Hans My Hedgehog
Encyclopedia
Hans My Hedgehog, or Hans the Hedgehog, is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no. 108.
es he had a child, even a hedgehog
, and comes home to find that his wife has given birth to a baby boy that is a hedgehog from the waist up.
After eight years, the merchant goes to a fair and asks everyone in the household
what they want. Hans My Hedgehog asks for bagpipes, and when he receives them, asks his father to have the cock shod so he can ride off to seek his fortune.
When he gets them, he goes off into the woods
and watches over his donkeys and pigs
. A king, lost in the woods, hears him playing the bagpipes, and Hans My Hedgehog promises to show him the way home in return for whatever first meets him when he returns. The king promises, but, realizing that Hans My Hedgehog cannot read, writes down instead that Hans My Hedgehog should receive nothing, which he is glad of when he returns and it is his daughter; she is glad of it, too. A second king is also lost, and he does write down the promise, and his daughter, on hearing of it, gives her promise that she will obey.
In time, Hans My Hedgehog goes to claim his promises. The first king attempts to withhold his daughter, but Hans forces him to yield her, and then takes her off, forces her to take off her clothing, pierces her all over until she bleeds, and sends her back to her father. The second king agrees to the marriage, the princess holds herself bound by her promise, and Hans My Hedgehog promises her that his prickles will not harm her. Then he tells the king on their wedding night, he should build a big fire, and when Hans takes off his hedgehog skin, he should have four servants burn it. They do this, and Hans My Hedgehog becomes a handsome young man.
short in the "Hungarian Folktales" episode of the American TV series Long Ago and Far Away
. A version of it was also produced as an episode of Jim Henson
's The Storyteller
.
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no. 108.
Synopsis
A wealthy but childless merchant wishWish
A wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.-In literature:...
es he had a child, even a hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
, and comes home to find that his wife has given birth to a baby boy that is a hedgehog from the waist up.
After eight years, the merchant goes to a fair and asks everyone in the household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
what they want. Hans My Hedgehog asks for bagpipes, and when he receives them, asks his father to have the cock shod so he can ride off to seek his fortune.
When he gets them, he goes off into the woods
Woods
Woods is a common surname of English and Irish origin.-A:* Alan Woods * Albert Woods* Albert H. Woods* Aubrey Woods* Ayiesha Woods-B:* Bambi Woods* Barbara Alyn Woods* Belita Woods* Ben Woods, rugby union player* Bill Woods...
and watches over his donkeys and pigs
PIGS
PIGS is a four letter acronym that can stand for:* PIGS , Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class S, a human gene* PIGS , the economies of Portugal, Italy , Greece and Spain...
. A king, lost in the woods, hears him playing the bagpipes, and Hans My Hedgehog promises to show him the way home in return for whatever first meets him when he returns. The king promises, but, realizing that Hans My Hedgehog cannot read, writes down instead that Hans My Hedgehog should receive nothing, which he is glad of when he returns and it is his daughter; she is glad of it, too. A second king is also lost, and he does write down the promise, and his daughter, on hearing of it, gives her promise that she will obey.
In time, Hans My Hedgehog goes to claim his promises. The first king attempts to withhold his daughter, but Hans forces him to yield her, and then takes her off, forces her to take off her clothing, pierces her all over until she bleeds, and sends her back to her father. The second king agrees to the marriage, the princess holds herself bound by her promise, and Hans My Hedgehog promises her that his prickles will not harm her. Then he tells the king on their wedding night, he should build a big fire, and when Hans takes off his hedgehog skin, he should have four servants burn it. They do this, and Hans My Hedgehog becomes a handsome young man.
Television
The story was featured as a cel animatedTraditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
short in the "Hungarian Folktales" episode of the American TV series Long Ago and Far Away
Long Ago and Far Away (TV Series)
Long Ago and Far Away is a TV series that aired on PBS Television from 1989 to 1993. It was created by WGBH, a public television broadcast service located in Boston, Massachusetts...
. A version of it was also produced as an episode of Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's The Storyteller
The Storyteller
The StoryTeller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
.
See also
- The Hazel-nut ChildThe Hazel-nut ChildThe Hazel-nut Child is a Bukowinaer fairy tale collected by Dr Heinrich von Wlislocki in Märchen Und Sagen Der Bukowinaer Und Siebenbûrger Armenier. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book....
- The MyrtleThe MyrtleThe Myrtle is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.It is Aarne-Thompson type 652A.-Synopsis:...
- The Pig King
- The DonkeyThe Donkey (fairy tale)The Donkey is a German fairy tale collected by Brothers Grimm by Grimm's Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 430, The Donkey Bridegroom.-Synopsis:...
- The Pretty Little CalfThe Pretty Little CalfThe Pretty Little Calf is a Chinese fairy tale collected by Wolfram Eberhard in Folktales of China.-Synopsis:An official without children left home to take up his post. His first wife said she would offer him gold on his return; the second, silver; the third, a son. He was pleased with the third...
- Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
- The Frog PrinceThe Frog PrinceThe Frog Prince can refer to the following titles:*The Frog Prince ,*"The Frog Prince" , a song by English band Keane*The Frog Prince , the soundtrack album of a British film released in 1984, featuring Enya...
- Retelling in Jim HensonJim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's The Storyteller