The Swineherd
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The Swineherd (Svinedrengen) is a fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.
[edit] Story overview
Once upon a time there was a poor prince with a small kingdom. Hundreds of princesses would have married him, but he wanted to marry the emperor’s daughter. He therefore sent her a rose that smelled so sweet that a person would forget all his sorrows and a nightingale that sang the most beautiful songs. But the princess despised the gifts for they were real, not artificial.
The prince then disguised himself and got a job in the castle as a swineherd. Here he made a little pot which played the loveliest melody:
"Ach, Du lieber Augustin
Alles ist væk, væk, væk!"
But what was most artificial was that, if a person stuck his hand in the steam from the pot, he could smell what food was made in every household. The princess saw the pot and wanted it, but the swineherd would only sell it to her for ten of her kisses. She agreed and kissed him ten times, with her maids standing all around her to hide what she was doing. The swineherd then made a noisemaker that could play all songs. This the princess agreed to buy for one hundred kisses. But her father saw them kissing and threw both her and the swineherd out of his kingdom.
Here the princess cried and wished that she had accepted the beautiful prince. The swineherd then cleaned his face and stood before her as the prince. But he told her that he had come to disdain her. She wouldn’t have the honest prince and didn’t understand the rose and the nightingale. But she was willing to kiss the swineherd for a toy. The prince went back to his kingdom and left the princess outside. Here she could sit and sing
"Ach, Du lieber Augustin
Alles ist væk, væk, væk!"
