The Shepherd at Court

A boy was tending the flock, when a lamb fell into a ravine and perished. The shepherd went home, and his parents, who had little love for him to begin with, screamed at him and beat him, then turned him out of the house into the night. Weeping, he wandered about over the mountain and found a hollow rock, which he lined with dry leaves and nestled in the best he could, stiff from the cold air. But he was unable to sleep.

Through the darkness, a man made his way to the rock and said, "You had the nerve to take my bed! What are you doing here at this time of night?"

Shaking with fright, the boy told how he had been turned out of the house, and begged the man to let him stay there the rest of the night.

The man said, "You were very clever to bring in dry leaves. The idea never occurred to me. Go on and stay here." And he lay down beside him.

The lad made himself as small as possible so as not to disturb him, keeping perfectly still to give the impression he was sleeping; but he couldn't shut his eyes for watching the man. Nor was the man sleeping, but mumbling to himself under the illusion the boy was asleep. "What present can I make this boy who lined the stone for me with leaves and who's thoughtful enough to stay on his side and not disturb me? I can give him a linen napkin which, unfolded, produces dinner for everybody present. I can give him a little box which, opened, produces a gold coin. I can give him a harmonica which, played, sets everyone within earshot to dancing."

This mumbling slowly put the boy to sleep. He awakened at dawn, thinking he had been dreaming. But there beside him on the bed of leaves lay the napkin, the little box, and the harmonica. The man was gone, and the boy had not even seen his face.

After walking some distance he came to a crowded city that was getting ready for a big tournament. The king of that city had staked his daughter's hand, together with the entire treasure of the state. The lad thought, Now I can test the little box. If it gives me the money needed, I too can line up to joust. He began opening and closing the box and, every time, it produced a shiny new gold piece. He took all the money and purchased horses, armor, princely clothes, engaged squires and servants, and passed himself off as the son of the king of Portugal. He won every match, and the king was bound to declare him his daughter's bridegroom.

But at court, the lad, having been raised with sheep, was as uncouth as could be: all his food he picked up in his hands, then wiped them on the curtains, and he was constantly slapping the ladies on the back. The king became suspicious. He dispatched ambassadors to Portugal and found out that the king's son, having dropsy, had never set foot outside the palace. So he ordered the lying lad imprisoned at once.

The palace prison was right under the banquet hall. When the boy walked in, the nineteen prisoners already there greeted him with a chorus of jeers, knowing he'd had the impudence to become the king's son-in-law. He let them jeer all they liked. At noon, the jailer brought the prisoners the usual pot of beans. The lad rushed up and kicked the pot over on the floor.

"Have you lost your mind? What will we now eat? You'll pay for this!"

"Shhhhhhh! Just wait," he replied. Pulling the napkin out of his pocket, he said, "For twenty," and unfolded it. Dinner for twenty appeared, including soup, many tasty dishes, and excellent wine. At that, they all hailed the lad as a hero.

Every day the jailer found the pot of beans overturned on the floor and the prisoners better fed and livelier than ever. So he went and told the king. Curious, the king went down into the prison and asked for an explanation. The lad stepped forward. "Listen, Majesty, I am the one providing my companions with food and drink far better than what's on the royal table. So if you'll accept, I invite you to dine with us and promise you'll go away happy."

"I accept," said the king.

The lad unfolded the napkin and said, "For twenty-one, and fit for a king." Out came the most wonderful dinner you ever saw and the king, delighted with the sight, took a seat in the midst of the prisoners and ate and ate.

When dinner was over, the king said, "Will you sell me the napkin?"

"Why not, Majesty? But on condition you let me sleep one whole night with your daughter, my rightful betrothed."

"Why not, prisoner?" replied the king. "But on condition you keep perfectly still and quiet on the edge of the bed, with the windows open, a lamp lit, and eight guards in the room. If that suits you, well and good. Otherwise you get nothing at all."

"Why not, Majesty? That's settled."

