Hungarian Folk Tales: The Starry-Eyed Shepard
Once upon a time there lived a poor man.
He had only one son and a wife.
One day his son said:
Father, I'm going to leave home and seek my fortune.
Son, be sure to take the path where there's no mud.
Then his parents gave the boy a bundle of food and bid him farewell.
The boy walked and walked.
He walked his way across seven lands.
He did not stop until he arrived at a lush green meadow
where he saw a flock of sheep grazing unattended.
Those poor sheep have been left all alone I shall watch over them until their shepherd returned.
The time passed but no shepherd appeared.
The boy stayed with the sheep until he ran out of food.
He thought he would take the sheep down to the local town,
where he would sell a few of them to buy some food for himself.
The boy walked down into the town and sold a handful of lambs to the local butcher.
He then used the money to purchase all that he needed
and settled down with his sheep at the edge of the town.
A king also lived in this town and he was a very cruel king indeed.
He was so very cruel that he had people executed for not saying bless you,
whenever he happened to sneeze.
One Sunday morning the king sneezed unusually loudly,
and so all of his soldiers rode all over the country, toward of the common people to say:
Bless you, your highness, your very good health!
The young shepherd was still out in the meadow watching over his flock
when the soldiers rode up to him and ordered him to bless the king.
But he refused to obey until the king granted him the hand of his beautiful daughter.
So the soldiers caught the shepherd boy off to the palace and presented him to the king.
The king's beautiful daughter was also there when they arrived
and she liked the young shepherd but said nothing of it to anyone.
Then the king addressed the shepherd saying:
Will you not bless me your king and wish me good health?
I will not, your highness, even if you have me killed.
Though I happily would if you let me marry your beautiful daughter.
A lowly shepherd boy like you will never marry my beautiful daughter!
Then he ordered his soldiers to throw the shepherd boy to the hungry wild pigs.
There the shepherd boy took out his flute and played a merry tune to the fat pigs.
[plays the flute]
And the pigs liked the music so much that they began to dance.
The shepherd made them dance until the pigs began to sweat.
And were all so tired that they fell fast asleep.
Then the starry-eyed shepherd felt tired too and laid his head down for the night.
In the morning the marshal went to see if the boy was still alive
and when he saw that he was he took him before the king again.
Now, young shepherd, wish that God should bless me and give me good health!
I will not, your majesty!
Not until you grant me your daughter's hand, not even if you throw me into the pit.
Guards, throw him into the pit with the scythe blades!
Oh, that's no joke!
If I am cast down into the pit, the shepherd thought, the blades will cut me to shreds.
The soldiers asked the shepherd again:
Well, will you now ask that God bless the king and wish him good health?
Wait one minute, my good man! Leave me alone for a moment while I think.
So the soldiers left the starry-eyed shepherd alone.
The young shepherd stuck his crook into the ground, took off his coat
and then put his hat on top of the crook.
He shouted to the soldiers:
Now you can come in, and do with me what you will
for I shall never wish that God bless the king and give him good health.
Then he swiftly hid himself in a dark corner.
The soldiers were sure that the crook, the coat and the hat were the shepherd boy,
so they threw them into the pit.
The candle down in the pit went out
and so they thought that the poor shepherd had landed on it and died.
The very next morning the marshal went out to check the pit.
He heard a pretty tune playing on a flute inside.
What on earth, can this mean?!
It's impossible that the shepherd is playing his flute!
So he opened the door of the house
and saw the shepherd there merrily blowing his flute.
He locked the door on the shepherd and ran back to the king.
Your royal highness, the starry-eyed shepherd is still alive!
Bring him before me at once! – the king demanded.
The shepherd was again presented and the king again told him:
Ask that God bless me and wish me good health!
I will never do such a thing until I can marry your daughter,
even if you have me thrown to the owls!
Take him to the tower!
He will soon beg God to bless me and wish me good health
when the hungry owls peck out his starry-eyes.
So they took the shepherd boy to a chamber in the tower.
But as soon as the door was closed, he took out his flute and began to play,
and a miraculous thing happened.
All the animals in the tower began to dance to his merry tune.
[plays the flute]
The animals screeched and shrieked, and the young shepherd made them dance
until they were all tired out.
Then they all pulled themselves away and fell fast asleep.
Then the shepherd joined them and slept until morning.
The next morning the marshal went up to the tower.
He opened the door to see the boy sitting and laughing to his heart's content.
The king's marshal ran quickly back to his master.
Your highness, the shepherd is laughing as happily as if he owned the whole land!
What a tough boy he is! He cannot be killed, bring him here at once!
It is true that you cannot be killed, now sit in the golden carriage.
So the shepherd boy sat in the golden carriage and they drove deep into the silver forest.
Then the king asked:
Tell me, shepherd, if I gave you this splendid silver forest,
would you ask that God bless me and wish me good health?
No, your royal highness, I would not.
It's not the silver forest that I long for but your daughter.
Then they drove further still until they came to a golden pond
where all the fish and water creatures were made of the purest gold.
Then the king asked once more:
If I gave you this pond, would you ask that God bless me and wish me good health?
No never, your royal highness!
Then, let's drive on!
They soon arrived at a wonderful white wall made of marble
and within the limits of the wall stood a palace studded with sparkling diamonds.
It truly was a beautiful sight.
Now shepherd, ask that God bless me and wish me very good health!
I will not, your royal highness, until I can marry your daughter.
What a terrible fellow you are!
And as nothing else could be done
the king let it be known that his daughter would marry the starry-eyes shepherd
and the wedding would be in two days time.
He warmly welcomed all his subjects to the feast
and offered a banquet of good food and fine wine.
And all the man in the kingdom attended along with their wives...
who all ate and drank to their heart's content.
The tables were piled high with delicious dishes including hot horseradish
that made the old king sneeze.
Then the shepherd began to say:
May God bless you, sire, and give you good health! May God bless you, sire, and give you good health!
May God bless you, sire, and give you good health!
And he said it over and over until the king interrupted:
Stop telling me that, son-in-law!
If you stop saying it I will grant you all I have: my country and my kingdom too.
Then the king gave all he possessed to the starry-eyed shepherd
whose poor parents moved to the palace and they all lived happily ever after.