A young nobleman, one day hunting in a large wood, not far from his castle, encountered a wild sow. He aimed at her, and was about to fire, when he was astonished to hear her speak thus:
The wild sow
- Don't shoot me, because you have to marry me!
- God, what are you saying? Me marry a wild sow! cried the lord.
- Yes ; go home when you want and remember what I told you; I will be your wife!
And he returned home, all sad and thoughtful.
- What happened to you to be so sad, my son? his mother asked him.
- Alas! my mother, I was out hunting and I met a wild sow, and as I was aiming her down she spoke up, like a man, and told me I would have to marry her .
- Alas! my poor child, if she said so, it must be. This sow lives in an old castle, at the other end of the wood.
From that day on, the sow came every day to visit the young nobleman, and he was so sorry that he was on the verge of losing his mind. Finally, one day, obsessed with his visits and his entreaties, he said:
- Well ! since it has to be, let's end it, and let's go to church!
And they went to church. The priest, greatly surprised, was having difficulty uniting a Christian with a wild sow.
- Marry us boldly, said the sow, because if you see me in this form, it is my mother who is the cause.
And the priest unites them.
The sow then took her husband to his castle, which was very beautiful. Her father was dead, but her mother still lived and lived in the castle with her.
The young gentleman got used to his wife, and ended up loving her as she was.
The sow became pregnant.
Three months after their marriage, the gentleman, while walking one day in the garden of the castle, saw three beautiful flowers, which he had not yet noticed. And as the flowers grew and rose, the leaves withered and fell to the ground. It seemed bad omen to him.
- Would my wife be threatened with dying? he thought painfully.
At the end of nine months, his wife gave birth to three sons, in a single diaper, three beautiful children! They were baptized and then looked for nurses. They all had golden hair, and when they were painted, gold coins fell from their heads.
The sow had forbidden their father to touch them; he could only see them through the keyhole, while their nurses were painting them.
Six months later, the father, walking in the garden of the castle, saw three more magnificent flowers, and as they grew and rose on their stems, the leaves withered and fell to the ground. And he still worried about his wife. But after nine months the sow gave birth to three more sons, even more beautiful than the first three. They were also baptized; they were given nurses, and all imaginable care was taken. They also had golden hair, and when their mother painted them, gold coins also fell from their heads.
Six months later, while walking in the garden of the castle, the father noticed three more beautiful flowers, and as they grew and their stems rose, their leaves withered and fell to the ground. And he still worried about his wife.
But at the end of nine months the sow was still giving birth to three children - three little girls this time - beautiful as day.
Here are nine children, in less than three years!
The sow then said to her husband:
- I am now delivered, thanks to you! My mother found the children of all the other women ugly and fake, and God, to punish her, gave her a sow for a daughter.
And immediately she changed her form and became a beautiful princess.
