Not all princes live in dazzling castles. Some have rather modest kingdoms, few treasures, and only crumbling palaces. Once upon a time, there was just such a prince. He was kind, wise, and handsome, but despite his noble lineage, he had always been poor.
At one point, the prince felt that it was the right time to marry. He could not offer great wealth, but because he was well-liked, there was a queue of young women eager to marry him. However, the prince had set his heart on marrying the emperor’s daughter. She was said to be incredibly beautiful and refined.
The prince decided to send the princess some gifts to prove how much he loved her. He chose the most precious things he had: a beautiful rose from the tree that grew by his father’s grave and a mesmerizing song from his friend, a tiny nightingale that lived in the castle garden.
But the prince did not know that the emperor’s daughter was both spoiled and ungrateful. When she received the gifts, she threw the rose away in anger because it was not made of gold, and she sent the nightingale away when she saw that it was a dull brown color and not an ornamented mechanical bird.
But the prince did not give up. He thought that he could win the princess’s heart if he could just meet her in person. So he disguised himself as a poor peasant and traveled to the emperor’s palace to seek work. The emperor needed someone to tend to his pigs, and the prince gladly accepted the job as a swineherd. Now, he just needed to run into the princess.
The prince had brought a special silver kettle with small bells on it. When the kettle boiled, the bells played a wonderful melody. One day, he was heating the kettle when the princess and her ladies-in-waiting passed by his pigsty.
“The music is amazing! I simply must have that kettle!” she said, rather rudely. “What do you want for it?”
“It will cost one hundred kisses,” the prince replied.
The princess looked at him with disgust. He was covered in mud and smelled awful, but she wanted the kettle so badly that she agreed. She was just about to give him the last kiss when her father suddenly appeared.
“What a disgrace!” he shouted and banished both of them from the castle.
Outside, the prince revealed who he really was. The princess curtsied before him.
“Oh, poor me! Your Highness, what shall I do?”
“You mocked my gifts, which came from the heart, yet you were willing to kiss a swineherd just to get a kettle!” said the prince. “Take it. I want nothing more to do with you.”
Then the prince turned and walked away, to the princess’s great regret. She was no longer wealthy, and the only thing she had left was a kettle that could play music.
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