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The Swineherd猪侑Once therewas apoor Prince.He hada kingdom;it wasvery tiny.Still itwas largeenough tomarryupon,and onmarriage hisheart wasset.Now itwas certainlyrather boldof himto say,“Will youhave me”to the Emperors owndaughter.But hedid,for hisname wasfamous,and farand nearthere werehundreds ofPrincesses whowouldhave said,〃Yes!and Thankyou!”too.But whatdid the Emperors daughtersay Well,we*11soon findout.A rosetree grewover thegrave of the Princesfather.It wassuch abeautiful tree.It bloomedonlyonce infive longyears,and thenit borebut asingle flower.Oh,that wasa roseindeed!The fragranceof i t wou1d makea manforget al]of hissorrows andhis cares.The Princehada nightingaletoo.It sangas ifall thesweet songsof theworld werein itslittle throat.Thenightingale and the rosewere to be giftsto the Princess.So theywere sentto herin twokirgesilver cases.The Emperorordered thecases carriedbefore him,to thegreat hallwhere the Princess wasplayingat visitors,“with her maids-in waiti ng.They seldomdidanything else.As soonas thePrincesssawthat thelarge casescontained presents,she clappedher hands in glee.Oh,she said,“Ido hopeI geta littlepussy-cat.*She openeda casketand therewas thesplendid rose.“Oh,how prettyit is,“said all the maids-in-waiting.Its morethan pretty,“said the Emperor.Its superb.”But the Princess pokedit withher finger,and shealmost startedto cry.Oh fie!Papa,“shesaid,,it isntartificial.It isnatural.*“Oh,fie,said allher maids-in-waiting,itsonly natural.“Well,“said theEmperor,“before wefret andpout,lets seewhat/sinthe othercase.Heopened it,and outcame the nightingale,which sangso sweetlythat fora littlewhile noonecould thinkof asingle thingto sayagainst it.“Superbe!”Charmant!”said the maids-in-waiting withtheir smatteringof French,each onespeakingit worsethan thenext.“How thebird doesremind meof ourlamented Empress*s musicbox,“said oneold courtier.Ithas justthe sametone,and thevery sameway oftrilling.,zThe Emperorwept likea child.〃Ah me,“he said.“Bird”said the Princess.You meanto sayits real”“A reallive bird,“the menwho hadbrought itassured her.“Then letit flyand begone,“said the Princess,who refusedto heara wordabout thePrince,much lessto sechim.But itwas notso easyto discouragehim.He darkenedhis faceboth brown and black,pulled hishatdown over his eyes,and knockedat the door.“Hello,Emperor,,z he said.How doyou doCan yougive me some workabout thepalace”“Well,“said theEmperor,“people arealways lookingfor jobs,but letme see.I doneed somebodytotend thepigs,because wevegot somany of them.So thePrince wasappointed ImperialPig Tender.He wasgiven awretched littleroom downbythe pigsties,and therehe had to live.All daylong hesat andworked,as busyas couldbe,andby eveninghe hadmade aneat littlekettle withbells allaround thebrim ofit.When thekettleboiled,the bellswould tinkleand playthe oldtune:“Oh,dear Augustin,Al1is lost,lost,lost.But thatwas theleast ofit.If anyoneput hisfinger inthe steamfrom thiskettle hecouldimmediately smellwhatever therewas fordinner in any cooking-pot in town.No rosewas everlikethis!Now thePrincess happenedtobepassing bywith allof hermaids-in-waiting.When sheheard thetuneshe stoppedand lookedpleased,for shetoo knewhow toplay Oh,dear Augustin.It wastheonly tuneshe didknow,and sheplayed itwith onefinger.“Why,that*s thevery sametuneI play.Isnt the swineherd highlyaccomplished I say,“she ordered,“go andask himthe priceofthe instrument.〃So oneofthemaids hadto go,in amongthe pigsties,but sheput onher overshoesfirst.“What willyou takefor thekettle*she asked.Ill taketen kisses from thePrincess,“said the swineherd.“Oo,for goodnesssakes!”said themaid.“And Iwon*t takeless,“said the swineherd.“Well,what doeshe say”thePrincesswanted toknow.I canttell you,“said themaid.Hes toohorrible.