THE SWINEHERDThere was once a poor Prince, who had a kingdom. His kingdom was very small, but still quite large enough to marry upon; and he wished to marry.It was certainly rather cool of him to say to the Emperor's daughter, "Will you have me?" But so he did; for his name was renowned far and wide; and there were a hundred princesses who would have answered, "Yes!" and "Thank you kindly." We shall see what this princess said.Listen!It happened that where the Prince's father lay buried, there grew a rose tree--a most beautiful rose tree, which blossomed only once in every five years, and even then bore only one flower, but that was a rose! It smelt so sweet that all cares and sorrows were forgotten by him who inhaled its fragrance.And furthermore, the Prince had a nightingale, who could sing in such a manner that it seemed as though all sweet melodies dwelt in her little throat. So the Princess was to have the rose, and the nightingale; and they were accordingly put into large silver caskets, and sent to her.The Emperor had them brought into a large hall, where the Princess was playing at "Visiting," with the ladies of the court; and when she saw the caskets with the presents, she clapped her hands for joy."Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat!" said she; but the rose tree, with its beautiful rose came to view."Oh, how prettily it is made!" said all the court ladies."It is more than pretty," said the Emperor, "it is charming!"But the Princess touched it, and was almost ready to cry."Fie, papa!" said she. "It is not made at all, it is natural!""Let us see what is in the other casket, before we get into a bad humor," said the Emperor. So the nightingale came forth and sang so delightfully that at first no one could say anything ill-humored of her."Superbe! Charmant!" exclaimed the ladies; for they all used to chatter French, each one worse than her neighbor."How much the bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our blessed Empress," said an old knight. "Oh yes! These are the same tones, the same execution.""Yes! yes!" said the Emperor, and he wept like a child at the remembrance."I will still hope that it is not a real bird," said the Princess."Yes, it is a real bird," said those who had brought it. "Well then let the bird fly," said the Princess; and she positively refused to see the Prince.However, he was not to be discouraged; he daubed his face over brown and black; pulled his cap over his ears, and knocked at the door."Good day to my lord, the Emperor!" said he. "Can I have employment at the palace?""Why, yes," said the Emperor. "I want some one to take care of the pigs, for we have a great many of them."So the Prince was appointed "Imperial Swineherd." He had a dirty little room close by the pigsty; and there he sat the whole day, and worked. By the evening he