So the king got the napkin, and the boy slept an entire night with the princess, but with no possibility of talking to her or touching her. And in the morning he was taken back to prison.

Seeing him back, the prisoners all raised their voices in mockery.

"Hey, stupid! What a blockhead you are! Now we'll be back on our daily beans! A fine bargain you made with the king! "

But the lad didn't lose countenance. "Why can't we buy our dinner from now on with perfectly good money?"

"Who has any of that?"

"Take heart," he said, and started pulling gold pieces out of his purse. So they had grand dinners sent in from the inn next door, and continued to kick over the pot of beans on the floor.

The jailer went to the king again, and the king came down to investigate. As soon as he found out about the box, he asked, "Will you sell it to me?"

"Why not, Majesty?" he replied, making the same bargain as before. He gave the king the box, and slept with the princess another time without being able to touch her or talk to her.

Seeing him back, the prisoners resumed their taunts. "Well, here we are on beans once more, hurrah! "

"Joy is a good thing indeed. Whether we eat or not, we will dance."

"What!"

The lad pulled out the harmonica and began to play. The prisoners started dancing around him, with their ankle-chains clanking loudly. They broke into minuets, gavottes, and waltzes, and couldn't stop. The jailer rushed in, and he too started dancing, with all his keys jingling at his side.

In the meantime the king had just sat down to a banquet with his guests. Hearing the notes of the harmonica float up from the prison, they all jumped to their feet and began dancing. They looked like so many bewitched souls, and nobody knew what was going on: the ladies danced with the butlers, and the gentlemen with the cooks. Even the furniture danced. The crockery and crystal were smashed to smithereens; the roasted chickens flew off; and people butted the walls and ceiling beams. The king himself danced while yelling for everyone to stop. All of a sudden the lad stopped playing, and everyone fell to the floor at once, with heads spinning and legs collapsing.

Out of breath, the king went down to the prison. "Just who is being so funny?" he began.

"It's me, Majesty," answered the lad, stepping forward. "Would you like to see?" He blew a note, and the king took a dance step.

"Stop! Stop this instant!" he said, frightened, then asked, "Will you sell it to me?"

"Why not, Majesty? But under what conditions this time?"

"The same as before."

"Well, Majesty, here we're going to have to make a new bargain, or I'll play more music."

"No, no, please! Tell me your terms."

"Tonight I'll be satisfied with talking to the princess and having her answer me."

The king thought it over and ended up agreeing. "But I'm doubling the number of guards, and there'll be two lamps lit."

"As you like."

Then the king called his daughter to him in secret and said to her, "Listen carefully: you are to say no, and only no, to every question which that rascal asks you tonight." The princess promised she would.

Night fell, and the lad went to the bedchamber—which was brightly lit and full of guards—and stretched out on the edge of the bed at some distance from the princess. Then he said, "My bride, do you think that in this chilly night air we ought to keep the windows open?"

"No."

"Did you hear that, guards?" cried the lad. "By express orders of the princess, the windows are to be closed." The guards obeyed.

A quarter of an hour passed, and the lad said, "My bride, do you think it is quite right for us to be in bed and have all these guards around us?"

"No."

"Guards!" cried the lad. "Did you hear? By express orders of the princess, be gone and don't show your faces here any more." So the guards went off to bed, which struck them as almost too good to be true.

Letting another quarter of an hour pass, he said, "My bride, do you think it right to be in bed with two lamps lit?"

"No."

So he put out the lamps, making the room pitch-dark.

He came back and took his place on the edge of the bed, then said, "Dear, we are lawfully married, and yet we are as far apart as if we had a thornbush hedge between us. Do you like that?"

"No."

At that, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

When day dawned and the king appeared in his daughter's room, she said to him, "I obeyed your orders. Let bygones be bygones. This young man is my lawful husband. Pardon us."

Having no alternative, the king ordered sumptuous wedding festivities, balls, and tournaments. The lad became the king's son-in-law and then king himself, and there you have the tale of a shepherd boy lucky enough to plop down on a royal throne for life.