads just as the swineherd had received the eighty-sixth kiss.
“Get out of my sight,” said the emperor, who was very angry; and both the princess and the swineherd were turned out of his empire.
There she stood and wept, while the swineherd grumbled, and the rain fell in torrents.
“What a miserable creature I am!” sobbed the princess. “Would that I had married the handsome prince! Oh, how unhappy am I!”
The swineherd then went behind a tree, and rubbed the black and brown paint off his face, and threw off his shabby clothes, and appeared in his princely garb, and looking so handsome, that the princess involuntarily curtseyed to him.
“I have now learned to despise you,” said he. “You refused an honourable prince—you could not appreciate a rose or a nightingale—but you could stoop to kiss a swineherd to obtain a toy. You must now suffer the punishment.”
So saying, he went back into his kingdom, and shut the door in her face; and she was left outside to sing—
All’s gone clean away!”
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