Hans
the Hedgehog
·
. There was a countryman who was very
wealthy, in terms of money and land, but one thing he did not possess in his
happiness was he had no children. He would go into town with the other peasants
and they would constantly mock him and ask why he did not have any children of
his own.
·
He became angry and determined to have a
child of his own, even it was a hedgehog. His ended up having a child that was
a hedgehog in the upper part of his body and a boy in the lower. She saw the
child and was terrified. She said that he had brought ill-luck upon both of
them. They named him “Hans the Hedgehog”.
He could not into a regular bed due to
his spikes, so he was forced to lay down on a little mound of straw behind the
stove. Also, his mother could not suckle him because he would prick her with
his quills if she did.
·
He laid there for eight years and his
father grew tired of him and though, “If he would but die!” He did not die, but
continued to lay there.
·
There was a fair in town, and the
peasant was headed to it. He asked his wife what he should bring back with him
for her. She wanted a little meat and a couple of white rolls. Then he asked the
servant if she want anything and she requested a pair of slippers and some stockings
with clocks. At last, he asked Hans want he wanted and he wanted some bagpipes.
·
Hans began to play his bagpipes. A King,
who has lost his way, heard the music and was astonished at what he heard. The
King asked Hans if he knew the road back to the kingdom, which he did. He lead
him back to his kingdom as the King wrote him a bond and promised him something
in the royal courtyard.