had made a pretty little kitchen-pot. Little bells were hung all round it; and when the pot was boiling, these bells tinkled in the most charming manner, and played the old melody, "Ach! du lieber Augustin, Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"* * "Ah! dear Augustine! All is gone, gone, gone!" But what was still more curious, whoever held his finger in the smoke of the kitchen-pot, immediately smelt all the dishes that were cooking on every hearth in the city--this, you see, was something quite different from the rose.Now the Princess happened to walk that way; and when she heard the tune, she stood quite still, and seemed pleased; for she could play "Lieber Augustine"; it was the only piece she knew; and she played it with one finger."Why there is my piece," said the Princess. "That swineherd must certainly have been well educated! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument."So one of the court-ladies must run in; however, she drew on wooden slippers first."What will you take for the kitchen-pot?" said the lady."I will have ten kisses from the Princess," said the swineherd."Yes, indeed!" said the lady."I cannot sell it for less," rejoined the swineherd."He is an impudent fellow!" said the Princess, and she walked on; but when she had gone a little way, the bells tinkled so prettily "Ach! du lieber Augustin, Alles ist weg, weg, weg!""Stay," said the Princess. "Ask him if he will have ten kisses from the ladies of my court.""No, thank you!" said the swineherd. "Ten kisses from the Princess, or I keep the kitchen-pot myself.""That must not be, either!" said the Princess. "But do you all stand before me that no one may see us."And the court-ladies placed themselves in front of her, and spread out their dresses--the swineherd got ten kisses, and the Princess--the kitchen-pot.That was delightful! The pot was boiling the whole evening, and the whole of the following day. They knew perfectly well what was cooking at every fire throughout the city, from the chamberlain's to the cobbler's; the court-ladies danced and clapped their hands."We know who has soup, and who has pancakes for dinner to-day, who has cutlets, and who has eggs. How interesting!""Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an Emperor's daughter."The swineherd--that is to say--the Prince, for no one knew that he was other than an ill-favored swineherd, let not a day pass without working at something; he at last constructed a rattle, which, when it was swung round, played all the waltzes and jig tunes, which have ever been heard since the creation of the world."Ah, that is superbe!" said the Princess when she passed by. "I have never heard prettier compositions! