TheSwineherd——thatistosay,thePrincethoughtheydidnotknowhewasanythingbutatrueSwineherd——letnodaypasswithoutmakingsomething,andonedayhemadearattlewhich,whenitwasturnedround,playedallthewaltzes,galops,andpolkaswhichhadeverbeenknownsincetheworldbegan。
’Butthatissuperbe!’saidthePrincessasshepassedby。’I
haveneverheardamorebeautifulcomposition。Listen!Godownandaskhimwhatthisinstrumentcosts;butIwon’tkisshimagain。’
’HewantsahundredkissesfromthePrincess,’saidthelady-in-waitingwhohadgonedowntoaskhim。
’Ibelieveheismad!’saidthePrincess,andthenshewenton;
butshehadonlygoneafewstepswhenshestopped。
’Oneoughttoencourageart,’shesaid。’IamtheEmperor’sdaughter!Tellhimheshallhave,asbefore,tenkisses;theresthecantakefrommyladies-in-waiting。’
’Butwedon’tatalllikebeingkissedbyhim,’saidtheladies-in-waiting。
’That’snonsense,’saidthePrincess;’andifIcankisshim,youcantoo。Besides,rememberthatIgiveyouboardandlodging。’
Sotheladies-in-waitinghadtogodowntohimagain。
’AhundredkissesfromthePrincess,’saidhe,’oreachkeepshisown。’
’Putyourselvesinfrontofus,’shesaidthen;andsoalltheladies-in-waitingputthemselvesinfront,andhebegantokissthePrincess。
’Whatcanthatcommotionbebythepigsties?’askedtheEmperor,whowasstandingonthebalcony。Herubbedhiseyesandputonhisspectacles。’Whythosearetheladies-in-waitingplayingtheirgames;Imustgodowntothem。’
Sohetookoffhisshoes,whichwereshoesthoughhehadtroddenthemdownintoslippers。Whatahurryhewasin,tobesure!
Assoonashecameintotheyardhewalkedverysoftly,andtheladies-in-waitingweresobusycountingthekissesandseeingfairplaythattheynevernoticedtheEmperor。Hestoodontiptoe。
’Whatisthat?’hesaid,whenhesawthekissing;andthenhethrewoneofhisslippersattheirheadsjustastheSwineherdwastakinghiseighty-sixthkiss。
’Beoffwithyou!’saidtheEmperor,forhewasveryangry。AndthePrincessandtheSwineherdweredrivenoutoftheempire。
Thenshestoodstillandwept;theSwineherdwasscolding,andtherainwasstreamingdown。
’Alas,whatanunhappycreatureIam!’sobbedthePrincess。
’IfonlyIhadtakenthebeautifulPrince!Alas,howunfortunateIam!’
AndtheSwineherdwentbehindatree,washedtheblackandbrownoffhisface,threwawayhisoldclothes,andthensteppedforwardinhissplendiddress,lookingsobeautifulthatthePrincesswasobligedtocourtesy。
’Inowcometothis。Idespiseyou!’hesaid。’YouwouldhavenothingtodowithanoblePrince;youdidnotunderstandtheroseorthenightingale,butyoucouldkisstheSwineherdforthesakeofatoy。Thisiswhatyougetforit!’Andhewentintohiskingdomandshutthedoorinherface,andshehadtostayoutsidesinging——
’Where’smyAugustusdear?
Alas!he’snothere,here,here!
HOWTOTELLATRUEPRINCESS
TherewasonceuponatimeaPrincewhowantedtomarryaPrincess,butshemustbeatruePrincess。Sohetravelledthroughthewholeworldtofindone,buttherewasalwayssomethingagainsteach。TherewereplentyofPrincesses,buthecouldnotfindoutiftheyweretruePrincesses。Ineverycasetherewassomelittledefect,whichshowedthegenuinearticlewasnotyetfound。Sohecamehomeagaininverylowspirits,forhehadwantedverymuchtohaveatruePrincess。Onenighttherewasadreadfulstorm;itthunderedandlightenedandtherainstreameddownintorrents。Itwasfearful!TherewasaknockingheardatthePalacegate,andtheoldKingwenttoopenit。
TherestoodaPrincessoutsidethegate;butoh,inwhatasadplightshewasfromtherainandthestorm!Thewaterwasrunningdownfromherhairandherdressintothepointsofhershoesandoutattheheelsagain。AndyetshesaidshewasatruePrincess!
’Well,weshallsoonfindthat!’thoughttheoldQueen。Butshesaidnothing,andwentintothesleeping-room,tookoffallthebed-clothes,andlaidapeaonthebottomofthebed。Thensheputtwentymattressesontopofthepea,andtwentyeider-downquiltsonthetopofthemattresses。AndthiswasthebedinwhichthePrincesswastosleep。
Thenextmorningshewasaskedhowshehadslept。
’Oh,verybadly!’saidthePrincess。’Iscarcelyclosedmyeyesallnight!IamsureIdon’tknowwhatwasinthebed。Ilaidonsomethingsohardthatmywholebodyisblackandblue。Itisdreadful!’
