The Enchanted Pig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Enchanted Pig |
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The giant pig appears in the court to marry the princess. Illustration by Henry Justice Ford for Andrew Lang's The Red Fairy Book (1890).
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| Folk tale | |
| Name | The Enchanted Pig |
| Also known as | Porcul cel fermecat |
| Data | |
| Aarne–Thompson grouping |
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| Region | Romania |
| Published in |
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The Enchanted Pig (which in Romanian is Porcul cel fermecat) is a famous fairy tale from Romania. It was collected in a book called Rumanische Märchen and also by Petre Ispirescu in his book Legende sau basmele românilor. A well-known writer, Andrew Lang, also put this story in his book The Red Fairy Book.
Contents
The Story of The Enchanted Pig
Once upon a time, a king had three daughters. He went to war and told them they could explore anywhere in the castle. However, there was one room they were not allowed to enter. One day, the princesses disobeyed their father. They went into the forbidden room and found a book open.
The book held a strange prophecy. It said the oldest daughter would marry a prince from the east. The second daughter would marry a prince from the west. But the youngest daughter would marry a pig from the north. The youngest princess was terrified by this news. Her sisters tried to calm her down, saying it could not possibly be true.
When the king returned, he noticed his youngest daughter was very sad. He soon found out what they had done. The king decided to face the prophecy as best he could. Soon, a prince from the east arrived and married the oldest princess. Then, a prince from the west came and married the second princess. The youngest princess became very worried.
Suddenly, a pig arrived to ask for her hand in marriage. The king did not want to agree. But then, the entire city filled with pigs! The king told his daughter that this pig was clearly special. He believed magic was involved. He thought that if she married the pig, the spell might be broken.
The youngest princess married the pig and went to his home. There, something amazing happened. Every night, the pig turned into a handsome man. He was so kind that the princess fell in love with him. She wondered what had happened to her husband. So, she asked a witch for advice. The witch told her to tie a thread to his foot. This would free him from the spell.
The young wife did as the witch said. But when she tied the thread, her husband woke up. He told her that the spell would have broken on its own in three days. Now, because of her action, he had to stay in his pig form. He also warned her that she would not find him again easily. She would need to wear out three pairs of iron shoes and dull a steel staff to reach him.
The princess quickly got three pairs of iron shoes and a steel staff. She set out on her long journey. She walked for a very long time until she reached the house of the Moon. The Moon's mother let her in. While she was there, the princess gave birth to a son. The Moon's mother told her that the Moon could not help her find her husband. However, she could continue her journey to the Sun. She also gave the princess a chicken and told her to save every single bone. The princess thanked her. She threw away one pair of shoes, which was completely worn out, and put on a new pair.
She continued her difficult journey. Finally, she arrived at the Sun's house. The Sun's mother welcomed her and hid her. This was because the Sun was always grumpy when he came home. He was indeed ill-tempered, but his mother calmed him down. She asked him about the princess's husband. The Sun could not tell her where he was. So, his mother sent the princess on to the Wind. She also gave her another chicken and told her to keep all its bones. Here, the princess threw out her second worn-out pair of shoes.
At the Wind's house, the Wind's mother discovered where the princess's husband lived. He was in a special wood that no axe could cut through. She sent the princess there. She also gave her a third chicken and told her to keep every bone. The princess continued her journey. Her third pair of shoes wore out on the Milky Way. She finally found the castle where her husband lived. The chicken bones stuck together to form a ladder, allowing her to climb inside. She was one bone short, so she bravely cut off her little finger to complete the ladder. Her husband returned, and the spell on him was finally broken!
He revealed that he was a prince. He had killed a dragon, and the dragon's mother, who was a witch, had turned him into a pig. This same witch had then advised the princess to tie the string, hoping to keep him enchanted. The prince and princess then traveled to his father's kingdom. After that, they returned to her father's kingdom, where they lived happily ever after.
Other Versions of the Story
The tale was also translated and published in a book called The Foundling Prince & Other Tales (1917).
Romani Version: The Hedgehog Prince
In a Romani tale from Püspökladány, called The Enchanted Prince Who was a Hedgehog, a queen gives birth to a hedgehog named Rudolf. He becomes a great shepherd. One day, he asks his father to arrange his marriage to a foreign king's daughter. He marries the oldest daughter, but she is hurt by his prickles. The same happens with the middle daughter. He then marries the third daughter, Ludinca, who does not mind his hedgehog form.
Later, Ludinca tells her mother-in-law that her husband is a handsome prince. The queen suggests burning the hedgehog skin. When Ludinca does this, the prince smells it. He cries out that they were so close to breaking the spell. He curses his wife, saying she will not give birth until he embraces her three times, and then he vanishes. Ludinca, still pregnant, searches for him. She meets an old lady who asks her sons, the Star, the Moon, and the Sun, for help. The Sun tells her about a castle where a fairy princess lives. The old lady gives Ludinca a golden duck to bribe the fairy princess. This bribe would allow Ludinca to spend three nights with her husband.
Romanian Version: The Child in the Pighair Clothes
In a tale from the Transylvanian Saxons, called The Child in the Pighair Clothes, a three-year-old prince is cursed by his mother. She turns him into a wild boar. He escapes to a pigpen. Later, he finds a poor swineherd and his wife who wished for a child. The pig prince appears, and they live as a family for 17 years.
One day, another king announces that his daughter will marry a suitor who completes three tasks. The wild boar boy succeeds and marries the princess, though she is disgusted. One night, the princess wakes up and sees a beautiful prince. His boar skin is beside him. He tells her his story and asks her to keep it a secret. If she tells, the enchantment will not break. She tells her mother, who suggests burning the boar skin. The prince feels betrayed. He was so close to breaking the curse. He tells the princess he will vanish to the end of the world, where no one can save him. The sad princess decides to travel to the end of the world. With the help of the Wind's winged horse, she reaches the Sun and the Morning Star. They tell her where to find her husband, who is about to marry another princess.
Lithuanian Version: The Hedgehog and his Bride
In a Lithuanian version, The Hedgehog and his Bride, a hedgehog is adopted by an old couple. The hedgehog wants to marry the king's daughter. First, he must complete some tasks for the king. He succeeds and marries the princess. At night, the princess sees her husband is a handsome man after he takes off his animal skin.
One day, a servant accidentally burns the hedgehog's enchanted skin. The prince tells his wife she must go on a quest for him. He was very close to breaking the curse before the skin was burned. The princess then goes on a quest to save him. Near the end of the story, both she and her husband agree to be turned into frogs by some witches. This proves how loyal they are to each other. Finally, they are changed back into humans.
The Enchanted Pig Opera
An opera partly based on this fairy tale was created by the composer Jonathan Dove. It is called The Enchanted Pig and was first performed in 2006.
Images for kids
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The giant pig appears in the court to marry the princess. Illustration by Henry Justice Ford for Andrew Lang's The Red Fairy Book (1890).
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A princess in a fairy tale.