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument; but mind, he shall have no more kisses!""He will have a hundred kisses from the Princess!" said the lady who had been to ask."I think he is not in his right senses!" said the Princess, and walked on, but when she had gone a little way, she stopped again. "One must encourage art," said she, "I am the Emperor's daughter. Tell him he shall, as on yesterday, have ten kisses from me, and may take the rest from the ladies of the court.""Oh--but we should not like that at all!" said they. "What are you muttering?" asked the Princess. "If I can kiss him, surely you can. Remember that you owe everything to me." So the ladies were obliged to go to him again."A hundred kisses from the Princess," said he, "or else let everyone keep his own!""Stand round!" said she; and all the ladies stood round her whilst the kissing was going on."What can be the reason for such a crowd close by the pigsty?" said the Emperor, who happened just then to step out on the balcony; he rubbed his eyes, and put on his spectacles. "They are the ladies of the court; I must go down and see what they are about!" So he pulled up his slippers at the heel, for he had trodden them down.As soon as he had got into the court-yard, he moved very softly, and the ladies were so much engrossed with counting the kisses, that all might go on fairly, that they did not perceive the Emperor. He rose on his tiptoes."What is all this?" said he, when he saw what was going on, and he boxed the Princess's ears with his slipper, just as the swineherd was taking the eighty-sixth kiss."March out!" said the Emperor, for he was very angry; and both Princess and swineherd were thrust out of the city.The Princess now stood and wept, the swineherd scolded, and the rain poured down."Alas! Unhappy creature that I am!" said the Princess. "If I had but married the handsome young Prince! Ah! how unfortunate I am!"And the swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown color from his face, threw off his dirty clothes, and stepped forth in his princely robes; he looked so noble that the Princess could not help bowing before him."I am come to despise thee," said he. "Thou would'st not have an honorable Prince! Thou could'st not prize the rose and the nightingale, but thou wast ready to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a trumpery plaything. Thou art rightly served."He then went back to his own little kingdom, and shut the door of his palace in her face. Now she might well sing, "Ach! du lieber Augustin, Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"豬倌 從前有一個貧窮的王子，他有一個王國。王國雖然非常小，可是還是夠供給他結婚的費用，而結婚正是他現在想要做的事情。 他也真有些大膽，居然敢對皇帝的女兒說：“你願意要我嗎？”不過他敢這樣說，也正是因爲他的名字遠近都知道。成千成百的公主都會高高興興地說“願意”。不過我們看看這位公主會不會這樣說吧。 現在我們聽吧，在這王子的父親的墓上長着一棵玫瑰——一棵很美麗的玫瑰。它五年纔開一次花，而且每次只開一朵。但這是一朵多麼好的玫瑰花啊！它發出那麼芬芳的香氣，無論誰只須聞一下，就會忘掉一切憂愁和煩惱。王子還有一隻夜鶯。這鳥兒唱起歌來，就好像它小小的喉嚨裏包藏着一切和諧的調子似的，這朵玫瑰花和這隻夜鶯應該送給那位公主。因此這兩件東西就被放在兩個大銀匣裏，送給她了。 皇帝下命令叫把這禮物送進大殿，好讓他親眼看看。公主正在大殿裏和她的侍女們作“拜客”的遊戲，因爲她們沒有別的事情可做。