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 behaviour 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 fortune-teller 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 Imay 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.