 |
| Did I mention that Hans the Hedgehog also rides a rooster? What a boss. (Source) |
The first story is called "Bearskin." In this story, a brave young soldier has been decommissioned from the army but has nowhere to go. Disheartened, he sits against a tree, contemplating his future life and what little promise it held. All of a sudden, the Devil appeared before him and offered him a little deal. If he would wear the Devil's coat and a bearskin for seven years without shaving, brushing his hair, or washing his face or cutting his nails, then he would be rich for life and the Devil could never have a hold of his soul. So this he did, in the process becoming betrothed to a beautiful young woman whose older sisters committed suicide after the truth was revealed. It was an odd story.
The second story was very strange, it was the tale of Hans the hedgehog. Poor little hans was born half man and half hedgehog and was not really loved by his poor parents. One day, he resolved to leave and asked only for a pair of bagpipes. These he played all day long while he looked after a herd of swine that he had. One day, a king wandered into the forest and heard the hedgehog playing his pipes. He was so impressed, he promised the strange creature the first thing he me when returning to his kingdom. This happened to be his daughter, who was not pleased with the prospect of marrying a halfling. But the hedgehog was too busy watching over all of his pigs. Some time later, a king walked past the forest and was equally impressed with his playing and made the same promise to Hans. Unsurprisingly, this also happened to mean that his daughter was now betrothed to a weird hedgehog. After some time, Hans the Hedgehog grew tired of herding pigs in the forest and herded them all into the town so that the townspeople could slaughter them for food. He then went up to the first kingdom to claim his bride. He was met with a lot of hostility and ended up humiliating the entire kingdom. Next, he went to the other king to try his luck, and it just so happened that this princess was more willing and obedient. Although she was sad to marry such a strange man, she did it out of love for her father. Surprise of all surprises, Hans was able to transform himself into a super handsome and charming man that did not reflect the supreme weirdness of his upbringing at all.
The last story is about Snow White, but I am really just excited to write about Hans so I will call this good and get onto that.
Story source: Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Margaret Hunt (1884).
Comments
Post a Comment