About the Beautiful Pig

Whether it happened or not, there once lived a poor, childless husband and wife. All their wealth was in one pig. This pig carried water for them, did the laundry, swept the house, washed the dishes—it did all the household chores. One day, the pig went to the river to do the laundry. It wandered into a dense forest, where a prince was hunting. The prince saw the pig and followed it. The pig approached the river, shed its pigskin, and transformed into such a beauty that the radiance of her beauty illuminated the entire forest. The prince watched, holding his breath, gazing into her beautiful eyes. The beauty washed what she had brought with her, then climbed back into the pigskin and ran home. The prince chased after her.

The pig returned home, and the prince followed. He said to the poor couple:
"Let me spend the night here."
"We are not worthy of such an honor," they said, "we have no food for you, nor a bed."
"I have food and a bed with me," said the prince. In the morning, the prince offered them a hundred rubles for the pig.
"No," said the old couple, "we cannot live without her, we won't give her up."
The prince offered two hundred rubles, and the old couple couldn't resist. They gave him the pig. The prince placed the pig in a sack and took it to the palace.

He brought it to the king and said:
"Here is my bride!" The king was furious:
"What are you saying, my son? How can you marry a pig? Don't disgrace me or yourself." But the son wouldn't listen.
"No, no—this is my fate."

They took them to the church to get married. The pig stood there, not making a sound, though anyone who didn't know better would think pigs were noisy! They got married and went home. The king gave his son and his bride a small, old room.
"You don't deserve better."
The prince and his wife went into their room, locked the door, and he began to plead with her:
"Take off your pigskin."
The pig obeyed, shed its skin, and became a beauty again. They embraced and kissed. Meanwhile, the king sent his advisors to see what the prince would do with his pig-wife. The advisors peeked, then went and told the king:
"So and so, she shed her pigskin and became a beautiful girl, and now they are kissing."
The king was overjoyed. He summoned the prince and his wife, blessed them, and crowned them.

One of the advisors grew envious of the prince. He thought, "He took one little pig from some poor folks and got such a wife. I'll go and pick the biggest pig from the whole herd—surely a beauty will come out of it too."
He went, chose the fattest pig, haggled for it, tied it to his saddle, and took it home. The pig squealed with all its might, struggling to break free. It escaped and ran back to the herd. The advisor didn't give up. He chased it, caught it, and somehow dragged it home. They even had to drag the pig into the church to get married. The pig squealed, struggled, knocked over all the candles, and scattered the priest and the guests. Still, the advisor married the pig and took his bride home. He led her into the bedroom, caressed her, and kissed her.
"My dear little pig, don't be angry, shed your skin!"
The pig squealed. The advisor hugged and kissed it. The pig grew furious, bit the advisor with its tusks—and killed him.
And so, the king's advisor married a pig.

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About the Beautiful Pig

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