The Swineherd
With original illustrations
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
A poor prince wants to marry the Emperor's daughter and sends her two beautiful gifts, a nightingale and a rose. The princess rejects the humble gifts because they're real and natural, rather than artificial. The prince then disguises himself and applies for the position of swineherd at the palace. Once on the job, he creates a musical pot. The princess slogs through the mud to the swineherd's hut and pays ten kisses for the pot. When the swineherd follows the pot with the creation of a musical rattle, she pays one hundred kisses for it. The Emperor, disgusted that his daughter would kiss a swineherd for a toy, casts her out. The prince, having found the princess unworthy of his love, washes his face, dons his royal attire, and spurns the princess as her father did. The princess is left outside the palace door singing dolefully.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
It's probably the pinnacle of cheek to revise the works of a master like Andersen, but author/artist Hahn takes the gamble and wins. In her version, ``Hans'' narrates while a motley assortment of players (children, pigs and pets)--captured in sprightly, delicately colored drawings--act out the classic fairy tale. Their often humorous running commentary provides a visual counterpoint to the familiar story of the rejected prince who disguises himself as a swineherd and ultimately dumps a fickle princess. Here, however, the tale's ending causes a commotion, and after tears and a heated debate the characters submit a rewrite--``with all due respect, Hans.'' The final few pages picture a repentant swineherd/prince giving the humbled princess a second chance, vindicating any reader who has ever been unhappy with a book's original ending. Ages 5-up.
