corner and gazed at him from there, and, in spite of being so
famished, did not dare to touch him, but sucked its own paws from
sheer hunger. The shepherd felt that if he once removed his eyes
off the beast he was a dead man, and in order to keep himself
awake he made songs and sang them, and so the night went by.

Next morning the Lord Chamberlain came to see the shepherd's
bones, and was amazed to find him alive and well. He led him to
the king, who fell into a furious passion, and said: 'Well, you have
learned what it is to be very near death, and now will you say "To
my good health"?'

But the shepherd answered: 'I am not afraid of ten deaths! I will
only say it if I may have the princess for my wife.'

'Then go to your death,' cried the king; and ordered him to be
thrown into the den with the wild boars. The wild boars had not
been fed for a week, and when the shepherd was thrust into their
don they rushed at him to tear him to pieces. But the shepherd
took a little flute out of the sleeve of his jacket and began to play a
merry tune, on which the wild boars first of all shrank shyly away,
and then got up on their hind legs and danced gaily. The shepherd
would have given anything to be able to laugh, they looked so
funny; but he dared not stop playing, for he knew well enough that
the moment he stopped they would fall upon him and tear him to
pieces. His eyes were of no use to him here, for he could not have
stared ten wild boars in the face at once; so he kept on playing, and
the wild boars danced very slowly, as if in a minuet, then by degrees
he played faster and faster till they could hardly twist and turn
quickly enough, and ended by all falling over each other in a heap,