“Then whisperit closeto myear.She listenedto whatthemaid hadtowhisper.“Oo,isnthe naughty!said thePrincess andwalked rightaway from there.But shehad not gone very far whensheheard thepretty bellsplay again:“Oh,dear Augustin,All islost,lost,lost.”“I say,“thePrincessordered,“ask himif hewill takehis ten kisses frommymaids-in-waiting.”“No,I thankyou,“said theswineherd.Ten kissesfrom thePrincess,or Ikeep mykettle.“Now isntthat disgusting!”said thePrincess.At leaststand aroundmesothat noone cansee.”So hermaids stoodaround her,and spreadtheir skirtswide,while theswineherd tookhis tenkisses.Then thekettle was hers.And thenthe funstarted.Never wasa kettlekept so busy.They boiledit frommorning tillnight.From thechamber Iciin*s banquetto thecobbler*s breakfeist,they knewall thatwas cookedintown.The maids-in-waiting dancedabout andclapped theirhands.“Wc knowwho,s havingsweet soupand pancakes.Wo knowwho*s havingporridge andcutlets.IsnIit interestIng7“Most interesting,,said thehead ladyofthebedchamber.“Now,after all,Im theEmperor*s daughter,,z thePrincess remindedthem.Dont youtell howIgot it.〃“Goodness gracious,no!*said theyall.But thes\vinoherd-that,s thePrince,for nobodyknew hewasnt areal swinohord-was busyas hecouldbe.This time he madea rattle.Swing itaround,and itwould playallthewaltzes,jigs,and dancetunes thathave beenheard sincethe beginningof time.“Why itssuperbe!”said thePrincess asshe cameby.I neverdid hearbetter music.Isay,go andask himthe priceof thatinstrument.But mindyou-no morekissing!”“He wantsa hundredkissesfromthePrincess,“said themaid-in-waiting whohad beenintoask him.“I believehes out of hismind,said thePrincess,and shewalked rightaway fromthere.Butshe hadnotgoneveryfarwhen shesaid,“After all,Im theEmperor*s daughter,and itsmyduty toencourage thearts.Tel1him hecan havetenkisses,as hedid yesterday,but hemustcollect therest frommy maids-in-waiting.”“Oh,but wewouldnt likethat,“said themaids.“Fiddlesticks,〃said thePrincess,〃If hecan kissmehecertainly cankiss you.Remember,Im theone whogives youboard andwages.So themaidhadto goback totheswineherd.“A hundredkissesfromthePrincess,“theswineherdtold her,“or leteach keephis own.”“Stand aroundme,“said thePrincess,and allhermaids-in-waiting stoodinacircle tohideher whiletheswineherdbegan tocollect.“What canhave drawnsuch acrowd nearthe pigsties”theEmperorwondered,as helooked downfromhis balcony.He rubbedhis eyes,and heput on his spectacles.Bless mysoul ifthosemaids-in-waiting arentup tomischief again.Id bettergo seewhat theyare upto now.”He pulledhis easyslippers upoverhisheels,though ordinarilyhe justshoved hisfeet inthemand letthem flap.Then,my!How muchfaster hewent.As soonashecame nearthe penshe tookverysoft steps.The maids-in-\vaiting weresobusycounting kisses,to seethat everythingwentfair andthat hedidn*t gettoo manyor toofew,that theydidnt noticetheEmperorbehind them.He stoodonhistiptoes.“Such naughtiness!hesaidwhen hesaw themkissing,and heboxed theirears withhis slipperjustas theswineherd wastaking hiseighty-sixth kiss.“Be offwith you!”theEmperorsaid ina rage.And boththePrincessand theswineherd wereturnedoutofhis empire.And thereshe stoodcrying.The swineherdscolded,andtherain camedownin torrents.“Poor littleme,“said thePrincess.If onlyI hadmarried thefamous Prince!Oh,how unluckyIam!”The swineherdslipped behinda tree,wiped thebrownandblack offhis face,threw offhis raggedclothes,and showedhimself insuch princelygarments thatthePrincesscould notkeep fromcurtsying.“I haveonly contemptfor you,“he toldher.You turneddown aPrince,s honestoffer,andyou didntappreciate therose orthenightingale,but youwere al1too readyto kissa swineherdfora tinklingtoy toamuse you.You areproperly punished.”Thon thePrince wenthome tohiskingdom,and shutand barrodthedoor.The Princesscould stayoutside andsing toher heart*s content:“Oh,dear Augustin,All islost,lost,lost.。