Intended audience: Late Elementary School (8-10)
Why this audience?: This is a tale of greed. The princess in this tale is seduced by trinkets and will give anything to have what she wants. This is an theme that will resonate with young children who can identify with the "Gimme' Gimme's" as the Berensteins put it. There are two ways to finish the story: the older the audience perhaps it should take Anderson's punishing turn of an ending. If the audience is younger, then many picture books have doctored the end to have the Prince confirm that the Princess has learned her lesson and then reveal himself to her at the swineherd's hut.
Characters: The King
The Princess
The ladies in waiting
The Prince/Swineherd
The Princess
The ladies in waiting
The Prince/Swineherd
Scenes/Settings: The court of the King
Outside the hut of the Swineherd
Outside the hut of the Swineherd
Synopsis: There once was haughty and proud princess who was enchanted with toys and trinkets. A prince began to court her. So he sent the most beautiful rose bush, and a bird that sang the most beautiful song. The Princess, upon discovering that they were not machines, but real rejected them completely and would not even allow the Prince at court. The prince would not be deterred he disguised himself as a swineherd and worked in her court and made a pot that bubbles and generates the smell of every hearth in the kingdom. When the Princess passed his hut she smelled the scintillating aroma and decided she had to have that toy. The swineherd would only accept 10 kisses from the princess in payment for the pot and she reluctantly gave in. Next he made a rattle that played every song in the world. The Princess wanted it so badly she again gave in to the swineherd's demand of 100 kisses in payment. As she was kissing him and her ladies maids were protecting her honor by surrounding her in a circle the King noticed the commotion and went to see what was happening in his courtyard. He saw his daughter kissing the swineherd and banished them both. The Prince then revealed his true identity and shamed her for denying him, the prince for his regal gifts but gave a keeper of pigs kisses for toys and trinkets. He left her holding her magic rattle as it played a thousand tunes.
Story Climaxes/High Points: The King discovers his daughter kissing the swineherd a hundred times. Upon this discovery he banishes them from the kingdom.
Special Chants/Phrases: Swineherd: "A hundred kisses from the Princess or each one keeps his own."
Bibliographic Information:
Opie, Iona & Peter. (1974). The Swineherd. In The Classic Fairy Tales (pp. 300-307). New York: Oxford University Press.
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