But Hans My Hedgehog rode on his cock and with his bagpipe to the second kingdom to which he had shown the king the way home. The king had ordained that if someone meeting the description of Hans My Hedgehog presented himself, his guards should present arms, salute him, give him free entry to the city, and lead him to the royal palace. When the princess saw him she took fright on account of his odd appearance, but she thought to herself, No matter, I promised my father. So she welcomed Hans My Hedgehog, whereupon they were married, and he had to be seated at the king’s table, with her by his side, and they ate and drank.
Come nightfall, when it was time to go to bed, she feared the prick of his quills, but he said she need not be afraid and that no harm would come to her. And he told the old king to call for four men to keep watch before their bedroom door. They were to light a big fire, and when he went into the bedroom and lay himself in bed, he would wriggle out of his hedgehog skin and lay it down before the bed – then the men were to nimbly leap forward, grab the skin, toss it in the fire, and stand by watching until it was completely consumed by the flames.
As soon as the church bell struck eleven he went into the bedroom, stripped off his hedgehog skin, and left it lying before the bed. Then the men came and snatched it up, and tossed it into the fire. Once the flames had disposed of it, he was released from the evil spell and lay there in bed, a human from head to toe, but he was black as coal, like he’d been burned. The king sent for his physician, who washed Hans My Hedgehog with salves and wiped him with balms, whereupon he was white and a fine young buck. When the princess saw that, she was pleased, and the next morning they awakened with joy, ate and drank, and the wedding was celebrated, and Hans My Hedgehog inherited the kingdom.
After some years had passed he rode with his wife to visit his father and said he was his son. His father said he had no son. He’d had one, but the boy was born with prickly quills like a hedgehog and had gone out into the world. Then the young man revealed his true identity, and his old father was pleased and went with him to his son’s kingdom.
Now my fairy tale is done,
Go find yourself another one.
ALL-KIND-OF-HIDE
There once was a king who had a wife with golden hair, and she was so lovely that the like of her could no longer be found on earth. It came to pass that she fell ill, and when she sensed that she would soon die she called the king to her bedside and said, “If after my death you wish to remarry, then take no woman who isn’t as lovely as me, nor any who lacks the same golden hair. This you must promise me.” After the king had promised to do as she wished, she closed her eyes and died.
For a long time the king was inconsolable and didn’t think of taking another wife. But finally his court counselors spoke up: “There are no two ways about it, the king must marry again so that we have a queen.”
So messengers were sent out far and wide to find a bride whose beauty was equal to that of the departed queen. But there was no woman to be found in the whole world, and even if they could have found one, there was none with the same golden hair. So the messengers returned without having accomplished their mission.
Now the king had a daughter who was just as lovely as her departed mother and had the same golden hair. When she grew up, one day the king looked at her and saw that she resembled in every way his departed wife, and suddenly he felt a powerful love for her. So he said to his court counselors, “I will marry my daughter, for she is the spitting image of my dead wife, and I can’t find any other bride who is her equal.”
When the counselors heard this they were appalled and said, “God forbade the father to marry his daughter. Nothing good can come of such a sin, and your kingdom will be dragged along into your ignominy.”
His daughter was even more horrified when she heard of her father’s resolve, but still hoped to dissuade him. “Before I can fulfill your wish, I must first have three dresses: one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as sparkling as the stars. Furthermore, I demand a coat of a thousand kinds of fur and hides. Every creature in your realm must contribute a piece of its hide.” She thought to herself, Such a wish is completely impossible to fulfill, and I will thereby dissuade my father from his evil intent.
But the king did not let up, and the handiest maidens in his realm were commanded to weave the three dresses: one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as sparkling as the stars. And his hunters had to catch all the creatures in his realm and pull off a piece of its hide, out of which was made a coat of a thousand hides. At last when everything was done as he commanded, the king had them fetch the coat, and when it was spread out before him, he said, “The wedding will take place tomorrow.”