Once upon a time in Poland, there lived a husband and wife. They were very happy except for one thing. They had no baby of their own. The husband worked in the fields all day, so he did not think about this much, but the wife was often very lonely.
One day, the wife was gathering berries in the woods. Suddenly she saw a hedgehog lying under a fern. With a loud sigh she said, " Oh, if I had even a hedgehog for a baby, I would thank heaven!" Now, the good wife did not know that Jendza the Witch was sitting in a bush nearby and had heard what she said.
Soon after this, the woman had her wish. A baby was born. But instead of looking like a human baby, this one was covered with sharp prickly quills. It was neither more nor less than a baby hedgehog.
"Well, I'm blessed!" said the woman. "Who would have thought my words would come true, thank heaven!" "Well, it's better than nothing," replied her husband. "Thank heaven for what we have."
They took very good care of the little hedgehog and came to love it. For a few years, it never grew much or talked and always sat in the cradle. Then one day it said: "Mother, I'll take father's dinner to him today. And from then on everyone was surprised to see the little hedgehog carrying its father's dinner to him!
A few years later it said: "Mother, I'll take the pigs to feed in the wood. And for the next six years, this was its work.
One day, the King came riding through the wood. He had lost his way. "What is your majesty looking for?" asked the hedgehog. "I have lost my way," the king replied.
"I will show you the way," said the hedgehog, "but first you must promise in writing to give me one of your daughters in marriage." The King was not happy. He did not want a hedgehog for a son-in-law. But, he did not want to spend the night in the cold forest with the wolves either. So, he wrote down his agreement on a handkerchief and the hedgehog showed him how to get home.
A few years later, the hedgehog went to the palace on the back of a rooster to claim his bride. At the gate, he showed the King's handkerchief to the guards and they let him pass.
The King was shocked to see the hedgehog. When he told his daughters of the promise he made, they laughed and laughed! They didn't want to marry a hedgehog! The king told the guards to kill the hedgehog so he wouldn't have to keep his promise.
At once, the hedgehog gave a shrill whistle. From every side, near and far, hedgehogs came crawling. They crawled upon everything and as they crawled by they would prick the people with sharp quills.
Soon enough, the king said, "stop, stop, I will keep my promise" and ordered his youngest daughter to marry the hedgehog.
When the ceremony was over… wonder of wonders! Instead of the hedgehog, there stood a handsome young man, who made a low bow to the princess. "Thank you" he said. "You have broken the witches spell!" The princess was delighted.
To celebrate, that night there was a grand ball and feast that was more joyous than any has ever been since.
Adapted for young readers from:
"About the Hedgehog Who Became A Prince" found in the book Favorite Fairy Tales
Told In Poland, retold by Virginia Haviland. The book was published in
1963 by Beech Tree Paperback Books, New York.