當她看到大銀匣子裏的禮品時，就興高采烈地拍起手來。 “我希望那裏面是一隻小貓！”她說。 可是盒子裏卻是一朵美麗的玫瑰花。 “啊，這花做得多麼精巧啊！”侍女們齊聲說。 “它不僅精巧，”皇帝說，“而且美麗。” 公主把花摸了一下。她幾乎哭出來了。 “呸，爸爸！”她說，“這花不是人工做的，它是一朵天然的玫瑰花！” “呸！”所有的宮女都說，“這只是一朵天然的花！” “我們暫且不要生氣，讓我們先看看另一隻盒子裏是什麼再說吧。”皇帝說。於是那隻夜鶯就跳出來了。它唱得那麼好聽，他們一時還想不出什麼話來說它不好。 “Superbe！Charmant！①”侍女們齊聲說，因爲她們都喜歡講法國話，但是一個比一個講得糟。 ①這是法語，意思是：“好極了！真迷人！”舊時歐洲的統治階級都以能講法語爲榮。 “這鳥兒真使我記起死去的皇后的那個八音盒，”一位老侍臣說。“是的，它的調子，它的唱法完全跟那個八音盒一樣。” “對的。”皇帝說。於是他就像一個小孩子似的哭起來了。 “我不相信它是一隻天然的鳥兒。”公主說。 “不，它是一隻天然的鳥兒！”那些送禮物來的人說。 “那麼就讓這隻鳥兒飛走吧。”公主說。但是她無論如何不讓王子來看她。 不過王子並不因此失望。他把自己的腦袋塗成棕裏透黑，把帽子拉下來蓋住眉毛，於是就來敲門。 “日安，皇上！”他說，“我能在宮裏找到一個差事嗎？” “嗨，找事的人實在太多了，”皇帝說，“不過讓我想想看吧——我需要一個會看豬的人，因爲我養了很多豬。” 這樣，王子就被任命爲皇家的豬倌了。他們給了他一間豬棚旁邊的簡陋小屋，他不得不在這裏面住下。但是他從早到晚都坐在那裏工作。到了晚上，他做好了一口很精緻的小鍋，邊上掛着許多鈴。當鍋煮開了的時候，這些鈴就美妙地響起來，奏出一支和諧的老調： 啊，我親愛的奧古斯丁， 一切都完了，完了，完了！ 不過這鍋巧妙的地方是：假如有人把手指伸到鍋中冒出來的蒸氣裏，他就立刻可以聞到城裏每個竈上所煮的食物的味道。這鍋跟玫瑰花比起來，完全是兩回事兒。 公主恰恰跟她的侍女們從這兒走過。當她聽到這個調子的時候，就停下來；她顯得非常高興，因爲她也會彈“啊，我親愛的奧古斯丁”這個調子。這是她會彈的惟一的調子，不過她只是用一個指頭彈。 “嗯，這正是我會彈的一個調子！”她說。“他一定是一個有教養的豬倌！你們聽着，進去問問他，這個樂器要多少錢。” 因此，一位侍女只好走進去了。可是在進去以前，她先換上了一雙木套鞋①。 ①因爲怕把她的腳弄髒了。 “你這個鍋要多少錢？”侍女問。 “我只要公主給我接十個吻就夠了。”牧豬人說。 “我的老天爺！”侍女說。 “是的，少一個吻也不賣。”豬倌說。 “唔，他怎麼說？”公主問。 “我真沒有辦法傳達他的話，”侍女說，“聽了真是駭人！” “那麼，你就低聲一點說吧。”於是侍女就低聲說了。 “他太沒有禮貌啦！”公主說完遍走開了。不過，她沒有走多遠，鈴聲又動聽地響起來了： 啊，我親愛的奧古斯丁， 一切都完了，完了，完了！ “聽着，”公主說。“去問問他願意不願意讓我的侍女給他十個吻。” “謝謝您，不成，”豬倌回答說。“要公主給我十個吻，否則我的鍋就不賣。” “這真是一樁討厭的事情！”公主說。“不過最低限度你們得站在我的周圍，免得別人看見我。” 於是侍女們都在她的周圍站着，同時把她們的裙子撒開。豬倌接了十個吻，她得到了那口鍋。 她們真是歡天喜地啦！這口鍋裏整天整夜不停地煮東西；她們現在清清楚楚地知道城裏每一個廚房裏所煮的東西，包括從鞋匠一直到家臣們的廚房裏所煮的東西。侍女們都跳起舞，鼓起掌來。 “我們現在完全知道誰家在喝甜湯和吃煎餅，誰家在吃稀飯和肉排啦。這多有趣啊！” “非常有趣！”女管家說。 “是的，但不准你們聲張，因爲我是皇帝的女兒！” “願上帝保佑我們！”大家齊聲說。 那個豬倌，也就是說，那位王子——她們當然一點也不知道他是王子，都以爲他只是一個豬倌——是決不會讓一天白白地過去而不做出一點事情來的。因此他又做了一個能發出嘎嘎聲的玩具。你只要把豬倌玩具旋轉幾下，它就能奏出大家從開天闢地以來就知道的“華爾茲舞曲”、“快步舞曲”和“波蘭舞曲”。 “這真是Superbe！”公主在旁邊走過的時候說。“我從來沒有聽到過比這更美的音樂！你們聽呀！進去問問他這個樂器值多少錢；不過我不能再給他什麼吻了。” “他要求公主給他一百個吻。”那個到裏面去問了的侍女說。 “我想他是瘋了！”公主說。於是她就走開了。不過她沒有走幾步路，便又停了下來。“我們應該鼓勵藝術纔是！”她說。“我是皇帝的女兒啊！告訴他，像上次一樣，他可以得到十個吻，其餘的可以由我的侍女給他。” “哎呀！我們可不願意幹這種事情！”侍女們齊聲說。 “廢話！”公主說。“我既然可以讓人吻幾下，你們當然也可以的。請記住：是我給你們吃飯，給你們錢花的。” 這樣，侍女們只得又到豬倌那兒去一趟。 “我要公主親自給我一百個吻，”他是，“否則雙方不必談什麼交易了。” “你們都站攏來吧！”她說。所有的侍女都圍着她站着；於是豬倌就開始接吻了。 “圍着豬倌的一大羣人是幹什麼的？”皇帝問。他這時已經走到陽臺上來了。他揉揉雙眼，戴上眼鏡。“怎麼，原來是侍女們在那兒搗什麼鬼！我要親自下去看一下。” 他把便鞋後跟拉上——這本來是一雙好鞋子；他喜歡隨意把腳伸進去，所以就把後跟踩塌了。 天啊，你看他那副匆忙的樣子！ 他一跑進院子，就輕輕地走過去。侍女們都在忙於計算吻的數目，爲的是要使交易公平，不使他吻得太多或太少。她們都沒有注意到皇帝的到來。皇帝輕輕地踮起腳尖來。 “這是怎麼一回事呀？”他看到他們接吻的時候說。當豬倌正被吻到第八十六下的時候，他就用拖鞋在他們的頭上打了幾下。“滾你們的！”皇帝說，因爲他真的生氣了。於是公主和豬倌一齊被趕出了他的國土。 公主站在屋外，哭了起來。豬倌也發起牢騷來。天正下着大雨。 “唉，我這個可憐人！”公主說。“我要是答應那個可愛的王子倒好了！唉，我是多麼不幸啊！” 豬倌於是走到一株大樹後面，擦掉臉上的顏色，脫掉身上破爛的衣服，穿上一身王子的服裝，又走了出來。他是那麼好看，連這位公主都不得不在他面前彎下腰來。 “你，我現在有點瞧不起你了，”他說，“一個老老實實的王子你不願意要，玫瑰和夜鶯你也不欣賞；但是爲了得到一個玩具，你卻願意去和一個豬倌接吻。現在你總算得到報應了。” 於是他走進他的王國，把她關在門外，並且把門閂也插上了。現在只有她站在外邊，唱—— 啊，我親愛的奧古斯丁， 一切都完了，完了，完了！ （１８４２）關於這篇童話，安徒生說：“《豬倌》帶有一個古老丹麥民間故事的痕跡。這個故事是我在兒時聽到的——當然我不能照原樣把它複述出來。”他賦予它以新念：“一個老老實實的王子你不願意要，玫瑰和夜鶯你也不欣賞；但是爲了得到一個玩具，你卻願意去和一個豬倌接吻。”這篇作品實際上是一篇有關統治階級生活的無聊、頭腦愚蠢的生動而又深刻的素描。