NowtheyperceivedthatshewasatruePrincess,becauseshehadfeltthepeathroughthetwentymattressesandthetwentyeider-downquilts。
NoonebutatruePrincesscouldbesosensitive。
SothePrincemarriedher,fornowheknewthatatlasthehadgotholdofatruePrincess。AndthepeawasputintotheRoyalMuseum,whereitisstilltobeseenifnoonehasstolenit。
Nowthisisatruestory。
THEBLUEMOUNTAINS
TherewereonceaScotsmanandanEnglishmanandanIrishmanservinginthearmytogether,whotookitintotheirheadstorunawayonthefirstopportunitytheycouldget。Thechancecameandtheytookit。Theywentontravellingfortwodaysthroughagreatforest,withoutfoodordrink,andwithoutcomingacrossasinglehouse,andeverynighttheyhadtoclimbupintothetreesthroughfearofthewildbeaststhatwereinthewood。OnthesecondmorningtheScotsmansawfromthetopofhistreeagreatcastlefaraway。Hesaidtohimselfthathewouldcertainlydieifhestayedintheforestwithoutanythingtoeatbuttherootsofgrass,whichwouldnotkeephimaliveverylong。Assoon,then,ashegotdownoutofthetreehesetofftowardsthecastle,withoutsomuchastellinghiscompanionsthathehadseenitatall;perhapsthehungerandwanttheyhadsufferedhadchangedtheirnaturesomuchthattheonedidnotcarewhatbecameoftheotherifhecouldsavehimself。Hetravelledonmostoftheday,sothatitwasquitelatewhenhereachedthecastle,andtohisgreatdisappointmentfoundnothingbutcloseddoorsandnosmokerisingfromthechimneys。Hethoughttherewasnothingforitbuttodieafterall,andhadlaindownbesidethewall,whenheheardawindowbeingopenedhighabovehim。Atthishelookedup,andsawthemostbeautifulwomanhehadeverseteyeson。
’Oh,itisFortunethathassentyoutome,’hesaid。
’Itisindeed,’saidshe。’Whatareyouinneedof,orwhathassentyouhere?’
’Necessity,’saidhe。’Iamdyingforwantoffoodanddrink。’
’Comeinside,then,’shesaid;’thereisplentyofbothhere。’
Accordinglyhewentintowhereshewas,andsheopenedalargeroomforhim,wherehesawanumberofmenlyingasleep。Shethensetfoodbeforehim,andafterthatshowedhimtotheroomwheretheotherswere。Helaydownononeofthebedsandfellsoundasleep。Andnowwemustgobacktothetwothatheleftbehindhiminthewood。
Whennightfallandthetimeofthewildbeastscameuponthese,theEnglishmanhappenedtoclimbupintotheverysametreeonwhichtheScotsmanwaswhenhegotasightofthecastle;andassoonasthedaybegantodawnandtheEnglishmanlookedtothefourquartersofheaven,whatdidheseebutthecastletoo!OffhewentwithoutsayingawordtotheIrishman,andeverythinghappenedtohimjustasithaddonetotheScotsman。
ThepoorIrishmanwasnowleftallalone,anddidnotknowwheretheothershadgoneto,sohejuststayedwherehewas,verysadandmiserable。WhennightcameheclimbedupintothesametreeastheEnglishmanhadbeenonthenightbefore。Assoonasdaycamehealsosawthecastle,andsetouttowardsit;butwhenhereachedithecouldseenosignsoffireorlivingbeingaboutit。Beforelong,however,heheardthewindowopenedabovehishead,lookedup,andbeheldthemostbeautifulwomanhehadeverseen。Heaskedifshewouldgivehimfoodanddrink,andsheansweredkindlyandheartilythatshewould,ifhewouldonlycomeinside。Thishedidverywillingly,andshesetbeforehimfoodanddrinkthathehadneverseenthelikeofbefore。Intheroomtherewasabed,withdiamondringshangingateveryloopofthecurtains,andeverythingthatwasintheroombesidesastonishedhimsomuchthatheactuallyforgotthathewashungry。Whenshesawthathewasnoteatingatall,sheaskedhimwhathewantedyet,towhichherepliedthathewouldneithereatnordrinkuntilheknewwhoshewas,orwhereshecamefrom,orwhohadputherthere。
’Ishalltellyouthat,’saidshe。’IamanenchantedPrincess,andmyfatherhaspromisedthatthemanwhoreleasesmefromthespellshallhavethethirdofhiskingdomwhileheisalive,andthewholeofitafterheisdead,andmarrymeaswell。IfeverIsawamanwholookedlikelytodothis,youaretheone。I
havebeenhereforsixteenyearsnow,andnoonewhoevercametothecastlehasaskedmewhoIwas,exceptyourself。Everyothermanthathascome,solongasIhavebeenhere,liesasleepinthebigroomdownthere。’
’Tellme,then,’saidtheIrishman,’whatisthespellthathasbeenlaidonyou,andhowyoucanbefreedfromit。’
’Thereisalittleroomthere,’saidthePrincess,’andifI
couldgetamantostayinitfromteno’clocktillmidnightforthreenightsonendIshouldbefreedfromthespell。’