The Princess and the Hedge-Pig by Edith Nesbit
King Ozymandias and Queen Eliza, fearing the wicked fairy Malevola, hold a secret christening for their newborn daughter Ozyliza in the palace cellars, disguising the invitations as tradesmen's bills and asking guests to come dressed as tradesmen. Despite the precautions, Malevola spots a glimpse of the Lord High Admiral's uniform under his disguise, burrows in through the copper pipe, and crashes the party. After Benevola, Queen of the Good Fairies, grants the baby love and grace, Malevola curses the princess: she will be turned out of her kingdom and forced to face her enemies without a single human being to stand by her, never to reclaim her own until she finds — before Malevola can finish with an impossible condition, a young fairy hidden in the apple tree blossom interrupts, invoking the law that another fairy may complete an unfinished curse, and declares that Ozyliza will regain her kingdom when she finds a thousand spears devoted to her and to her alone in battle. Ozyliza grows up trained in every martial skill, but suitors are put off by her lack of dowry and the curse. Eventually the palace's unpaid tradesmen bring in a neighboring king who conquers Ozymandias's underpaid army and seizes the throne. Ozyliza, away visiting her aunt the Empress of Oricalchia, returns with fifty-four camels of gifts to find her parents evicted and herself banished by royal decree. Weeping in the garden, she meets Erinaceus, the baker's boy, who offers to be her squire. When archers shoot at the fleeing princess, Erinaceus shields her, taking a thousand arrows in his back. Dying, he is saved by Benevola, who shortens the arrow shafts and transforms him into a hedge-pig, the only creature that can live comfortably with a thousand spikes. Ozyliza and the talking hedge-pig travel together, aided by a kind wood-cutter, and eventually find her parents living modestly in a semi-detached villa at Tooting, where the deposed King draws a Deposed Monarch's pension and the Queen studies economical housekeeping. The hedge-pig, granted invisibility after wishing for it, devises a plan: disguised as a French governess, Ozyliza infiltrates the usurping king and queen's palace to teach their cook French recipes, while the invisible hedge-pig torments the usurpers nightly by rolling its spiky body against their faces and whispering "Who stole the kingdom? Who killed the Princess?" as the voice of conscience. Worn down by guilt and sleeplessness, the usurpers repent and wish they could undo the princess's death. The invisible voice instructs them to summon the governess, who reveals herself as the living Ozyliza. She forgives them, gives them a fresh breakfast, and heals their sore, pricked faces with kisses. The usurping king and queen depart amicably by train, returning to their own former kingdom, and Ozymandias and Eliza are telegraphed home to reclaim their palace. Ozyliza credits Erinaceus with saving the kingdom, and her father recalls that the curse required a thousand spears devoted to her alone — which the hedge-pig, with its thousand spear-like spikes, has literally fulfilled. When the Queen wishes aloud she could see the hedge-pig speak, the Princess wishes it visible, using up what the hedge-pig reveals was her single life-wish. Distressed at having spent it needlessly, Ozyliza learns from Benevola that her own kisses hold restorative magic, as already shown when she cured the King and Queen. She kisses the hedge-pig where its fur is soft, and it transforms into Erinaceus as a young man, the arrows falling away. He reveals he is actually the usurping king's long-lost son, stolen in infancy by a baker, and that he loves her — a truth he learned only when she kissed him. Ozyliza confesses her own love in turn, and Benevola, arriving to observe events, calls for the wedding bells to be rung at once.
By Edith Nesbit · First published 1906 · Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy, Adventure · 7,638 words
First lines
'But I don't see what we're to _do_' said the Queen for the twentieth time.
'Whatever we do will end in misfortune,' said the King gloomily; 'you'll see it will.'
What this Textopian page supports
The Princess and the Hedge-Pig is listed on Textopian as a novella by Edith Nesbit, dated 1906 CE.
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- Work type: Novella
- Author: Edith Nesbit
- Date: 1906 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Children's Literature, Fantasy, Adventure, Fairy Tale
- Length: 7,638 words
- Structure: 1 section, 193 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Princess and the Hedge-Pig by Edith Nesbit
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Children's Literature — The story is primarily aimed at young readers with its simple language, magical elements, and moral lessons.
- Fantasy — The narrative includes magical creatures and events, typical of fantasy literature.
- Adventure — The plot involves a journey and a series of challenges, characteristic of adventure stories.
- Fairy Tale — The story includes elements of traditional fairy tales, such as royalty, magic, and moral lessons.
Tags
Fantasy · Children's Literature · Fairy Tale · Adventure · Romance · Social Class · Identity · Self-Discovery · Morality · Ethics · Philosophy · Allegory